The Chargers’ win over the Dolphins on Sunday Night Football made a big shift in the AFC wild card race.
With the win, the Chargers have moved into the seventh and last playoff position in the AFC. And with the loss, the Dolphins now have a greater chance of missing the playoffs altogether than they do of catching the Bills in the AFC East.
Here’s how the AFC playoff race looks after Sunday night’s games:
CURRENTLY IN
1. Bills (10-3) Buffalo has the head-to-head tiebreaker over Kansas City.
2. Chiefs (10-3) One win away from clinching the AFC West.
3. Ravens (9-4) Baltimore still leads the AFC North thanks to the head-to-head tiebreaker over Cincinnati.
4. Titans (7-6) Not playing good football right now, but probably going to win the AFC South.
5. Bengals (9-4) Locked in a tight race with the Ravens down the stretch.
6. Dolphins (8-5) Sunday night’s loss to the Chargers will hurt.
7. Chargers (7-6) They own the tiebreaker over the Jets because they have a better record in AFC games.
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
8. Jets (7-6) This week’s game against the Lions is big for both conference’s wild card races.
9. Patriots (6-6) Have to beat the Cardinals tonight if they want to be legitimate playoff contenders.
10. Jaguars (5-8) They own the tiebreakers over the Browns, Raiders and Steelers based on the best AFC record.
11. Raiders (5-8) Have a better AFC record than the Browns and Steelers.
12. Browns (5-8) Have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Steelers.
13. Steelers (5-8) Mike Tomlin needs to win out to avoid the first losing record of his career.
14. Colts (4-8-1) They’re not totally out of the AFC South, but they’d need the Titans to collapse.
NO CHANCE OF GETTING IN
15. Broncos (3-10) Mathematically eliminated.
16. Texans (1-11-1) Mathematically eliminated.