With only one weekend of regular season action left, only a few things are certain in the AFC.
The Baltimore Ravens will have next week off as the No. 1 seed in the conference. The Kansas City Chiefs will finish as the No. 3 seed and host whichever team finishes in sixth. And the Cleveland Browns will be the No. 5 seed and travel to face the winner of the AFC South.
The other four spots are still in flux.
Some questions were answered Saturday when there were two games between AFC playoff contenders. On Sunday, there are now only two games that will have an impact on the conference’s playoff bracket.
With Week 18 underway, here’s how every result could shake things up in the AFC:
Steelers 17, Ravens 10
Pittsburgh’s win means the Jaguars will not make the playoffs if they lose to the Titans. It also means the only path to the playoffs for the Bills is a win or a Jaguars loss. For the Steelers, it means they’ll be rooting for the Jaguars or Bills to lose and make room in the wild card race.
Texans 23, Colts 19
The Texans secured their spot in the postseason and eliminated the Colts with their dramatic win. Houston will become the AFC South champion if the Jaguars lose and own one of the wild card berths if Jacksonville handles business.
Jaguars vs. Titans, 1 p.m. ET, Sunday
If the Jaguars win:
Jacksonville would be back-to-back AFC South champions and host the Cleveland Browns in the wild card round. The Texans would then own the No. 6 or No. 7 seed, depending on the Bills’ performance against the Dolphins.
If the Titans win:
The Texans would be crowned the AFC South champion and secure the No. 4 seed. Jacksonville would be eliminated, and both the Steelers and Bills would clinch spots.
Broncos vs. Raiders, 4:25 p.m. ET, Sunday
Despite both teams being eliminated from the playoffs, this game could have had implications if the Ravens beat the Steelers on Saturday. Now it’s officially meaningless.
Bills vs. Dolphins, 8:20 p.m. ET, Sunday
If the Bills win:
The Bills would vault all the way to the No. 2 seed, a pretty wild turn of events for a team that started December with a 6-6 record. The Dolphins would head to Kansas City as the No. 6 seed and it’d be either the Texans or Steelers traveling to Buffalo as the No. 7 seed, depending on the Jaguars’ result.
If the Dolphins win:
Miami would defend its spot as the No. 2 seed and potentially knock the Bills all the way out of the playoffs. The Steelers would get in and, if the Jaguars beat the Titans, Buffalo would be left out.
