Before the National Football League playoffs come this weekend’s play-ins.

Week 18 of the NFL regular season includes 10 games that will determine division winners and/or wild seedings and matchups in the first round of the playoffs, which are to begin Jan. 11-13 after a one-week pause.

The NFC North, AFC North and NFC South championships are at stake, as is the last of the seven playoff berths in each conference and a final tweaking of the first-round matchups.

Two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City (15-1) has clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The NFC No. 1 seed will come down to the final prime time game of the season, when Detroit plays host to Minnesota on Sunday night. Both are 14-2.

The Chiefs remain the favorite to win the Super Bowl, which would be the first three-peat in league history. Detroit, Buffalo, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Minnesota are all 8-1 shots or better, according to FanDuel.

A look at the scenarios in each division:

AFC EAST

Playoff team: Buffalo Bills (13-3)

Still alive: Miami Dolphins (8-8)

Nothing to see here. The Bills have clinched the No. 2 seed in the NFC and are the only team to beat Kansas City behind top MVP candidate quarterback Josh Allen. They will open the wild card playoffs against the lowest-seeded qualifier, which would be Denver as things stand now.

The Dolphins will be the seventh and final AFC seed if they beat the New York Jets and the Chiefs beat the Broncos.

AFC NORTH

Playoff teams: Baltimore Ravens (11-5), Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6)

Still alive: Cincinnati Bengals (8-8)

Both Baltimore and Pittsburgh are in, and the Ravens will be the division champ and the No. 3 seed if they beat reeling Cleveland on Saturday, when they are a whopping 17 1/2-point favorite. If the Ravens lose and Pittsburgh beats Cincinnati, the Steelers will win the division by virtue of a better division record, the second tiebreaker.

Even if Baltimore wins, the Steelers have something on the line. They will be the No. 5 seed if they win or the Los Angeles Chargers lose to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. It raises an interesting question. The fifth seed will play at NFC South winner and No. 4 seed Houston in the first round, a much more favorable matchup than a return visit to Baltimore.

The Bengals stayed alive with a 30-24 victory over Denver last week and would get the final playoff spot if they beat Pittsburgh and both Denver and Miami lose.

AFC SOUTH

Playoff team: Houston (9-7)

The Texas are the only team over .500 in this division, the worst in the conference by any measure. They are unlikely to be favored in any playoff game, even with the first one at home. The NFL mandates that all four division winners get home field advantage in their first game.

AFC WEST

Playoff teams: Kansas City (15-1), Los Angeles Chargers (10-6)

Still alive: Denver Broncos (9-7)

Kansas City Coach Andy Reid has rested many of his starters when the Chiefs have been in this position recently, and he is likely to do it again the season finale at Denver.

The struggling Broncos, who lost to Kansas City on a blocked field goal attempt in their previous meeting, could use the help. A win and they are in, but a loss and they need both Miami and Cincinnati to lose.

Behind Coach of the Year candidate Jim Harbaugh, the Chargers could claim the No. 5 seed with a victory and a Steelers’ loss.

NFC EAST

Playoff teams: Philadelphia Eagles (13-3), Washington (11-5)

The Eagles clinched the No. 2 seed in the NFC with a dominating 41-7 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. They played that one without injured quarterback Jalen Hurts but got another big game from running back Saquon Barkley, who leads the league with 2,005 yards rushing and is 100 yards short of tying Eric Dickerson’s season record of 2,105 set in 1984.

Jayden Daniels’ late heroics lifted Washington to victories over the Eagles and Atlanta the last two weeks to guarantee the the Commanders their first playoff berth since 2020. They have not won a playoff games since 2005.

The Commanders will be the No. 6 seed if they beat the Cowboys or the Green Bay Packers (11-5) lose to the Bears on Sunday. The Commanders would meet Philadelphia for the third time this season if they drop to the No. 7 seed.

NFC NORTH

Playoff teams: Detroit Lions (14-2), Minnesota Vikings (14-2), Green Bay Packers (11-5)

The best division in the league will provide the most riveting finish when the Lions play host to the Vikings to decide the division title on Sunday night.

The stakes are huge. The Detroit-Minnesota winner will earn the NFC No. 1 seed, a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The loser will be the No. 5 seed, with a wild card road game against either the Los Angeles Rams or the NFC South winner, Tampa Bay or Atlanta.

The Vikings set up the winner-take-all match against the Lions with a 27-25 victory over Green Bay last Sunday, a loss that could drop the Packers as low the No. 7 seed if they lose at home to the Bears on Sunday.

Quarterback Sam Darnold’s rebirth has keyed the Vikings’ jump from a 7-10 record in 2023. Darnold has 4,153 passing yards, more than 1,000 more than in the best of his previous six seasons spent with the Jets, Carolina and San Francisco.

NFC SOUTH

Still alive: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7), Atlanta Falcons (8-8)

The final NFC playoff spot will be decided between these two Sunday. The Buccaneers will claim the division, the No. 4 seed and a first-round home game with a victory or tie at home against New Orleans or an Atlanta home loss to Carolina. If both finish 9-8, the Falcons would win the division by beating the Bucs twice this season.

NFC West

Playoff team: Los Angeles Rams (10-6)

The Rams won the division and a playoff berth during a fortuitous holiday weekend. They beat Arizona 13-9 on Saturday to get a leg up, and four other results fell their way Sunday to give them the tiebreaker edge over Seattle (9-7) and render their game at the Seahawks this week meaningless except for seeding purposes.

The Rams are the NFC No. 3 seed and will remain there with a victory or tie against Seattle or a Tampa Bay loss.