If the season ended today, the 8-3 Cleveland Browns would be the No. 5 seed in the AFC and capture the top Wild Card spot in the postseason. Cleveland’s close win in Jacksonville and some other Week 12 outcomes elevated the Browns up the playoff ladder after 11 games.
The Browns won to improve to 8-3. That’s the same record the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans have after winning their games on Sunday. But those teams are division leaders in the AFC East and South, respectively. The Chiefs improved to 10-1 to run away with the West, while the Steelers remain at the top in the North at 10-0.
Cleveland is the only non-division leader with eight wins. The Colts were on the wrong end of the blowout against Tennessee, dropping Indianapolis to 7-4. The Dolphins sneaked past the winless Jets to match the Colts with seven wins. Those are the Wild Cards through Week 12, pending what happens on Tuesday with the Steelers and the 6-4 Ravens, if that game gets played.
Atlanta did the Browns a solid by waxing the Raiders, 43-6. The Raiders are now 6-5 and have fallen two games behind the Browns. Las Vegas does hold the head-to-head with Cleveland if it comes to that, but there are a few teams in between now. New England kept a playoff pulse by improving to 5-6 with a last-second FG to prevail over the Cardinals.
The week technically isn’t over, but none of the remaining games can change the Browns’ status as the No. 5 seed.
