With a big win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football, the Denver Broncos are in the driver's seat for the AFC West division crown. The rest of the playoff picture, including the race for the top seed in the AFC, is still up in the air as Week 13 winds down.
NFL standings and playoff picture 2014: Denver’s big win tightens AFC race
Pittsburgh and Cincinnati will meet next week in a game that could determine the AFC North while a strange Week 13 ends with a Dolphins-Jets Monday Night Football matchup.
The Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers are battling in the NFC North and both teams notched big wins this week -- the Packers over the New England Patriots, the Lions over the Chicago Bears. The Packers and Lions will meet head-to-head in Week 17 in a game that could be for the division.
The Indianapolis Colts maintained their lead in the AFC South over the Houston Texans with a huge win on the road in Washington, though the Texans kept pace with a win over the Tennessee Titans to stay on the edge of playoff contention.
The AFC North's lone win on Sunday went to the Cincinnati Bengals -- the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns all lost. The Bengals have yet to play the Steelers -- they'll meet next week in a big game that could decide the fate of the division.
AFC West
The Broncos remain on top of the AFC West, but both the Chiefs and San Diego Chargers are still in the mix. Denver recorded a huge win Sunday night in Kansas City, but the Broncos still have games against the Chargers and the AFC North-leading Bengals ahead of them. The Chiefs have games remaining against the Arizona Cardinals, Steelers and Chargers, but could still contend for a division title if Denver gets tripped up. And the Chargers, thanks to a come-from-behind win over Baltimore, are finally winning again and could make a big push in December. Behind them, the Oakland Raiders are ... the Oakland Raiders.
AFC East
The Miami Dolphins will play the New York Jets on Monday night, but both of those teams and the Buffalo Bills are chasing the division-leading Patriots. The Patriots lost in Green Bay Sunday, but they'll finish the season with four winnable games against the Chargers, Dolphins, Jets and Bills. The Bills will have a harder road, heading to Denver next week before games against the Packers, Raiders and Patriots. Buffalo is 7-5 and in the mix for the division or a wild card spot if it can keep winning.
AFC South
The Texans did a lot for themselves getting back to .500 on the season Sunday. They dominated the Titans in the early slate of games, dropping Tennessee to 2-10 on the season. It’s still a two-team race in the AFC South, but the Colts have a healthy lead, which they maintained with a comfortable win over Washington. They’re now 8-4 and in firm control of the AFC South, two games ahead of Houston.
AFC North
Sunday was not the AFC North's best day with the Ravens, Steelers and Browns all losing. The Bengals were only able to hold onto a win via a 12-men on the field penalty against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Ravens lost in the final minutes in Baltimore to the Chargers, the Steelers lost at home to the New Orleans Saints and the Browns (with backup quarterback Johnny Manziel) lost to the Bills. All three dropped to 7-5 on the season, behind the Bengals who improved to 8-3-1.
NFC West
The Cardinals have the lead over the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers and St. Louis Rams, but could have a tough road ahead after a big loss in Atlanta. The Cardinals still have to play the Chiefs and they'll play every other team in the NFC West one more time in December. The Seahawks will play the Philadelphia Eagles next week before big games against San Francisco, Arizona and St. Louis. Seattle is one game back at 8-4 while San Francisco has a lot of ground to make up at 7-5.
NFC East
The Eagles have the matchup lead over the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East, with Philadelphia winning big over Dallas on Thanksgiving. They'll play again Dec. 14, in a game that will likely determine the division winner. The New York Giants and Washington continue to be terrible.
NFC South
The NFL's worst division had two of the most surprising wins of the week with the 5-7 Saints beating the Steelers in Pittsburgh and the 5-7 Atlanta Falcons upsetting the Cardinals. The Falcons have the division lead over the Saints, Carolina Panthers and Buccaneers, but the Saints won't face a team with a winning record for the rest of the season.
NFC North
The Packers and Lions are battling for the division lead, and they'll play again Dec. 28 in a likely division-title deciding matchup. The Packers got a big win Sunday against the Patriots, and will end the season with games against the Falcons, Bills and Buccaneers before taking on the Lions. Behind them, the Bears and Minnesota Vikings are battling to stay relevant.
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