AFC Playoff Bracket Can Shake Up In Week 17
Unlike the NFC, the AFC knows exactly who will be contending for the conference’s spot in the Super Bowl. But the question heading into Week 17 is: What will the playoff matchups be?
Currently, the No. 1 New England Patriots (13-2) and the No. 2 Oakland Raiders (12-3) would skip Wild Card weekend and rest up on their well-earned bye weeks, leaving the No. 3 Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5) to face the No. 6 Miami Dolphins (10-5) and the No. 4 Houston Texans (9-6) to host the No. 5 Kansas City Chiefs (11-4).
But none of those matchups are locks. The final week of the regular season could completely shake up the AFC’s playoff bracket as the AFC West crown is still undecided and the Patriots and Raiders could switch positions for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Here’s a breakdown - with each team listed in their current order in the standings - of where each contender stands and who they could face once the postseason begins
1.New England Patriots
The Patriots and Tom Brady have already secured a bye week, but not home-field throughout the postseason. New England can clear that up by beating Miami on the road, through Brady has had some trouble in South Florida. Still, a win helps New England keep the No. 1 seed and guarantees home-field. But a loss, coupled with a Raiders win spells trouble. New England would slip to 4-2 in its division, and Oakland would equal that mark while also having an equal 10-2 conference record and a better record in common games. Oakland also has a stronger scheduled (.502 to New England’s .424) and a better strength of victory percentage.
2.Oakland Raiders
The loss of Derek Carr does hurt Oakland’s chances of claiming the AFC West and the No. 1 seed now that Matt McGloin is under center. But a likely difficult win at Denver coupled with a Patriots loss means Oakland moves up to No. 1 due to all the aforementioned tiebreakers. But a loss to Denver and a Kansas City win at San Diego hands the Chiefs the division and bumps Oakland down to the No. 5.
3.Pittsburgh Steelers
Sitting two back of Oakland and three back of New England, the Steelers can’t earn a bye with one game remaining. But they already own the AFC North title and already have the No. 3 seed locked down. The Steelers, however, won’t truly know who they’ll host on Wild Card weekend until after Week 17.
4.Houston Texans
Like Pittsburgh, the Texans can’t go any higher or go any lower than the No. 4 seed. The AFC South champs will just have to wait and see how the wild card plays out.
5.Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs have the most to gain of any AFC contender in Week 17. If they beat San Diego and Oakland loses then KC claims its first division title since 2010. But if the Chiefs and the Raiders both win, KC stays at No. 5. KC will play the Texans if the wild card round if they beat San Diego and Oakland beats Denver, or if they lose to San Diego and Miami loses to New England.
6.Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins, despite losing quarterback Ryan Tannehill to a season-ending knee injury, will snap their eight-year playoff drought no matter what happens against New England in Week 17. But there is a scenario in which they move up to the No. 5 seed. They can’t go any higher since New England already wrapped up the AFC East title, but if they beat New England and the Chargers beat the Chiefs the top wild card berth belongs to them.
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