Week 5 of the 2020 NFL season is finally in the books after the schedule was stretched out to Tuesday night to accommodate the Tennessee Titans’ coronavirus outbreak. With most teams now at least a quarter of the way through their regular-season schedule, something approaching a true picture of the NFL’s playoff seeding is beginning to emerge.
Though there are still 12 more weeks of regular-season games scheduled, the AFC playoff picture is getting a little clearer. The good teams are beginning to rise to the top of the conference while the bad teams are creating lists of candidates for their vacant coaching and general manager positions. The Baltimore Ravens are right in the thick of the mix and if the season were to end today, they’d hold the No. 5 seed.
AFC playoff picture — Week 6
| Seed | Team | Record |
| 1 | Tennessee Titans | 4-0 |
| 2 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 4-0 |
| 3 | Kansas City Chiefs | 4-1 |
| 4 | Buffalo Bills | 4-1 |
| 5 | Baltimore Ravens | 4-1 |
| 6 | Cleveland Browns | 4-1 |
| 7 | Las Vegas Raiders | 3-2 |
The fact three AFC North teams are currently slated to be in the playoffs right now speaks to the quality of the division and Baltimore’s most frequent opponents.
Under the new playoff format, introduced this season, only the top-seeded team in each conference will receive a bye. So at present, the Tennessee Titans would get the extra rest while the other six teams faced off on Wild Card Weekend.
Under the current standings, the fifth-seed Ravens would go on the road in the first round of the playoffs to take on Josh Allen and the fourth-seed Buffalo Bills. While Baltimore has more playoff pedigree than Buffalo in their recent histories, both teams would be seeking a first career playoff victory for their starting quarterbacks. Allen lost his first postseason game last January, while Lamar Jackson has started 0-2 in the playoffs since 2018.
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