AFC playoff scenarios, Week 15: Bengals, Broncos can clinch

The AFC playoff scenarios going into Week 15 of the NFL regular season.

The National Football League has arrived at Week 15 with plenty still to decide. On the NFC side of things, the picture is very clear outside of the woeful NFC East, where three teams still have a real shot at claiming the crown and with it, the fourth seed. The wild cards are all but decided with the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks looking like mortal locks to make the postseason and be traveling on the first weekend.

The AFC is a completely different animal. In fact, about the only similarity is that the No. 4 seed will be taken down by an equally horrible division in the AFC South. Either the Indianapolis Colts or Houston Texans will be rolling in and claiming a home game to face the No. 5 seed. The wild card race is terrific with three teams at 8-5 vying for two spots.

The Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets are fighting for real estate in the postseason, with one likely to be left holding the bag. Kansas City has the easiest schedule of the three, while Pittsburgh and New York also appear dangerous.

Let’s look and see which teams must do what to punch their respective tickets.

Next: 1. New England Patriots