Week 12 NFL Standings: Vikings Bury Themselves in the NFC North Basement
We are almost to the home stretch of the NFL regular season.
After this upcoming weekend’s slate of games ends, we will officially be two-thirds of the way through the year. Despite that, we still have a number of questions to be answered in a wide-open league with multiple division races seeming like they will go down to the wire.
Heading into Week 12, here is an updated look at the NFL standings.
Week 12 NFL Standings
AFC East
- New England Patriots (9-2)
- Buffalo Bills (7-3)
- Miami Dolphins (4-7)
- New York Jets (2-8)
Josh Allen willed the Buffalo Bills to a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday with five total touchdowns. It was a crucial victory to avoid falling three games behind the New England Patriots in the AFC East race as New England won its eighth consecutive game. Further down, the Miami Dolphins might not be able to compete for the AFC East title anymore, but with back-to-back wins and what seems like a few easy games in front of them, they might still be able to sneak into the Wild Card.
AFC North
- Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4)
- Baltimore Ravens (5-5)
- Cincinnati Bengals (3-7)
- Cleveland Browns (2-8)
The Pittsburgh Steelers earned a blowout win over the Cincinnati Bengals, but it came with Aaron Rodgers suffering a fractured left wrist. We’ll see how that impacts the veteran QB’s status for this upcoming week against the Chicago Bears, but Pittsburgh needs to continue winning with the Baltimore Ravens surging and now have a 4-0 record following their bye. With home games against the Jets and Bengals over the next two weeks, they aren’t going away anytime soon.
AFC South
- Indianapolis Colts (8-2)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (6-4)
- Houston Texans (5-5)
- Tennessee Titans (1-9)
The Indianapolis Colts got a chance to rest on their bye this weekend, but as that happened, the Jacksonville Jaguars dominated the Los Angeles Chargers to the tune of a 35-6 win. The Houston Texans also beat the Tennessee Titans, ensuring that they stay in the mix. The next few weeks will tell how legitimate Houston is as a contender with games against the Bills, Colts, and Chiefs over the next three weeks.
AFC West
- Denver Broncos (9-2)
- Los Angeles Chargers (7-4)
- Kansas City Chiefs (5-5)
- Las Vegas Raiders (2-8)
The Denver Broncos earned their statement win of the season so far as they toppled the Kansas City Chiefs at home. With the Chargers also losing, Denver now holds a two-game lead in the division heading into their bye week. Things don’t get easier for the Chiefs as they now have to play the Colts coming off their bye.
NFC East
- Philadelphia Eagles (8-2)
- Dallas Cowboys (4-5-1)
- Washington Commanders (3-8)
- New York Giants (2-9)
The NFC East door is closing after the Philadelphia Eagles dominated the Detroit Lions on Sunday night. Now, they head to Dallas to take on the Cowboys and could slam the door on their division rivals’ hopes of capturing the division title.
NFC North
- Chicago Bears (7-3)
- Green Bay Packers (6-3-1)
- Detroit Lions (6-4)
- Minnesota Vikings (4-6)
There’s a new leader in the NFC North clubhouse as the Chicago Bears snuck out of U.S. Bank Stadium with a win over the Minnesota Vikings while the Lions lost to the Eagles. Minnesota now has back-to-back road games against the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks, and they probably need to win both games in order to have a chance at making the playoffs.
NFC South
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-4)
- Carolina Panthers (6-5)
- Atlanta Falcons (3-7)
- New Orleans Saints (2-8)
Don’t the Carolina Panthers out of this division hunt yet after their comeback win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay just didn’t have an answer for Josh Allen during their loss to the Bills. Both teams have big tests ahead of them though as Carolina heads on the road to take on the San Francisco 49ers this weekend, and Tampa Bay heads to Los Angeles to take on the Rams.
NFC West
- Los Angeles Rams (8-2)
- Seattle Seahawks (7-3)
- San Francisco 49ers (7-4)
- Arizona Cardinals (3-7)
Chaos continues to reign supreme in the NFC West, but the Los Angeles Rams gave themselves a bit of breathing room by beating the Seattle Seahawks this weekend after beating the San Francisco 49ers on the road the week before. San Francisco did bounce back from that loss this week though with a dominant win over the Arizona Cardinals this weekend.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
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