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6. Los Angeles Chargers (10-6)
Cincinnati at least made the AFC wild-card race appear interesting on paper going into Week 18.
The Bengals beat the Broncos at home in Week 17 to bring Denver within one game of them and the Dolphins.
However, the Bengals can’t get in solely with a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday.
Denver controls the wild-card race, and all it needs is a win over the Chiefs and their potentially-rested squad on Sunday afternoon.
Miami is first in line to benefit from any Denver shortcomings. The Dolphins must beat the New York Jets and have Denver lose to clinch a playoff spot.
Cincinnati must beat the Steelers and have both Denver and Miami lose to qualify for the postseason.
If all three of the Broncos, Dolphins and Bengals lose, Denver secures the No. 7 seed.
Pittsburgh and the Los Angeles Chargers are still in a battle for the No. 5 seed. The Steelers can secure the No. 5 seed with a win over Cincinnati.
The Steelers own a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Chargers from Week 3 that will play in their favor if they finish on the same record as the AFC West side.
The Chargers need the Bengals to beat the Steelers on Saturday and then must take down the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday to jump a spot in the standings.
The No. 5 seed is valuable to both teams because it comes with a wild-card round matchup with the Houston Texans instead of the Baltimore Ravens.
Baltimore is expected to clinch the AFC North title in Saturday’s first game against the Cleveland Browns.
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