With the exciting NFL regular season coming to a close, it’s time to look at each team in the AFC’s prospects for the playoffs:
Patriots: With their dramatic win over the Steelers in Pittsburgh, the Patriots are two wins away from clinching a home field advantage throughout the playoffs, meaning that a potential matchup with the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game would take place in Foxborough. Although the Patriots had some hiccups early in the season, as well as a surprising loss in Miami, the Patriots appear primed to make a deep playoff run, potentially making their way to the Super Bowl.
Steelers: A late interception against the Patriots likely sealed the Steelers’ fate as the second seed in the AFC Playoff picture, as they need to win out while hoping the Patriots drop one of their two games against the Bills and Jets in order to regain the top seed. Having already clinched the AFC North, the Steelers can only drop out of the second seed if they lose both of their next games combined with the Jaguars winning out, courtesy of a week five Jacksonville win in Pittsburgh.
Jaguars: The Jaguars are going to the Playoffs for the first time since 2007, and they may have a chance to sneak into one of the top two seeds if they win out while either Pittsburgh or New England drops another game. If the Jags carry the same record as the Patriots, they win a tiebreaker based on the best win percentage in conference games, leaving the opportunity for them to become the top seed in the AFC.
Chiefs: Despite a mid-season implosion by the Chiefs in which they fell to 6-6, the Chiefs are looking the most likely to come out of the messy AFC West after their win against the division rival Chargers. The only potential scenario in which the Chiefs could miss the Playoffs would require them to lose both of their remaining games while the Chargers win both of theirs, causing the Chiefs to lose a tiebreaker to the Dolphins for the sixth seed. Despite these potential pitfalls, the Chiefs are in a strong position to represent the AFC West in the Playoffs.
Ravens: With two winnable games left on the schedule against the Browns and Bengals, the Ravens also look like strong contenders for the Playoffs. The Ravens seem poised to take the fifth seed in the AFC, with the only potential hurdle coming from a Titans team that they lost to in Week 9. However, the Titans carry two difficult games left on their schedule against the Rams and Jaguars, making the likely outcome be that they won’t have the same record as the Ravens and not letting the head-to-head result come into effect.
Bills: One of the season’s great surprises, the Buffalo Bills seem likely to receive the fifth seed in the AFC as it would win a potential tiebreaker against the Ravens based on strength of victory. A loss to Miami in Week 17 would knock the Bills from Playoff contention, instead sending the Titans to the sixth seed.
Other teams still in the hunt:
Titans: The Titans are In if they win out, but with tough games looming a Playoff berth seems unlikely. An interesting note: if the Titans finish tied with the Bills and Chargers at 9-7, Playoff seeding comes down to who the Titans won and lost against. If they beat the Rams but lose to the Jaguars, they miss out on the Playoffs due to their inferior conference record. However, if Tennessee beats the Jaguars while losing to the Rams, they can sneak into the sixth seed over the Rams and Bills because of a potentially better conference win percentage.
Chargers: If the Chiefs lose out and the Chargers win out, they take the Chiefs’ spot as the AFC West Playoffs representative. There is, however, another way for them to sneak in: winning out while the Ravens losing their last two games. In this case, the Chargers would win the tiebreaker over the Bills due to their head-to-head matchup.
Dolphins: The Playoff hopes for the Dolphins are slim: win out, hope that the Chargers and Raiders drop a game and that the Titans lose both of theirs. In this scenario, the Dolphins have head-to-head tiebreakers against the Titans and Chargers, as well as a divisional win tiebreaker over the Bills.
Raiders: Oakland’s chances are also slim, in part due to their looming Week 16 game against the NFC-leading powerhouse Eagles. Like the Dolphins, they need to win out, the Dolphins to win out, the Ravens to not lose both of their remaining games, and for the Titans to lose their remaining games.
