The level of parity in three of the four AFC divisions has created an intriguing dynamic heading in to the final few weeks of the regular season. There’s about 12 teams still in the hunt for the six playoff spots.
The New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, and Denver Broncos are the favorites to secure their respective divisions while a half-game separates first from last in the AFC North division. The twists and turns we have seen in the AFC so far make it a little more difficult to predict how the rest of the year will play out but two teams in particular stand out as the most likely to secure the AFC Wild Card spots in the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins.
Why The Chiefs Will Make The Playoffs
The Chiefs are technically tied with the Denver Broncos for top spot in the AFC West right now and that will make their looming showdown two weeks from now that much more important.
However, the Broncos are still the favorite to win the division, leaving Kansas City to compete for a Wild Card spot. A schedule that includes two games against Oakland as well as a home date with San Diego in the final week of the season seems favorable enough for the Chiefs to get in.
Securing three wins from those games will leave them needing only one victory out of games against Denver, Arizona, and Pittsburgh to reach 11 wins and if they hit that mark, they should be a lock to make it.
Why The Dolphins Will Make The Playoffs
Miami is another team that seems poised to make it in the AFC thanks to a favorable schedule the rest of the way. The Dolphins still have two games against the lowly New York Jets as well as a home game against Minnesota in Week 16.
They should be able to secure three wins in those games. That will leave Miami likely needing one more win to get in and while they probably won’t win in Denver this weekend, they have already proven they can beat New England. Nine wins might be enough for the Dolphins to get in but 10 should make them a lock seeing as how they already hold the tiebreaker over the Chargers.
AFC North Teams Are Hurting Each Other
The logjam at the top of the AFC North makes things somewhat complicated as all four teams are separated by less than one game. However, Cincinnati will have to play four of its final six games on the road and they still have to play Denver as well as Pittsburgh twice.
The Steelers still have to play New Orleans and Kansas City at home as well as Atlanta on the road outside of their division schedule while Cleveland plays Atlanta, Buffalo, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati before back-to-back road games at Carolina and Baltimore to end the year. A favorable schedule for the Ravens, which includes home games against San Diego and Cleveland, should make them the favorite to win the AFC North.
The bottom line is these AFC North teams are the chief contenders for the wild card spots but the problem is that they’ll be boxing it out amongst themselves. That’s going to hamper them down the stretch as Miami and Kansas City have easier paths to the playoffs.
