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1. Kansas City Chiefs (15-1)
3. Baltimore Ravens (11-5)
5. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6)
6. Los Angeles Chargers (10-6)
9. Cincinnati Bengals (8-8)
10. Indianapolis Colts (7-9)
12. Las Vegas Raiders (4-12)
13. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-12)
14. Cleveland Browns (3-13)
15. Tennessee Titans (3-13)
16. New England Patriots (3-13)
Unlike the NFC, the top seed in the AFC is decided.
The Kansas City Chiefs clinched the first-round bye and home-field advantage with their Christmas Day victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, meaning they will only have to win three postseason games to become the first team in NFL history to win three straight Super Bowls.
Elsewhere, the Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans are locked into the Nos. 2 and 4 seeds, respectively, as AFC East and AFC South champions.
Yet the AFC North is not yet decided even though the Baltimore Ravens are in control and can clinch it with a victory or tie against the Cleveland Browns. If Cleveland pulls off the upset, the Pittsburgh Steelers can win the division with a win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Saturday’s game between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati is also important in the race for the AFC’s final wild-card spot.
The Denver Broncos control their own destiny, but a loss against a Chiefs team that may not play some of its regulars after clinching the No. 1 seed would open the door for the Miami Dolphins and Bengals.
Miami needs to defeat the New York Jets and hope for a Broncos loss, while Cincinnati needs to beat Pittsburgh and hope for losses from both the Broncos and the Dolphins.
It feels like a long shot for Joe Burrow and Co. to get into the playoffs at this point, but the team has won four in a row with the quarterback playing at an MVP level.
A win on Saturday before the Broncos and Dolphins both play on Sunday would at least put the pressure on the other two teams fighting for a wild-card spot and add some drama to the final regular-season weekend of the campaign.
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