The Cincinnati Bengals had a shot at taking over the No. 2 seed in the AFC and a first-round bye in the playoffs. An embarrassing loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football keeps them stuck in the third seed, though.
NFL playoff picture: Bengals miss a chance to move up in AFC Standings
Sunday night was an opportunity lost for the Cincinnati Bengals.
NFL Week 15
Highlights from Sunday - Tom Brady blows up at podium
- Tony Gonzalez tops 15,000 yards
- Eli Manning’s nightmare season
- Vernon Davis runs into a wall
Both the Bengals and the New England Patriots squandered opportunities to move up in the standings. Instead, the AFC playoff picture hasn't changed a whole lot.
Here’s the rest of the playoff picture after Sunday.
(X) - clinched playoff berth (Y) - clinched division
AFC playoff standings
No. 1 - (X) Denver 11-3
No. 2 - New England 10-4
No. 3 - Cincinnati 9-5
No. 4 - (Y) Indianapolis 9-5
No. 5 - (X) Kansas City 11-3
No. 6 - Miami 8-6
In the hunt: Baltimore (7-6), San Diego (7-7), New York Jets (6-8), Pittsburgh (6-8)
The Chiefs clinched one of the AFC Wild Card spots by beating the Oakland Raiders. Denver still controls the AFC West, though. Meanwhile, the final AFC Wild Card spot remains up for grabs. The Dolphins took over with a win on Sunday, but the Ravens would reclaim the No. 6 seed with a win over the Lions on Monday Night Football.
NFC playoff standings
No. 1 - (X) Seattle 12-2
No. 2 - New Orleans 10-4
No. 3 - Philadelphia 8-6
No. 4 - Chicago 8-6
No. 5 - Carolina 10-4
No. 6 - San Francisco 10-4
In the hunt: Arizona (9-5), Detroit (7-6), Dallas (7-7), Green Bay (7-6-1)
The NFC North and East division races are still largely up in the air. The Detroit Lions will play on Monday night and have a chance to stay ahead of the Chicago Bears. Meanwhile, the Cowboys have the tiebreaker over the Eagles but are still a game behind them after a tough loss on Sunday.
More from SB Nation NFL
See More:
