The Pittsburgh Steelers and Oakland Raiders picked up last-gasp wins in Week 9 to bring themselves back into the playoff conversation in the AFC.
Although all roads still seem to lead through Foxboro as far as the AFC playoff picture is concerned, the New England Patriots, who entered Week 9 as one of the NFL’s two undefeated teams, are far from the only dominant team in the conference.
In fact, the Kansas City Chiefs came away with arguably the most impressive win of Week 9, defeating a playoff-caliber Minnesota Vikings team with Matt Moore at quarterback just one week after nearly upsetting Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
That said, because the Chiefs lost to the Houston Texans earlier this season in a showdown of MVP candidates between Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes, they’d lose out on seeding due to a tiebreaker. Meanwhile the Ravens move into the second seed after pounding the Patriots on Sunday night.
- New England Patriots
- Baltimore Ravens
- Houston Texans
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Buffalo Bills
- Indianapolis Colts
In the hunt:
7. Oakland Raiders
8. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Bills should be able to skate to a playoff spot despite being in the Patriots division, simply because they are also in the same division as the woeful New York Jets and Miami Dolphins – two teams competing for the No. 1 pick.
Meanwhile, the Colts have to be worried about their position, as they were upset by Mason Rudolph and the Pittsburgh Steelers after missing a last-second field goal. The Steelers are now 4-4 and look surprisingly competitive despite not having Ben Roethlisberger or nearly enough playmakers on offense.
Meanwhile, the Oakland Raiders are also 4-4 after a last-gasp win and in the playoff mix. They are the second-best team in the AFC West behind Kansas City.