There’s one regular season game left for all of the AFC’s teams and we still don’t know which six will continue playing beyond next Sunday.
The Wild Card spots will be doled out based on the results of games involving the Ravens, Titans, Bills and Chargers, which will make for plenty of intrigue when the 4:25 p.m. ET games kick off in Week 17. The other big question left unsettled after Christmas weekend is who will be the top seed in the conference.
Monday’s easy Steelers win means that they can still wind up in the No. 1 spot, although the Patriots can end those hopes with a win at Gillette Stadium.
LEADERS
1. Patriots (12-3): Beat the Jets and they won’t leave New England unless they’re going to the Super Bowl.
2. Steelers (12-3): Monday’s win clinched a first-round bye and more time for wide receiver Antonio Brown to recover.
3. Jaguars (10-5): Pittsburgh’s win ended any hopes of a bye in Jacksonville.
4. Chiefs (9-6): They are locked into the No. 4 seed, which has some wondering if Patrick Mahomes might play.
5. Ravens (9-6): There are other paths to the playoffs, but the easiest is beating the Bengals.
6. Titans (8-7): A three-game losing streak hasn’t knocked them out of playoff contention, but a fourth would likely finish the job.
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
7. Chargers (8-7): Beating the Raiders is the first part of their path to the playoffs, the Titans losing is the second part and either a Ravens win or a Bills loss would extend the Chargers season.
8. Bills (8-7): They can get in with a win and losses by the teams in front of them because they lose all tiebreakers, including a head-to-head with the Chargers thanks to their regular season loss fueled by five Nathan Peterman interceptions.