ENTERING WEEK 15: (Everything barring ties as usual)
x- 1. Pittsburgh 11-2 -
2. New England 10-3
3. Jacksonville 9-4
4. Kansas City 7-6 (Leads H2H tiebreaker with Los Angeles for AFC West lead)
5. Tennessee 8-5
6. Buffalo 7-6 (Leads strength of victory tiebreaker with Baltimore)
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7. Baltimore 7-6 (Wins conference record tiebreaker with Los Angeles)
8. Los Angeles 7-6
9. Oakland 6-7 (Wins H2H tiebreaker with Miami)
10. Miami 6-7
11. New York Jets 5-8 (Leads conference record tiebreaker with Cincinnati)
12. Cincinnati 5-8
Teams already eliminated: Cleveland, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis
Controls own destiny for #1 seed: Pittsburgh, New England
- The loser of the NE/PIT game will lose control of their own destiny for the #1 seed.
Clinching Scenarios:
- Pittsburgh clinches the #1 seed with a win and a JAX loss.
Teams eliminated from #1 seed contention: NY Jets, Miami, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Buffalo, Oakland, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Tennessee (*eliminated by a SOV scenario last week)
- Jacksonville is eliminated from #1 seed contention with a loss and a PIT win
Controls own destiny for 1st round bye: Pittsburgh, New England
- New England loses control of their own destiny for a first round bye with a loss and a JAX win
- Jacksonville gains control of their own destiny for a first round bye with a win and NE loss
Clinching Scenarios:
- Pittsburgh clinches at least a first round bye with a win.
Teams eliminated from 1st round bye contention: New York Jets, Miami, Cincinnati, Oakland, Baltimore
- Los Angeles will be eliminated from 1st round bye contention with a loss, BUF loss, JAX win, TEN win, or NE win
- Buffalo will be eliminated from 1st round bye contention with a loss.
- Kansas City will be eliminated from 1st round bye contention with a loss or NE win
- Tennessee will be eliminated from 1st round bye contention with a NE win
Has clinched division: Pittsburgh
- New England clinches AFC East with a win or a BUF loss
Controls own destiny for division: New England, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Kansas City, Los Angeles
- Tennessee can lose control of their own destiny for the AFC South with a loss and a JAX win.
- The loser of KC/LAC will no longer control their own destiny for the AFC West.
Has been eliminated from divisional contention: Miami, New York, Cincinnati, Baltimore
- Buffalo is eliminated from divisional contention with a loss or a NE win.
- Oakland is eliminated from divisional contention with a loss and a KC win.
Has clinched a wild card spot: None
Controls own destiny for a wild card: New England, Jacksonville, Tennessee
- Tennessee loses control of their own destiny for at least a wild card with a loss, BUF win, JAX win, and BAL win.
- Baltimore gains control of their own destiny for a wild card with a win combined with either a JAX or BUF loss.
- Buffalo gains control of their own destiny for a wild card with a win combined with either a TEN or BAL loss.
- Kansas City and Los Angeles control their own destiny for the playoffs solely through their division, both lose control with a loss.
Clinching Scenarios:
- Jacksonville clinches a wild card spot with a win or a BAL loss
Elimination Scenarios
- Cincinnati is eliminated with a loss OR a LAC win, OAK win, and either (1)BAL win or (2)DET loss + NYJ win.
- New York is eliminated with a loss
- Oakland is eliminated with a loss, BAL win, KC win and a CIN loss