National Football League playoff scenarios: Steelers’ shocking loss has all eyes on AFC

Heading into Kansas City to take on a lowly 1-5 team bereft of its start running back, Pittsburgh was knocked off then, and the Chiefs have not lost since.

The Broncos have stumbled to two straight losses and must beat Cincinnati (11-3) Monday night to stay on top of the AFC West.

With a Chiefs win and a Steelers loss, the Chiefs can clinch a playoff spot. If the Steelers lose one of their next two, the Bengals will win the AFC North and the #3 seed regardless of what happens over the next two weeks.

Wild cards: Kansas City has clinched a playoff spot.

The Chiefs can also clinch the AFC West title but not this week.

Jets (10-5) – New York, with its win over New England and Pittsburgh’s loss to Baltimore, controls its own playoff destiny and, as of now, is in the tournament.

The Texans (8-7) will clinch the AFC South as long as the Bengals win the game tonight.

No. 2 seed: The Broncos would get this seed – which includes a first-round playoff bye and second-round game at home – by winning their final two games and a New England win at Miami. The Broncos with the No. 3 seed would host a first-round playoff game against the No. 6-seeded wild card team, which would be either the Jets or Steelers.

In the first slate on nine games, the AFC South race could come to an end, as well. The Panthers dropped to 14-1, putting the No. 1 seed ar risk, while the Falcons improved to 8-7, possibly putting the team in a position to steal an NFC wild card spot. Due to a strength of victory tiebreaker in the division, the Texans would take the AFC South and a playoff berth with a Bengals win Monday. If the Bengals lose their final two games, and with a Week 17 game against the Ravens it is highly unlikely, the Steelers could still claim the division crown if they win out. There’s a chance that the Packers wouldn’t slip to the sixth seed if they lost to the Vikings next week because they hold the tie-breaker over the Seahawks thanks to winning earlier this season against Seattle.

No. 6 seed: The Broncos can wind up here if they split their remaining two games, Kansas City defeats Oakland and the Jets defeat Buffalo.

New York Jets: At 9-5, the Jets need to win out, but that alone isn’t going to be enough. And looking back to just a short time ago, it’s somewhat remarkable to see just how much things have changed in a relatively short period of time, at one point seeming as though the Steelers would be able to skate into the postseason. The Jets are in with a win. For the Vikings to lose their playoff spot, they need to lose out, for the Falcons to win out, the 49ers to beat the Lions and the Bucs to beat the Bears in week 16.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are now the sixth seed in the AFC.