The Jacksonville Jaguars’ comfortable lead atop the AFC South doesn’t look so cushy all of a sudden. After a brutal, blowout loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the Jaguars are now 6-3 on the year and there’s a couple teams now in the mix in the division.
Most threatening are the Houston Texans, who beat the Cincinnati Bengals with their second last-minute touchdown drive in as many weeks.
The 30-27 road win against the Bengals pushed the Texans’ record to 5-4, just one game behind the Jaguars. Even more concerning for Jacksonville is the fact that a Week 3 win at EverBank Stadium has the Texans ahead in the division tiebreaker too. A Week 12 matchup in Houston will wrap up the season series and will give the Texans the opportunity to make up another game and wrap up the season sweep.
With only a Monday Night Football game left to be played in Week 10, here’s how the standings and the playoff picture currently look across the AFC:
AFC South
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 6-3
- Houston Texans: 5-4
- Indianapolis Colts: 5-5
- Tennessee Titans: 3-5
The Texans and Colts both made up ground with their wins, while the Jaguars allowed the division to get much tighter with their embarrassing loss.
AFC East
- Miami Dolphins: 6-3
- Buffalo Bills: 5-4
- New York Jets: 4-5
- New England Patriots: 2-8
With the Dolphins on bye, the Bills will try to make up ground on Monday when they meet the Broncos.
AFC North
- Baltimore Ravens: 7-3
- Cleveland Browns: 6-3
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 6-3
- Cincinnati Bengals 5-4
The NFL’s most razor tight division got even closer with the Ravens dropping a thriller against the Browns. The Steelers are inexplicably in the mix after another win, while the Bengals’ costly loss put them in last.
AFC West
- Kansas City Chiefs: 7-2
- Las Vegas Raiders: 5-5
- Los Angeles Chargers: 4-5
- Denver Broncos: 3-5
The Chiefs are on bye, but the Chargers lost more ground in the division by losing to the Lions on a last-second field goal. The Raiders moved into second with a win against the Jets on Sunday night.
If the AFC playoffs started today...
- Kansas City Chiefs: 7-2
- Baltimore Ravens: 7-3
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 6-3
- Miami Dolphins: 6-3
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 6-3
- Cleveland Browns: 6-3
- Houston Texans: 5-4
On the outside looking in:
- Cincinnati Bengals: 5-4
- Buffalo Bills: 5-4
- Indianapolis Colts: 5-5
- Las Vegas Raiders: 5-5
Welcome to the Texans, who are now the last wild card team in the AFC after another win. The division winners are the same, although the Ravens and Jaguars both blew chances to solidify their place.
