We're officially into the second half of the 2025 NFL season , and the playoff race is heating up. Though the standings tell us a lot about teams' chances to reach the postseason , they don't tell us everything . Team strength, injuries, tiebreakers, future strength of schedule and more can shift those odds up or down and don't show up in the win (or loss) column.

ESPN analytics writer Seth Walder broke down all 32 teams into nine tiers of playoff hopes, ranging from clear Super Bowl contenders to those already looking to 2026. There are various shades of gray in between because, for as much as we might feel we know about this NFL season, things could look quite different once Week 18 rolls around. The tiers are based on information from ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI), bet

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