The six teams in playoff position in the AFC didn’t change in Week 13, but there’s a new team at the top.
The Patriots lost to the Texans on Sunday night, which pushes the Ravens into the No. 1 position with four games left to play in the regular season. Baltimore beat New England earlier this year, so the Patriots will need the Ravens to lose in order to have any hope of being the top seed in the conference.
Given the way the Ravens have been playing, that may not be a likely outcome. Here’s a look at how the entire playoff picture looks in the AFC:
LEADERS
1. Ravens (10-2) Eight straight wins and no sign of slowing down after beating the 49ers on Sunday.
2. Patriots (10-2) Some may wonder if the Patriots’ offense is a fatal flaw, but any final conclusions will wait until January.
3. Texans (8-4) A big win on Sunday night keeps the Texans on top of the AFC South.
4. Chiefs (8-4) A division title isn’t assured, but it isn’t in much doubt either.
5. Bills (9-3) They just keep winning, which makes this week’s date with the Ravens an interesting one.
6. Steelers (7-5) Mike Tomlin’s coach of the year case looks pretty good right now.
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
7. Titans (7-5) They can all but eliminate the Raiders this week, but they may need help from others to make it to the postseason if they don’t sweep the Texans.
8. Raiders (6-6) They’ve been beaten by a combined score of 74-12 over the last two weeks, but they remain very much alive heading into Week 14.
9. Colts (6-6) Sunday’s loss to the Titans was a severe blow.
10. Browns (5-7) Freddie Kitchens may not have company when it comes to believing Pittsburgh started it, but everyone knows Pittsburgh ended the Browns’ playoff hopes on Sunday.
11. Jaguars (4-8) Nick Foles got benched and now we wait to see who gets fired in Jacksonville.
12. Broncos (4-8) Drew Lock’s debut was a winner and the next four weeks will be about assessing the rookie’s fitness.
13. Chargers (4-8) We may be watching the clock run out on Philip Rivers’s time with the Chargers.
14. Jets (4-8) A three-game winning streak feels like a distant memory after losing to the Bengals.
ELIMINATED
15. Dolphins (3-9) The Dolphins aren’t very good, but they keep fighting.
16. Bengals (1-11) Zac Taylor got his first NFL win, which is reason to celebrate unless you’re locked in on the first overall drat pick.