Nov 29 2004
AFC Playoff Picture
Here’s how it looks in the AFC right now:
1. Pittsburgh (10-1)
2. New England (10-1)
3. San Diego (8-3)
4. Indianapolis (8-3)
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5. New York Jets (8-3)
6. Baltimore (7-4)
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7. Denver (7-4)
8. Jacksonville (6-5)
Pittsburgh currently has home-field advantage, thanks to their Week 8 victory over New England. San Diego is ahead of Indianapolis by virtue of better conference record. The same tie-breaker applies to the last Wild Card spot, and the Ravens lead the Broncos by a half-game at the moment.
Key AFC matchups to watch in Week 13:
1.) Denver at San Diego. (Sun, 4:05, CBS)
Make no mistake — this is the game of the week. This game will have a dramatic impact on seeds 3 through 6 in the AFC playoff race. The Broncos put themselves in a terrible position, too, after getting upset by the lowly Raiders at home last Sunday and falling a game behind the surging Chargers. In order to stay alive for a division title, Denver must win in San Diego. That will give them the automatic tiebreaker over the Chargers, which Denver may need to earn a playoff berth. If San Diego wins, however, they will likely run away with the division and give the Jets and Ravens a big boost in the Wild Card race.
2.) Cincinnati at Baltimore. (Sun, 1:00, CBS)
The Ravens now trail the Steelers by three games, so their best hope for the playoffs is a Wild Card spot. A loss to the Bengals and a Denver win over San Diego, however, would nudge the Ravens out of playoff position. Cincinnati is pretty hot right now, too — 3-1 in their last four games, their only loss being a close one against the Steelers. Brian Billick better hope Kyle Boller finds his game soon.
3.) Pittsburgh at Jacksonville. (Sun, 8:30, ESPN)
Pittsburgh needs to win to maintain home field advantage. Jacksonville needs to win to have any hope at all of being a playoff team this year.
4.) Houston at N.Y. Jets. (Sun, 1:00, CBS)
While the Texans aren’t quite a playoff team yet, they are clearly ready to play spoiler for another team that is. The Jets will be tested by this game, but if they pass, a Wild Card berth is all but assured. Keep an eye on who starts at QB for New York, though.
5.) Tennessee at Indianapolis. (Sun, 1:00, CBS)
The Colts have a two-game lead over a team that has to play arguably the best team in the NFL next Sunday night. Not bad. On the other hand, the Colts are the #4 seed in the playoff race right now, and that’s not ideal, so they need to keep winning to keep pace with San Diego.
Tomorrow, we’ll look at the NFC playoff picture, which is about as muddy as the field in Foxboro was yesterday. Plus, tonight’s Rams at Packers game will have some impact on that playoff race, too, so there’s not much sense in examining that picture until that game is played.
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