Updated AFC Playoff Picture, AFC Wild Card standings after Ravens and Titans lose

Let’s check the pulse on the AFC Playoff Picture and AFC Wild Card standings after the Ravens and Titans got dropped in Week 12. 

We’re on the other side of Thanksgiving, which means games are going to start mattering more than they ever have before. The NFL Playoff Picture is beginning to come into focus, but there was chaos on the AFC side of things in Week 12 with two top teams going down — one more shockingly than the other.

Last year the Indianapolis Colts went down to Jacksonville and lost their way out of a playoff spot after falling to the Jaguars. This is a different Jags team, to be clear, but the Baltimore Ravens failed to escape Duval with a win and it might end up costing them in the long run.

Not only was Baltimore’s loss an embarrassing misstep — one that saw the Ravens defense allow an end-to-end touchdown drive and two-point conversion in under 1:30 — but it was coupled with a huge win by the Bengals.

Cincinnati’s win came at the expense of the Tennessee Titans, who were the other top team to fall in Week 12. The result solidifies a place for Cincinnati in the AFC Playoff picture and put the Titans further behind the upper echelon of the conference.

With the loss, Tennessee was in danger of slipping all the way down to the No. 4 seed, but the Ravens loss kept things as they were. Baltimore now needs to keep an eye on Cincinnati in it’s rearview, as a head-to-head tiebreaker is the only thing keeping the Ravens from falling to the Wild Card.

Updated AFC Playoff Picture after Ravens and Titans lose in Week 12

All the chaos aside, the Kansas City Chiefs still comfortably hold the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Everything else seems like a rat race for crumbs, especially after pitiful showings by two of the top supposed contenders in the conference.

While the Buffalo Bills didn’t lose on Thanksgiving, they barely escaped Detroit with a win, something that further tips the needle in favor of the Chiefs running away with things. Two bright spots in the AFC on Sunday were the Bengals and Jets, who put up impressive wins for different reasons.

Cincinnati won what could be framed as a playoff game, while the Jets scored 31 points in the pouring rain with their second-string quarterback. There was no greater indictment of Zach Wilson than how the Jets offense operated without him, and nothing seemed like a bigger endorsement of Robert Salah’s job turning the team around than circumstances not getting in the way of a win — something that almost certainly would have happened in the past.

Here’s what the AFC playoff bracket would look like if the playoffs started today:

1. Kansas City Chiefs (7-2)
2. Miami Dolphins (8-3)
3. Tennessee Titans (7-4)
4. Baltimore Ravens (7-4)
5. Buffalo Bills (8-3)
6. Cincinnati Bengals (7-4)
7. New York Jets (7-4)

Based on those standings, here’s what the playoff matchups would look like for the first weekend of action:

• (2) Miami Dolphins vs. (7) New York Jets
• (3) Baltimore Ravens vs. (6) Cincinnati Bengals
• (4) Tennessee Titans vs. (5) Buffalo Bills

AFC Wild Card standings after Week 12

For now, here’s what the Wild Card standings look like after Week 9:

5th Seed: Buffalo Bills (8-3)
6th Seed: Cincinnati Bengals (7-4)
7th Seed: New York Jets (7-4)

On The Bubble
New England Patriots (6-5)
Los Angeles Chargers (5-5)

In The Hunt
Indianapolis Colts (4-6-1)
Denver Broncos (3-6)
Pittsburgh Steelers (3-6)

On Life Support
Jacksonville Jaguars (3-7)
Cleveland Browns (3-7)
Las Vegas Raiders (2-7)
Houston Texans (1-8-1)

AFC Playoff Picture Tiebreaker Scenarios

With so many teams tied in the standings, a handful of tiebreakers come into play based on various factors related to the schedule.

• Ravens win the tiebreaker over Cincinnati based on head-to-head win percentage.
• Bengals hold the tiebreaker Miami based on head-to-head win percentage.
• Dolphins hold a tiebreaker over New England based on head-to-head win percentage.