Chiefs, Steelers cut above rest of AFC’s contenders
Patrick Ma homes and the Chiefs are already in. No surprise for the defending SuperBowl champions.
Ben Roe th li sb er ger and the Steelers are undefeated no more, but they’re also on the verge of clinching an AFC playoffspot.
After that, well, there are plenty of other contenders who might have something to say about the conference being just a top-heavy twosome.
The Bills and Browns are 9-3, with the Titans, Dolphins and Colts all 8-4. They’d all be in the playoffs right now with this season’s expanded, seventeam format.
The Ravens and Raiders are still in the mix at 7-5. And it’s never smart to count out a Bill Be li chick-coached team, especially with the Patriots surging with four wins in their last five games to get to .500 at 6-6 entering Thursday night’ s gameagainst theRams.
A division-by-division look at the AFC playoff race going into the final quarter of the season:
AFC East
Josh Allen and the Bills could make a massive statement when they take on the Steelers at home Sunday night. Thethird-year quarterback has played his way into the MVP conversation and another impressive performance — andawin— would justify thatbuzz. It would also put the Bills well in line for their first division title since 1995.
But the Dolphins are stillswimming right therewiththe Bills. TheDolphins and rookie QBTua Tag ovai lo a are just a game behind the Bills in the race for the division and host the Chiefs on Sunday. Still, there’s achancethe regular-season finaleJan. 3 inBuffalo could decide who finishes on top.
The Patriots have been that team for 11 consecutive years — with Tom Brady at quarterback, of course— but that streakappears inserious jeopardy.
Belichick’s bunch has this going, though: After Thursday night’s game inLosAngeles, thePatriots’ final three opponents are all in the division— on the roadvs. theDolphins, homevs. the Bills and home against the currently 0-12 Jets.
AFCNorth
The Steelers were cruising along, giving those undefeated ’72 Dolphins something to think about when — whoa! — Washington dashed any dreams of perfection with a stunning 23-17 upsetMonday night.
Now, winning the division is far from a certainty, especially with BakerMayfield and the Browns on a four-game winning streak and looking like the scary squad many have been expecting. TheSteelers stillhave a two-game lead and could clinch with awinand aBrownsloss to theRavens, but the division could come down to thesetwoplaying inwhatwill likelybe chilly Cleveland in the finale.
Oh, and don’t forget about the Ravens, who might be out of the division race but got Lamar Jackson back from a one-game COVID-19 absence and snapped a three-game skid with a 34-17 win over the Cowboys on Tuesday night.
The Ravens host the Browns next, then finish with three straight opponents currently with losing records: home vs. the Jaguars (1-11) and Giants (5-7), and at the Bengals (2-9-1).
AFC South
The Titans and Colts split their two regular-season meetings and fittingly sit tied atop the division with four games left.
Ryan Tannehill and the Titans would seem to have the easier path to winning the South — which would be their first division title since 2008 — with only one team with awinning record (the Packers at 9-3) remaining on their schedule.
Theyalsohave: at theJaguars, home vs. the Lions (5-7) and wrap up the regular season at theTexans (4-8).
Meanwhile, the Colts are winners of three of their last four, with the only loss during that stretch coming at home against the Titans twoweeks ago. Philip Rivers’ squad will be at the Raiders (7-5), home vs. the Texans, at the Steelers and home vs. the Jaguars to wrap things up.
The Texans have been competitive under interim coach Romeo Crennel, going 4-4 after an 0-4 start with Bill O’Brien. They’re still probably too far back to contend but couldmake things interesting down the stretch with games against the Colts and Titans.
AFCWest
The Chiefs earned a playoff berth last week and would have already clinched their fifth straight division title if not for since-firedJets defensive coordinator GreggWilliams’ bizarre play call that allowed the Raiders to pull off a stunning 31-28 road victory over the Jets last Sunday.
TheChiefs can take careof business itself by winning (or tying) Sunday at the Dolphins — in the stadium where the Chiefs won their first Super Bowl in 50 years in February. A loss (or tie) by the Raiders at home against the Coltswould also give coachAndyReid and his Chiefs the division.
The Raiders have been up and down and were 5 seconds from staring at a three-game skid and an embarrassing loss to the Jets. But fate — and Williams’ Zero Blitz call—intervened. Jon Gruden hopes to have running back Josh Jacobs and safety Johnathan Abram from injuries, and the Raiders will probably need them to stay in the hunt.
The Broncos (4-8) and Chargers (3-9) could be looking at coaching changes after the season, but both could have an impact in theAFCplayoff hunt as they each face the Raiders once during the final stretch.