NFL: AFC Playoff scenarios in Week 17 for each team
By Mike Dyce
The AFC playoff picture is a lot clearer than the NFC picture. Each AFC division has been clinched already, unlike the NFC where none have been clinched. Mainly at play here is positioning within the standings and jockeying for home-field advantage situations.
The final wild card spot is up for grabs though. Right now the 8-7 Miami Dolphins are in the driver seat and just need to win and get in. The Baltimore Ravens and San Diego Chargers are right there with 8-7 records as well. If the Dolphins could win they’d make the playoffs.
There is still even hope that the 7-8 Pittsburgh Steelers could slide into that final playoff spot under the right circumstances.
Here are the playoff standings heading into Week 17 (via ESPN):
| CONF RK | AFC | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | SOS | SOV | REASON |
| 1 | z – Denver | 12 | 3 | 0 | .800 | 4-1-0 | 8-3-0 | .484 | .444 | AFC West Champ |
| 2 | z – New England | 11 | 4 | 0 | .733 | 3-2-0 | 8-3-0 | .480 | .436 | AFC East Champ |
| 3 | z – Cincinnati | 10 | 5 | 0 | .667 | 2-3-0 | 7-4-0 | .476 | .480 | AFC North Champ Wins tie break over Indianapolis based on head-to-head win percentage. |
| 4 | z – Indianapolis | 10 | 5 | 0 | .667 | 5-0-0 | 8-3-0 | .502 | .467 | AFC South Champ |
| 5 | x – Kansas City | 11 | 4 | 0 | .733 | 2-3-0 | 7-4-0 | .436 | .339 | |
| 6 | Miami | 8 | 7 | 0 | .533 | 2-3-0 | 7-4-0 | .520 | .508 | Wins tie break over San Diego and Baltimore based on best win percentage in conference games. |
| 7 | Baltimore | 8 | 7 | 0 | .533 | 3-2-0 | 6-5-0 | .467 | .413 | Wins tie break over San Diego based on best win percentage in conference games. |
| 8 | San Diego | 8 | 7 | 0 | .533 | 3-2-0 | 5-6-0 | .484 | .533 | |
| 9 | Pittsburgh | 7 | 8 | 0 | .467 | 3-2-0 | 5-6-0 | .484 | .471 | Wins tie break over NY Jets based on head-to-head win percentage. |
Here are all the playoff scenarios for the AFC teams still in the hunt, from NFL.com:
CLINCHED:
Denver — AFC West and first-round bye
New England — AFC East
Cincinnati — AFC North
Indianapolis — AFC South
Kansas City — playoff spot
DENVER BRONCOS (at OAK)
Denver clinches home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs with:
1) DEN win or tie OR
2) NE loss or tie
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (vs. BUF)
New England clinches a first-round bye with:
1) NE win or tie OR
2) CIN loss or tie + IND loss or tie
New England clinches home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs with:
1) NE win + DEN loss
CINCINNATI BENGALS (vs. BAL)
Cincinnati clinches a first-round bye with:
1) CIN win + NE loss
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (vs. JAX)
Indianapolis clinches a first-round bye with:
1) IND win + NE loss + CIN loss or tie
MIAMI DOLPHINS (vs. NYJ)
Miami clinches a playoff spot with:
1) MIA win + BAL loss or tie OR
2) MIA win + SD win OR
3) MIA tie + BAL loss + SD loss or tie OR
4) MIA tie + BAL tie + SD tie
BALTIMORE RAVENS (at CIN)
Baltimore clinches a playoff spot with:
1) BAL win + SD loss or tie OR
2) BAL win + MIA loss or tie OR
3) BAL tie + MIA loss + SD loss or tie OR
4) BAL tie + MIA tie + SD loss OR
5) MIA loss + SD loss + PIT loss or tie
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (vs. KC)
San Diego clinches a playoff spot with:
1) SD win + MIA loss or tie + BAL loss or tie OR
2) SD tie + MIA loss + BAL loss
PITTSBURGH STEELERS (vs. CLE)
Pittsburgh clinches a playoff spot with:
1) PIT win + MIA loss + BAL loss + SD loss