2022 AFC Playoff Picture: Only A Couple of Postseason Spots Yet to be Claimed
Buffalo, Kansas City and Cincinnati Fighting It Out for Top Seed In AFC
Can Jacksonville Play Its Way Into AFC Playoffs?
There is still plenty to be decided in the 2022 AFC Playoff Picture.
Five of the AFC’s seven spots are spoken for as the Kansas City Chiefs have already clinched the AFC West crown, the Buffalo Bills ran away with the AFC East title, Cincinnati and Baltimore are fighting it out in the AFC North with both teams already securing playoff berths.
A win on Monday Night football secured a spot in the postseason for the Los Angeles Chargers while either Jacksonville or Tennessee will win the AFC South.
It is going to be rather interesting to see which teams fill out the AFC playoff picture with Miami at 8-7 and five teams sitting at 7-8. The Las Vegas Raiders are also still alive with a 6-9 record.
Here’s a look at some of the storylines to keep an eye on as the regular NFL season winds down.
Race for Home-Field Advantage
When looking at the 2022 AFC Playoff Picture, just one game separates Buffalo, Kansas City and Cincinnati Bengals as the battle for the No. 1 seed in the AFC and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs is coming right down to the wire.
Buffalo has the inside track based on a NFL Week 6 win over Kansas City. Cincinnati will need some help with the Bengals a game behind both the Bills and Chiefs.
Monday’s game between Buffalo and Cincinnati should clear some things up. Buffalo wraps up the regular season with a home game against New England Patriots.
Kansas City ends the regular season by playing host to a Denver Broncos team that just fired first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett before hitting the road to meet the Las Vegas Raiders.
“Cincinnati owns a win over Kansas City so if the Bengals win out and the Chiefs lose one of their last two games, Cincinnati would earn the No. 1 seed.”
The quarterbacks on those three games are among the top four candidates for the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award.
Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes is the front-runner as he is priced at -500. Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow and Josh Allen of Buffalo come in at +700 and +900 according to the NFL MVP odds.
Heavyweights Vying for AFC North Supremacy
The Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs have taken much of the suspense out of the AFC divisional races by wrapping up another division title with some weeks to spare.
When breaking down the 2022 AFC Playoff Picture, the most compelling of the four AFC Division title races has to be the AFC North.
Cincinnati overcame the loss of star receiver Ja’Marr Chase for multiple weeks and now has the inside track to winning the division title and potentially making a second straight run to the Super Bowl.
The sledding has been a little bumpy with the Baltimore Ravens without quarterback and former NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson. The good news is that even if Baltimore doesn’t win the division, the Ravens might draw the winner of the AFC South and that team could come in with a sub-.500 record.
Cincinnati plays at Baltimore in the regular-season finale and there could be just a little bit at stake in that game.
Jaguars Ready to Pounce
Thanks to the rapid development of second-year quarterback Trevor Lawrence as well as the recent struggles of the Tennessee Titans, the Jacksonville Jaguars are close to going from back-to-back years with the No. 1 overall selection to winning the franchise’s first division title since 2017.
Jacksonville and Tennessee are tied with 7-8 records. However, the NFL odds have the Jaguars priced at -250 to win the AFC South Division title. Preseason favorite Tennessee comes in at +250. Whichever team comes out of this division will not be favored in the NFL playoff point spreads.
Jacksonville Jaguars faces a two-win Houston team this weekend while Tennessee plays the 11-4 Dallas Cowboys. That will be followed by a huge matchup between Tennessee and Jacksonville with a division title likely on the line.
Chasing Down the Playoff Spots
The final two postseason berths in the AFC are fairly wide open:
The Miami Dolphins are in a good position to make it in with first-year coach Mike McDaniel at the helm. However, with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa back in concussion protocol, there are reasons for Miami fans to be getting a little nervous.
The New York Jets have come down to earth after a tremendous start. However, a playoff spot is still within the reach of the Jets.
The New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers still have a chance to reach the postseason as well.
Miami’s final two games are against the Patriots and Jets. New England also has to play Buffalo with the Jets having a matchup with a Seattle team still alive in the NFC playoff race. Pittsburgh’s final two games are against the Steelers and Browns while the Raiders would have to beat the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs and get some help to secure a spot in the playoffs.
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