AROUND THE AFC

PLAYOFF PICTURE >> There are so many teams bunched up for playoff positioning, from three entering Sunday tied at 8- 6 atop the AFC South to the seven teams entering the weekend with either seven or eight wins. But this will be a big weekend for clarity. Some way or another, at least a team or two rolling with a backup quarterback is going to make it to the postseason. Joe Flacco in Cleveland, Case Keenum in Houston, Jake Browning in Cincinnati, Gardner Minshew in Indianapolis. Then, can any of them win there?

CHARGERS’ FUTURE >> There’s a long way to go before the full scale of a potentially wild NFL coaching carousel is known this year. One thing’s for sure: There will be new brass for the Chargers, who are in the market for a coaching staff and a general manager. The conventional wisdom is that Justin Herbert’s presence makes L. A. the best job on the market. And, to be sure, coaches would all line up to work with him. But the rest of the picture is an aging, expensive roster with a pretty brutal salary cap picture going forward. So, is the tantalizing signal- caller enough to offset the rest? For somebody, obviously, it will be. But whether the Chargers are the pick of the coaching litter seems far from a certainty.

NO RODGERS >> And in the most shocking news of the NFL season, Aaron Rodgers is actually not returning from a torn Achilles tendon in three months. Who could have guessed? It does, of course, boggle the mind a bit to see Rodgers and others, too — including the Broncos’ Tim Patrick — rebound so quickly from Achilles tears thanks to new surgical procedures. That’s a good thing for athletes in the future. Speaking of good things and futures, what’s the likelihood that Rodgers’ full- throated endorsement of the Jets’ coaching apparatus looks wise a year from now?