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AFC Playoff Picture - Broncos vs. Patriots edition

Heading into this week's matchup with the New England Patriots, where do the Broncos stand in the AFC?

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

AFC Standings

Team

Seed

Rec

%

Div

AFC

AFC W

AFC L

Next

DEN

1

6-1

.857

2-0

4-0

IND, KC, SD, NYJ

N/A

@NE

NE

2

6-2

.750

2-1

4-2

OAK, CIN, BUF, NYJ

MIA, KC

DEN

CIN

3

4-2-1

.643

2-0

3-2

BAL 2x, TEN

NE, IND

JAX

IND

4

5-3

.625

3-0

5-2

JAX, TEN, BAL, HOU, CIN

DEN, PIT

@NYG

SD

5

5-3

.625

1-2

4-2

BUF, JAX, NYJ, OAK

KC, DEN

@MIA

BAL

6

5-3

.625

2-2

2-3

PIT, CLE

CIN 2x, IND

@PIT

PIT

7

5-3

.625

1-2

4-2

CLE, JAX, HOU, IND

BAL, CLE

BAL

BUF

8

5-3

.625

2-1

2-3

MIA, NYJ

SD, HOU, NE

BYE

*Baltimore is ahead of Pittsburgh by way of head to head tiebreaking procedures

*San Diego is ahead of Buffalo by way of head to head tiebreaking procedures

Logjam in the AFC

Seeds 1-8 are separated by a mere 1.5 games in the standings. The Bengals are hanging onto the North via their tie which has given them a higher winning percentage than the two other rivals with 5 victories.

If the season ended today

Denver and New England would have the week off as 1 and 2 seeds respectively. Cincinnati would host Baltimore, and Indianapolis would host San Diego.

With a Win the Broncos....

take a 1.5 game lead on New England for the #1 seed with the head to head tiebreaker. They would also be two games ahead in  the division with wins against four contending AFC teams.

With a Win the Patriots....

Take sole possession of the #1 seed with the head to head tiebreaker.

Game of the Week

Once again, your Broncos will be playing in the game of the week against a bitter rival and perennial AFC contender in the New England Patriots.

A close 2nd is Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh with the winner likely to take over the final wild-card spot in the AFC. A win coupled with a Bengals loss would mean the victor catapults all the way up to the #3 seed.

This game against New England will mark the end of the most difficult stretch in the Broncos schedule. What remains after New England are four divisional games, the Rams, Bengals, Bills, and Dolphins.