The Colts' blowout of the Jets on Monday night resulted in New York being eliminated from playoff contention. The Colts also moved up to the No. 9 spot in the AFC playoff race and are tied at 6-6 for first in the AFC South with the Texans and Titans.
The Colts move ahead of the Titans via tiebreaker but stay behind the Texans.
The Cowboys' dreamscape of a season continued without them having to play any football on Sunday, as Dallas clinched a playoff spot in Week 13 thanks to their 11-1 record and the Redskins losing to the Cardinals in Arizona.
Dallas handled its business against the Vikings on Thursday night, eking out a close victory over Minnesota as they head into a mini-bye. There were a group of scenarios that could've resulted in the Cowboys clinching, and by the time the afternoon games were kicking off they just needed a Buccaneers loss or a Redskins loss.
The Cowboys are 4 1/2 games up on the Redskins, who fell to the No. 7 seed with their loss and the Bucs' win over San Diego.
Sunday night's blowout win for the Seahawks over the Panthers didn't change anything.
Updated playoff standings: Playoff Picture
Who's In
Denver Broncos -- Denver's win over the Jaguars puts them back into the playoffs as a wild card, with Denver nabbing the No. 6 seed from Miami.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- Jameis Winston and crew won their fourth game in a row, with another impressive effort, this time against the Chargers. Beating San Diego puts Tampa Bay in a strong position to make a run both as a wild card and in the division, where it is now tied with the Falcons (Atlanta has the division record tiebreaker).
Who's Out
Miami Dolphins -- The Dolphins go from the No. 6 seed in the AFC to the No. 7 spot.
Washington Redskins -- With their loss to Arizona, Washington falls to 6-5-1 and a half game behind the Bucs in the NFC race.
Who's Up
Green Bay Packers -- With a second straight win, Green Bay climbs in the NFC standings, moving up to the No. 9 spot, sitting at 6-6.
Oakland Raiders -- With their win over the Bills and the Pats playing an NFC team, the Raiders are back to the No. 1 seed in the AFC because of the strength of victory tiebreaker.
Who's Down
New Orleans Saints -- After losing at home to the Lions, New Orleans falls to 5-7 and drops to the No. 10 spot in the NFC. The Saints' playoff hopes look very bleak at this point.
Who's Eliminated
Jacksonville Jaguars -- Coach Gus Bradley punted with two minutes left in a game while trailing by seven points and the Jags on the brink of playoff elimination. That sums it up nicely.
New York Jets -- The Jets (3-9) were clobbered 41-10 by the Colts on Monday night, likely ending the Ryan Fitzpatrick era. Bryce Petty will start the final four games for New York.
Early Sunday Games
The Dolphins' dream of returning to the playoffs may have died in Baltimore on Sunday. After winning six games in a row, Miami was absolutely destroyed by the Ravens in a 38-6 loss, taking a huge hit in its attempt to revive a season that looked lost just a month and a half ago.
Miami is the perfect example of, "Let's not get too worked up about early results." The Dolphins were 1-4 after losing to the Titans in Week 5 and legitimately looked like one of the worst teams in football. The offensive line jelled the next week and they ripped of a slew of wins. Before Sunday they hadn't lost since before Halloween.
But the concern here is that the Fins, if they don't run the ball effectively, are going to struggle. And with its stout rush defense, Baltimore bottled up Jay Ajayi and forced Ryan Tannehill to win the game.
Tannehill couldn't do it and ended up throwing three interceptions in the blowout. Miami is still alive, but losing that game at least temporarily pushes them out of the playoffs and puts them one game behind Denver, two games behind the Chiefs and feeling heat from the Steelers, Bills and Titans.
Late Sunday Games
The Cowboys clinched courtesy of the Redskins losing on Sunday afternoon.
Sunday night game
Nothing changed as a result of the Seahawks beating the Panthers 40-7 on "Sunday Night Football."
Monday night game
The Colts move into a three-way tie in the AFC South and up to No. 9 in the AFC while the Jets are eliminated.
