There are three teams that can truly make a run at the Super Bowl — and maybe really two — and they are the Patriots, Ravens, and Chiefs. Every other squad looks to be fighting for a nice playoff game and an exit. Every division is decided except for the AFC South even though the Texans have to be the heavy favorite. As for the wild cards, those are wide open. The Bills look to have the inside track, but they could slip up. Let’s check out the race by division.
AFC East
New England Patriots 10-1
New England had to go 2-2 in their stretch of games that started with the Eagles and ended with the Chiefs. They are already 2-0. They still can’t slip up since the Ravens have the tiebreaker due to Baltimore’s head to head win against the Pats. The good news is that New England has owned Houston in recent years. The bad news is that the Patriots offense hasn’t looked very good recently and they could struggle to keep up with the Texans and Chiefs. After their next two games, the Patriots final three matchups are all winnable.
Remaining Schedule: @Texans, Chiefs, @Bengals, Bills, Dolphins
Buffalo Bills 8-3
Buffalo gets Dallas on Thanksgiving and then 10 days to prepare for the unstoppable force that is the Ravens. They play at Pittsburgh which will be a rock fight and then at New England. The Bills may need to win their final game of the season against the suddenly surging Jets to make the playoffs.
Remaining Schedule: @Cowboys, Ravens, @Steelers, @Patriots, Jets
AFC North
Baltimore Ravens 9-2
This is it. If the Ravens lose to the Niners this upcoming weekend then their shot at the top seed will look dismal. Other than the San Francisco game, the schedule is cake. Everyone in Baltimore is cheering for the Patriots to lose against the Texans or Chiefs.
Remaining Schedule: Niners, @Bills, Jets, @Browns, Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers 6-5
This may sound weird, but the return of Duck makes the Steelers scary coming down the stretch. The Pittsburgh defense is scary talented. All the Steelers quarterback has to do is play within the system and not turn the ball over. For some reason, Mason Rudolph couldn’t do that. Duck Hodges should be able to accomplish that goal.
The Steelers will hold their playoff chances in their own hands. They can beat the Browns essentially knocking them out of the race. They can then beat the Bills can maybe even sneak to the five seed.
Remaining Schedule: Browns, @Cardinals, Bills, @Jets, @Ravens
Cleveland Browns 5-6
Last week I said the Browns won’t make this list until they are back at .500. The problem is that I wanted the Browns on this list one more time. If they lose to Pittsburgh in a loser leaves town match, then they aren’t making their way back — until they inevitably rip off a bunch of wins but lose to the Ravens finishing 8-8.
Remaining Schedule: @ Steelers, Bengals, @Cardinals, Ravens, @Bengals
AFC South
Houston Texans 7-4
The Texans are pulling a Texans so hard it will make your head spin. They got dominated by a very good team — the Ravens — and then came back with a solid but close win over a division contender — the Colts — which means the next step will be to blow a game to the Patriots at home. Wow, look at that.
Remaining Schedule: Patriots, Broncos, @Titans, @Bucs, Titans
Indianapolis Colts 6-5
The Colts may have enough to sneak into the playoffs, but they don’t have enough to do anything when they get there. They play in a loser leaves town match this week because if they don’t win they’ll finish 8-8 or 9-7.
Remaining Schedule: Titans, @Bucs, @Saints, Panthers, @Jaguars
Tennessee Titans 6-5
The Ryan Tannehill led Titans are back on the board. They probably won’t be here long. That’s a brutal stretch to end the season.
Remaining Schedule: @Colts, @Raiders, Texans, Saints @Texans
AFC West
Kansas City Chiefs 7-4
Bet the Chiefs coming off a bye against the Raiders. Also, bet the Chiefs to get the three seed in the AFC because the Texans aren’t going to keep up and they can’t catch the Patriots or Ravens.
Remaining Schedule: Raiders, @Patriots, Broncos, @Bears, Chargers
Oakland Raiders 6-5
The Raiders did not do themselves any favors this past week by losing to the Jets. Now they can’t slip up at all and that’s not going to be easy. The Raiders’ final season in Oakland could end in disappointment.
Remaining Games: @Chiefs, Titans, Jaguars, @Chargers, Broncos
Projected Finishes and Seeding next . . .
1 Seed: New England Patriots (14-2)
2 Seed: Baltimore Ravens (13-3)
3 Seed: Kansas City Chiefs (12-4)
4 Seed: Houston Texans (11-5)
5 Seed: Cleveland Browns (9-7)
6 Seed: Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7)
