The Jacksonville Jaguars’ tenuous hold on first place in the AFC South held for another week, despite a 31-27 loss to the Cleveland Browns.
After entering Week 14 with a one-game lead in the division over both the Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans, losses for all three of the AFC South teams kept the Jaguars out in front. With the tiebreaker in hand, Jacksonville doesn’t need to do much to secure the division title. The losses can’t kept stacking up, though.
With three primetime games still left to play, here’s what the standings across the AFC looks like after the majority of the Sunday games in Week 14:
AFC South
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 8-5
- Indianapolis Colts: 7-6
- Houston Texans: 7-6
- Tennessee Titans: 4-8
The Colts and Texans both lost by at least 20 on Sunday, preserving the Jaguars’ lead for another week. Jacksonville owns the division tiebreakers too, so it wouldn’t take much in the last four weeks to secure the title, despite the rough start to December.
AFC East
- Miami Dolphins: 9-3
- Buffalo Bills: 7-6
- New York Jets: 5-8
- New England Patriots: 3-10
It’ll be hard for the Bills to track down the Dolphins, but Buffalo already has one win against Miami and there’s a Week 18 showdown on the horizon. If the Bills can close the gap to one game in the next three weeks, they’ll play for all the marbles on Jan. 7.
AFC North
- Baltimore Ravens: 10-3
- Cleveland Browns: 8-5
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 7-6
- Cincinnati Bengals: 7-6
The Steelers were the only AFC North team that lost in Week 14, pushing the entire division back over .500. It’ll be hard for any team to make up ground on the Ravens, though.
AFC West
- Kansas City Chiefs: 8-5
- Denver Broncos: 7-6
- Los Angeles Chargers: 5-8
- Las Vegas Raiders: 5-8
The Chiefs’ lead in the AFC West is down to one after they lost for the third time in four weeks. Denver and Kansas City already played twice and the Chiefs only have one divisional loss, so the Broncos probably need to finish with the better record to win the division.
If the AFC playoffs started today...
- Baltimore Ravens: 10-3
- Miami Dolphins: 9-3
- Kansas City Chiefs: 8-5
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 8-5
- Cleveland Browns: 8-5
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 7-6
- Indianapolis Colts: 7-6
In the hunt:
- Houston Texans: 7-6
- Denver Broncos: 7-6
- Cincinnati Bengals: 7-6
- Buffalo Bills: 7-6
The Ravens, who will travel to Jacksonville next week, are No. 1 for now, but the Dolphins can take back the lead with a win Monday night. There are now 11 teams in the AFC with winning records.
