There’s one week left on the NFL regular-season schedule, two spots up for grabs in the AFC playoff picture and four teams in the fight. Clearly, this one’s going down to the wire.
There’s still time for the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers to swap spots as they each look to gain home-field advantage while the Jacksonville Jaguars and Kansas City Chiefs are locked into the No. 3 and No 4 spots, respectively.
That leaves the Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans, Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers battling for those final two berths. Here’s what each team needs to make it happen.
If the season ended today…
Wild Card Round
No. 6 Tennessee Titans (8-7) at No. 3 Jacksonville Jaguars [y] (10-5)
No. 5 Baltimore Ravens (9-6) at No. 4 Kansas City Chiefs [y] (9-6)
Divisional Round
Lowest-seeded wild-card winner at No. 1 New England Patriots [yz] (12-3)
Highest-seeded wild-card winner at No. 2 Pittsburgh Steelers [yz] (12-3)
[x] Clinched playoff berth
[y] Clinched division title
[z] Clinched first-round bye
[*] Clinched home-field advantage through playoffs
AFC teams still in the hunt
Los Angeles Chargers (8-7)
Buffalo Bills (8-7)
Clinching scenarios
Graphic via NFL Research
Game of the Week
Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins, Sunday 4:25 p.m. ET
The Bills can earn their first playoff berth since 1999 with a win over Miami AND a Ravens loss. They can also clinch with a win AND a loss for both the Chargers and Titans.
Spoiler Alert
Oakland Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday 4:25 p.m. ET
The Chargers still have a slim shot at the playoffs, and they need a few other stars to align to get in—and the Titans must lose in all scenarios. But Oakland can cut out all the guessing if they can exact revenge on their division opponent.
Other games to watch
New York Jets at New England Patriots, Sunday 1 p.m. ET
The Patriots have secured everything but home-field advantage. They’ll get it with a (probable) win over the Jets.
Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday 1 p.m. ET
The Steelers will claim home-field advantage to go with their first-round bye if they defeat the winless Browns AND the Patriots lose to the Jets. It’s unclear, however, which version of the Steelers we’ll be seeing this Sunday as we await word about whether they’ll opt to rest starters.
Kansas City at Denver Broncos, Sunday 4:25 p.m. ET
The Chiefs are locked in at the No. 4 seed, so only those curious about Patrick Mahomes should watch this one.
Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans, Sunday 4:25 p.m. ET
The Jaguars are locked into the No. 3 seed no matter what happens this weekend, but they can still alter the playoff picture for Tennessee. Despite three straight losses down the final stretch, the Titans still sit inside the playoff picture. They can make it official with a win at home against Jacksonville OR with a loss for both the Bills (at Dolphins) and Chargers (vs. Raiders).
Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens, Sunday 4:25 p.m. ET
The Ravens can clinch a playoff spot with a win over the Bengals, but they’ve still got a shot if they don’t. Baltimore can also claim a wild-card spot if just one of the Bills (at Dolphins) or Titans (vs. Jaguars) loses on Sunday.
[relatedlinks]
