AFC Playoff Picture: Chargers Nab Final Spot, Dolphins, Ravens & Steelers Out
The overall play in the AFC was so tragically mediocre this season, that of the four teams still battling for the final wild card playoff spot on Sunday, not one of them was in a win-and-get-in situation. The Baltimore Ravens, San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers all needed a win and some help in order to reach the postseason.
By the start of the 4:15 games, only Pittsburgh and San Diego were still in the mix. Baltimore barely put up a fight against the division rival Cincinnati Bengals, with quarterback Joe Flacco saving his worst game of the season for last. Replace Baltimore with Miami, Cincinnati Bengals with New York Jets and Joe Flacco with Ryan Tannehill, and you’ve got pretty much the same exact story.
The Steelers, on the other hand, took care of business against the Cleveland Browns, beating them easily at home. After beginning the season 0-4, they were by far the least likely of the teams to get in, but were still hanging around after winning six-of-eight down the stretch.
To make the playoffs, Pittsburgh needed a win and all three other teams to lose—they were 75 percent there after the early games.
The Chargers were facing division rival Kansas City Chiefs, who, unfortunately for Steeler Nation, were locked in with the No. 5 seed and had absolutely nothing to play for. With nothing but a little pride on the line, first year Chiefs coach Andy Reid made the decision to rest the majority of his starters. The table was set for San Diego to run away with it, and in typical Chargers fashion—they didn’t.
That’s not to say they didn’t win the game—they did. But it took them a full four quarters and most of an overtime period to do it. Kansas City went up early and, despite playing against a bunch of benchwarmers, San Diego played from behind through most of the game, before finally evening it up 24-24 with just over three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
That proved to be plenty of time for the Chiefs, who were able to move the ball downfield on the Chargers and get in position to win. With eight seconds remaining, kicker Ryan Succop lined up for a 41-yard field goal which would have ended the game and the football season in San Diego. Or at least it could have, had it not hooked wide right.
Minutes into OT, Kansas City again looked poised for victory when the Chargers seemingly fumbled a fake punt on 4th-and-2, allowing a Chiefs defender to take it the other way for a touchdown. But the officials cited forward progress and ruled it not a fumble on the field. And because forward progress is not reviewable, the play was (obviously) not reviewed.
After that there was another 10 minutes of useless back and forth before San Diego finally stumbled into a win, courtesy of a Nick Novak field goal with 5:30 minutes left on the clock. Which means the Chargers are in and the Steelers, Ravens and Dolphins all get to start their offseason early this year. The Dolphins are, no doubt, quite used to that by now.
Though this win came in particularly unimpressive fashion, the Chargers have been pretty hot down the stretch—they’ve only lost once since Week 12—and could make some waves in a weak AFC field. They’ll play the Bengals next week, who they played close in Week 13, losing 17-10. If they can get by the Bengals, who knows how far this team can go.
After all, they’ve already proved they can beat the No. 1 seeded Denver Broncos, the No. 4 seeded Indianapolis Colts and the No. 5 seeded Chiefs. That’s gotta give them some confidence.
