The Cincinnati Bengals kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a wild 37-27 win over the Tennessee Titans, a game full of turnovers and penalties. However, they also watched as the Denver Broncos took care of the Indianapolis Colts 31-13, in part due to the blunder by Colts running back Jonathan Taylor. Denver losing was perhaps the Bengals’ best hope Sunday as a loss would have put Denver at 8-6 with the teams set to meet in two weeks.
That puts the Broncos at 9-5 and all but into the playoffs. Same goes for the Baltimore Ravens, 35-14 winners over the New York Giants. That means two of the three AFC Wild Cards are 9-5. The Bengals did get help from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tampa simply throttled the Los Angeles Chargers 40-17, dropping the Bolts to 8-6 and sitting in the final playoff spot.
Simply put, the Bengals, who can be as high as the No. 6 seed, need the Chargers to Charger over the final three weeks. The problem is that, while the Chargers do face the Broncos on Thursday, their last two games are against the 3-11 New England Patriots and the 2-11 Las Vegas Raiders. Bottom line, the Bengals need a miracle over the last three weeks if they want to sneak into the playoffs. That Sunday night loss in L.A. is really biting the Bengals now. Had they won that game, both teams would currently be 7-7 and the Bengals would have the tiebreaker.
It is entirely possible that all seven playoff berths can be clinched in Week 16. Four are already secured. The Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans have all clinched their respective divisions and the Pittsburgh Steelers have also clinched a playoff spot. The Steelers can clinch the AFC North with a win in Baltimore Saturday.
The Ravens, Broncos and Chargers all can secure playoff spots this week thanks to being two or three games ahead of the trio of 6-8 teams (Bengals, Dolphins, Colts).
AFC playoff standings
1. y-Kansas City Chiefs 13-1
2. y-Buffalo Bills 11-3
3. x-Pittsburgh Steelers 10-4
4. y-Houston Texans 9-5
5. Baltimore Ravens 9-5
6. Denver Broncos 9-5
7. Los Angeles Chargers 8-6
8. Indianapolis Colts 6-8
9. Miami Dolphins 6-8
10. Cincinnati Bengals 6-8
(y-clinched division, x-clinched playoff spot)
The Bengals are at the bottom of the trio thanks to their 3-6 conference record while the Colts and Dolphins are both 5-5. Indianapolis then has head-to-head over Miami.
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