I’m going to copy-and-paste an article from last week because almost everything went the Patriots way for the second straight week.
Last week, the Dolphins, Jets, Broncos, Ravens, and Texans all lost, while the Raiders claimed the #1 seed in the AFC West from Denver. The only game that didn’t go the Patriots way was the Bills victory over the NFC West Rams squad.
This week, the Jets, Broncos, Raiders, Ravens, and Steelers all lost and the only game that didn’t go the Patriots way was the Bills victory over the NFC West 49ers squad.
The (5-1) Patriots are alone atop the AFC with five teams bunched at 4-2- and the Chiefs are 3-2. These are the actual playoff standings:
1. (5-1) Patriots
2. (4-2) Texans - holds tiebreaker against 4-2 division winners due to common games
3. (4-2) Steelers - beats Raiders due to common games
4. (4-2) Raiders - beats Broncos due to divisional record
5. (4-2) Broncos - beats Bills due to conference record
6. (4-2) Bills
Mentions: (3-2) Chiefs, (3-3) Ravens, (3-3) Titans.
The Chiefs have a 50% chance of making the playoffs, while the Ravens and Titans have less than 40% odds; no other team has more than a 25% chance. It would be a surprise if the AFC picture was different from the current rankings in any major way.
Next week offers another chance for the Patriots to separate themselves from the pack.
The 1st seed Patriots take on the 3rd seed Steelers, while the 2nd seed Texans face the 5th seed Broncos on Monday Night Football for the Revenge of Brock Osweiler. The 4th seed Raiders get the (2-3) Jaguars and the 6th seed Bills get the (2-4) Dolphins.
The (1-5) Jets are pretty much out of contention, as are the (2-4) Colts after both suffered humiliating prime time losses.