The following charts seek to answer the following question: If these two (or more) teams finish with the same record, who wins the tiebreaker?
Notes and assumptions:
- No possibility of future tie games.
- Tiebreaker winners are as they would be if the teams were tied at the end of the season, NOT as if the season ended right now. (Example: the only way PIT and BAL wind up with the same record at the end of the season is if BAL beats PIT Week 18.)
- Tiebreakers that don’t affect playoff berths or seeding are not shown.
- Division ties are broken first. If HOU, IND, and BUF all finish 11-6, break the AFC South tie between HOU and IND first, then break the tie between the HOU-IND winner and BUF.
- If three or more teams are tied, apply that tiebreaker, not the two-team tiebreaker.
- Strength of victory is the combined winning percentage (essentially, the number of wins) of the teams a team has beaten. It has nothing to do with point totals.
- NYJ, MIA, CLE, CIN, TEN, LV, and KC have been eliminated.
- NE and DEN have clinched playoff berths.
The complete tiebreaker rules are here.
Jump to East | North | South | West | Interdivisional ties 2-way • 3-way • 4-way
AFC East
| If these teams tie | at | with these things happening | tie goes to | based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NE-BUF | 13-4 | BUF beats NYJ, PHI | BUF | conference record |
| NE-BUF | 12-5 | BUF beats NYJ; loses to PHI | BUF | division record |
| NE-BUF | 12-5 | BUF beats PHI; loses to NYJ | BUF | conference record |
AFC North
| If these teams tie | at | tie goes to | based on |
|---|---|---|---|
| PIT-BAL | 9-8 | BAL | division record |
AFC South
| If these teams tie | at | with these things happening | tie goes to | based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JAX-IND | 11-6 | IND | division record | |
| JAX-HOU | HOU | division record | ||
| IND-HOU | 11-6 | IND beats JAX. SF | HOU | conference record |
| IND-HOU | 10-7 | IND beats JAX; loses to SF | ? | strength of victory |
| IND-HOU | 10-7 | IND loses to JAX | HOU | division record |
| JAX-IND-HOU | 11-6 | HOU |
|
AFC West
| If these teams tie | at | tie goes to | based on |
|---|---|---|---|
| DEN-LAC | LAC | head-to-head |
Interdivisional ties
2-way ties
| If these teams tie | at | with these things happening | tie goes to | based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NE-JAX | JAX | conference record | ||
| NE-HOU | 12-5 | HOU | conference record | |
| NE-DEN | DEN | common opponents | ||
| NE-LAC | LAC | conference record | ||
| BUF-IND | 11-6 | ? | strength of victory | |
| BUF-JAX | BUF beats PHI | JAX | conference record | |
| BUF-JAX | 12-5 | BUF loses to PHI; beats NYJ | BUF | common opponents |
| BUF-JAX | 11-6 | BUF loses to PHI, NYJ | ? | strength of victory |
| BUF-HOU | HOU | head-to-head | ||
| BUF-DEN | BUF | conference record | ||
| BUF-LAC | BUF beats PHI | LAC | conference record | |
| BUF-LAC | BUF loses to PHI | LAC | common opponents | |
| PIT-IND | 11-6 | PIT | head-to-head | |
| PIT-JAX | 11-6 | PIT | conference record | |
| PIT-HOU | 11-6 | HOU | common opponents | |
| IND-LAC | 11-6 | IND | head-to-head | |
| JAX-DEN | JAX | head-to-head | ||
| JAX-LAC | JAX | head-to-head | ||
| HOU-DEN | 12-5 | DEN | head-to-head | |
| HOU-LAC | HOU | head-to-head |
3-way ties
| If these teams tie | at | with these things happening | tie goes to | based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NE-JAX-DEN | JAX | conference record | ||
| NE-JAX-LAC | JAX |
|
||
| NE-HOU-DEN | 12-5 | HOU | conference record | |
| BUF-JAX-DEN | BUF beats PHI | JAX | conference record | |
| BUF-JAX-DEN | 12-5 | BUF loses to PHI | BUF |
|
| BUF-JAX-LAC | BUF beats PHI | JAX |
|
|
| BUF-JAX-LAC | BUF loses to PHI | ? | strength of victory | |
| BUF-IND-LAC | 11-6 | LAC |
|
|
| BUF-HOU-DEN | 12-5 | HOU | conference record | |
| BUF-HOU-LAC | HOU | head-to-head |
