The Kansas City Chiefs’ 35-12 win over the New York Jets on Sunday only helped the team keep pace with the rest of the AFC playoff contenders leading into a big spot for the conference-leading Buffalo Bills on “Monday Night Football” against the Minnesota Vikings.
The Jacksonville Jaguars started the week off with a 33-10 blowout of the Baltimore Ravens on “Thursday Night Football.” Then, the Cincinnati Bengals put on a show in Madrid, Spain, with a 34-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons.
The Denver Broncos
also continued riding fourth-quarter dark magic in a 26-21 road win against the Carolina Panthers, maintaining the lead in the AFC West going into a Week 10 bye.
The biggest result that went Kansas City’s way was the New England Patriots’ 45-27 loss to the Green Bay Packers. That, and the Cleveland Browns’ overtime loss to the New Orleans Saints. A clear divide now exists between the Top 6 teams in the conference (all with two or fewer losses) and the rest.
AFC playoff standings after Sunday of Week 9
1. Buffalo Bills (6-1) – Monday Night Football
2. Denver Broncos (7-2)
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2, 5-2)
4. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2, win over CIN, 3-2 AFC)
5. Kansas City Chiefs (6-2, 6-1 AFC)
6. Cincinnati Bengals (6-2, loss to PIT, 4-2 AFC)
7. New England Patriots (5-4, 5-1 AFC)
8. Cleveland Browns (5-4, 3-3 AFC)
9. Las Vegas Raiders (4-5, 3-3 AFC)
10. Baltimore Ravens (4-5, 2-4 AFC)
11. Houston Texans (3-5)
12. New York Jets (2-7, 2-4 AFC)
13. Indianapolis Colts (2-7, 1-5 AFC)
14. Miami Dolphins (1-7, 1-4 AFC)
15. Tennessee Titans (1-7, 1-5 AFC)
16. Los Angeles Chargers (0-8)
Explaining the 6-2 logjam in the AFC playoff standings
The Steelers and Bengals are both 6-2, so they first have to settle the AFC North leader. Pittsburgh’s win over the Bengals slots the Steelers into fourth place.
In the Wild card, the Chiefs and Bengals are tied. The Chiefs have the best AFC record at 6-1, so they fill in at fifth. The Bengals are sixth.
