History says Dolphins, Bengals will get hearts broken by Broncos in Week 18

And then there were three. There is just one playoff spot remaining in the AFC, the No. 7 seed, with the Denver Broncos, Cincinnati Bengals, and Miami Dolphins all in contention.

The Broncos had a chance to clinch their spot in the playoffs since Week 16. All they had to do was defeat the Los Angeles Chargers. Yet they lost after a strong first half. Now, the Chargers clinched the No. 6 seed with a win over the New England Patriots on Sunday. As for the Broncos, they lost in overtime to the Bengals due in part to the play of Joe Burrow and Tee Higgins.

As for the Dolphins, they are still alive after defeating the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, even without starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

For the Bengals and Dolphins to have any hope, they will need the Broncos to lose to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 18. In all likelihood, the Chiefs will be resting their starters, as they have already locked in the No. 1 seed in the AFC and home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Bengals and Dolphins fans, you might want to brace yourselves, because recent history isn't on your teams' side.

Bengals, Dolphins have recent history working against them for playoff chances

Reddit user "Number333" looked up the record of every team that rested their players in the final week of the season in the past 10 years. The record of those No. 1 seeded teams who opted to rest those players? 1-8.

That's not a good sign for the Bengals or Dolphins. However, there is some hope.

Head coach Andy Reid said on Monday that he hasn't discussed playing time with his starters in Week 18. But the belief is that the starters will rest, considering they have the division and home field all secured.

The Bengals will take on the Pittsburgh Steelers, who need to win and for the Baltimore Ravens to lose to the Cleveland Browns to clinch the AFC North title. So, they have plenty to play for in that game on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, the Dolphins will play the lowly New York Jets on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET.

The Bengals need a win over the Steelers, a Broncos loss to the Chiefs, and a Dolphins loss to the Jets to claim the final Wild Card spot. The Dolphins, meanwhile, just need to win against the Browns and for the Broncos to lose.

It will be an interesting weekend to see who will get the final playoff spot in the AFC. If you wanted intrigue, you got it.