AFC playoff picture: Week 15
In the National Football League, only three weeks remain until the playoffs begin. Teams that are still in the race find themselves scrambling to figure out what needs to be done to either make the postseason or procure the best seed possible.
In the AFC, only the New England Patriots have clinched a spot, locking up the AFC East last weekend with a win and losses by both the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins. However, the other five spots remain wide open. Let’s run down what to expect and watch for this week.
In the AFC South, the Houston Texans visit the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Both teams are leading the division with a 6-7 mark, although it is the Colts who hold the tiebreaker thanks to an October win against the Texans at NRG Stadium. Indianapolis will be starting either Matt Hasselbeck or Charlie Whitehurst at quarterback, while Houston is replacing the concussed Brian Hoyer with T.J. Yates.
The winner will have total control of its own destiny. Indianapolis would need to only win one more game should it be victorious on Sunday, while Houston would have to win out to stay ahead, still losing the tiebreaker. However. the Texans finish the season at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars and visiting the Tennessee Titans.
In the wild card race, things are shaping up for one heck of a run. The Kansas City Chiefs and New York Jets are currently in the fifth and six slots respectively, both sitting at 8-5. Kansas City wins the tiebreaker with New York via conference record. The Pittsburgh Steelers might be the most dangerous team in the conference and are also 8-5, but are on the outside looking in.
Yet, should the Steelers win out, they would beat out the Jets by eventually having the better conference record. The Jets have to hope that either the Chiefs or Steelers drop a game, while they beat the Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills.
The team with the easiest remaining schedule is unquestionably Kansas City. The Chiefs go to visit the four-win Baltimore Ravens this week before returning to Arrowhead Stadium for the final two weeks. The first will be against the rancid Cleveland Browns before the Chiefs close the campaign against the Oakland Raiders, who they beat 34-20 at O.Co Coliseum only two weeks ago.
Additionally, the Denver Broncos can clinch a playoff spot this week with a win. Denver could also clinch the AFC West with a victory over the Steelers and a Kansas City loss. The Cincinnati Bengals also need only a win to clinch a playoff spot for the fifth straight season, but will need to get it with A.J. McCarron at the helm for the injured Andy Dalton.
