The NFC East has been the worst division in the NFL this year and it hasn't been close. 

The division has been so bad that it actually made NFL history in Week 6. With the Commanders losing to the 49ers on Monday night, the NFC East became the first division in NFL history to have all four teams go winless in back-to-back weeks (0-6-2), and this somehow happened even though two NFC East teams played each other in Week 5. 

Last week, we projected the Eagles would win the division, but that was before we learned that Jalen Hurts is expected to miss the rest of the season due to blood clots. With Hurts out, that has created a wild open race. 

At this point, you might be wondering who's actually going to win the NFC East, and fortunately, we might have the answer for you here. To help us figure out who's going to win each division and who's going to make the playoffs, we had our analytics expert, Stephen Oh, simulate the rest of the 2026 season. We also have an analysis on why each NFC East team could take the division.

There are 179 games left on the regular-season schedule, along with 13 playoff games, and Oh simulated all of them. Not only did he project the 14 teams that will end up making the playoffs, but he also crowned a Super Bowl champion. And yup, he also projected who the winner of the NFC East will be, since someone has to win that division. 

With that in mind, let's get to the projections. And just as a reminder, we're projecting what the NFL playoff field will look like at the end of the season. This is NOT the current playoff standings. 

Projected AFC playoff field

For the first time all season, there are no changes to the AFC playoff field. The seven teams projected to make the playoffs this week are the same seven that we had last week. The only difference is that the Patriots and Bengals have switched seeds, with New England now one spot ahead of Cincinnati after being behind them last week. 

Here's the projected AFC playoff field (with each team's current record): 
1. Chiefs (5-0) -- AFC West champion
2. Bills (5-1) -- AFC East champion
3. Jaguars (4-2) -- AFC South champion
4. Ravens (4-2) -- AFC North champion
5. Broncos (4-2)
6. Patriots (4-2)
7. Bengals (3-2)
JUST MISSED: Steelers, Texans

When you look at the teams that didn't make the cut here, the Steelers and Texans are definitely the most notable. The Texans have won two games in a row since starting 0-4, but in the end, our computer thinks they dug themselves too deep of a hole to start the season. We have them finishing at 9-8, which would mean that Houston goes 7-4 over its final 11 games. As for the Steelers, we have them projected to finish in the AFC North at 9-8, which leaves them one game out of the postseason. 

For you Browns' fans, our projection has them finishing 8-9 and out of the playoffs. 

Projected NFC playoff field

The Giants are on top of the NFC East heading into Week 7, and surprise, surprise, our computer actually has them holding on to WIN the division. In what might go down as one of the ugliest division races of all time, our computer has the Giants finishing 8-8-1 and stealing the division from the 8-9 Cowboys. That's right, New York's Week 5 tie with the Commanders could end up deciding the division. 

Here's the projected NFC playoff field (with each team's current record): 
1. 49ers (6-0) -- NFC West champion
2. Vikings (5-0) -- NFC North champion
3. Panthers (3-2) -- NFC South champion
4. Giants (3-2-1) -- NFC East champion
5. Lions (3-2)
6. Seahawks (3-3)
7. Packers (4-2) 
JUST MISSED: Bears

The problem with being in the NFC is that there's a chance we could see two teams make the playoffs with losing records this year: the winner of the NFC East and the winner of the NFC South. That leaves just five spots for the other teams, which is how the Bears end up being the odd man out, despite finishing with a 10-7 record in our projection. 

As for the Rams, our projection has finally given up on them: They have just a 24.6% chance of making the postseason. To put that in perspective, the team in the final wild card slot (Green Bay) has a 65.8% chance of getting in. 

Now that we know who's in the playoffs, let's see who's going to make it to Super Bowl LXI. 

Wild card round

AFC

• (2) Bills 34-24 over (7) Bengals. These two teams met in the 2022 playoffs with the Bengals rolling to a big win, but this time around, Buffalo gets its revenge. The Bills pull off a blowout win in what would be the first playoff game in their new stadium.  
  
• (3) Jaguars 25-19 over (6) Patriots. These two teams met back in Week 3 with the Jaguars absolutely steamrolling the Patriots, 35-6. This time around, the Patriots keep it close, but the Jags still win. 
• (4) Ravens 21-20 over (5) Broncos. Lamar Jackson always seems to be at his best when he plays the Broncos. He's 4-0 against them in his career and he improves that number to 5-0 with a win here. 

NFC

• (2) Vikings 23-19 over (7) Packers. The Vikings have had some serious success against the Packers over the past few years, with four wins in their past five games, including a 39-22 victory back in Week 1. One reason the Vikings have done well against Green Bay is because of their defense and that unit carries them to a win here. 
• (6) Seahawks 24-23 over (3) Panthers. The wildest game of the wild-card round happens in Carolina with the Seahawks pulling off a one-point win over the Panthers. A win here would allow Sam Darnold to get some revenge on his old team (he spent two seasons in Carolina and started 17 games for the Panthers). 
  
• (5) Lions 31-25 over (4) Giants. The Giants playoff berth ends up being the biggest surprise of the postseason, but they don't stick around for long. 

And now, we're down to our final eight teams. 

Divisional round

AFC

• (1) Chiefs 26-23 over (4) Ravens. For the second time in four years, we're getting Lamar Jackson vs. Patrick in the playoffs, but that might not be the matchup that decides the game. This showdown will also feature two of the NFL's top running backs in Derrick Henry and Kenneth Walker, and it's Walker who ends up carry Kansas City to a win. 
• (2) Bills 29-25 over (3) Jaguars. The Jaguars got stuck facing the Bills in the playoffs last year in a game they ended up losing. This year, it's more of the same with Josh Allen out-dueling Trevor Lawrence. 

NFC

• (1) 49ers 25-23 over (6) Seahawks. Last year, the Seahawks used a win over the 49ers in their opening playoff game to jumpstart their run to the Super Bowl. This year, we have the opposite: The 49ers will be hoping to use this win over the Seahawks to jumpstart a run to the Super Bowl.   
• (2) Vikings 26-23 over (5) Lions. After beating the Packers in the wild-card round, the Vikings take down another NFC North rival in the divisional round. The Vikings swept the Lions last year thanks to a defense that bullied their offense, and our projection sees more of the same here.  

If you're scoring at home, we are now down to four teams: Two teams that have never won a Super Bowl (Bills and Vikings) and two teams (49ers and Chiefs) that have faced each other in two of the past seven Super Bowls. 

Conference title games

AFC Championship

• (1) Chiefs 27-24 over (2) Bills. In four of the past six years, the Bills have had their season ended by the Chiefs in the playoffs. Josh Allen is 0-4 against Patrick Mahomes in the postseason and his drought continues here with another loss. 

NFC Championship

• (1) 49ers 26-20 over (2) Vikings. Over the course of NFL history, these two teams have faced each other six times in the postseason with the 49ers winning five of those and San Francisco's dominance continues in this game. The Vikings defense carried them all the way to the NFC title game, but Brian Flores' unit can't quite figure out how to slow down Kyle Shanahan's offense. 

Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium

• (1) Chiefs 24-23 over (1) 49ers. Since being hired as the 49ers head coach in 2017, Kyle Shanahan has led San Francisco to the Super Bowl twice and he's lost to the Chiefs' both times. In Super Bowl LIV, his team blew a 10-point four-quarter lead (20-10) in a game they eventually lost 31-20. In Super Bowl LVIII, the 49ers jump out to an early 10-0 lead before losing in overtime. Unfortunately for Shanahan, his personal nightmare continues with another improbable loss to the Chiefs. With a win here, Travis Kelce can ride off into the sunset with Taylor Swift. 

We've been doing a projection every week since the start of the season, and here's a look at the projected Super Bowl each week. 

• Preseason prediction: Rams over Ravens
• After Week 1: Seahawks over Ravens
• After Week 2: Seahawks over Chiefs
• After Week 3: Chiefs over Vikings 
• After Week 4: Seahawks over Chiefs
• After Week 5: 49ers over Chiefs
• After Week 6: Chiefs over 49ers

There really has only been one consistency over the past few weeks and it's that the Chiefs are inevitable. This is the fifth straight week we've projected them to make the Super Bowl.