AFC Playoff Pictures 2014-15: Scenarios and Standings Heading into Final Week

At least heading into Monday night, a total of five teams are fighting for two spots in the AFC following Sunday's Week 16 action.

While all five of those teams don't share equal odds of making the postseason, tracking their progress will add that little bit of drama to the final day of the regular season. Given how this past weekend unfolded, it would be premature to overlook anybody who still has a mathematical chance.

Crazy things happen every week in the NFL. With so much on the line in Week 17, the pressure could eat some teams alive, opening the door for those lower down the totem pole.

AFC Standings

Team	W	L	T
AFC East
New England Patriots	12	3	0
Miami Dolphins	8	7	0
Buffalo Bills	8	7	0
New York Jets	3	12	0
AFC North
Cincinnati Bengals	9	4	1
Pittsburgh Steelers	10	5	0
Baltimore Ravens	9	6	0
Cleveland Browns	7	8	0
AFC South
Indianapolis Colts	10	5	0
Houston Texans	8	7	0
Jacksonville Jaguars	3	12	0
Tennessee Titans	2	13	0
AFC West
Denver Broncos	11	3	0
San Diego Chargers	9	6	0
Kansas City Chiefs	8	7	0
Oakland Raiders	3	12	0

Playoff Picture

Breakdown

Very little changed in the AFC on Sunday, with the Pittsburgh Steelers being the only new team to earn a playoff place. With a victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, the Steelers ensured that they'll at least win one of the AFC wild-card spots. The Chiefs, meanwhile, are on life support and in need of a lot to go right in Week 17 to get into the playoffs.

NFL on ESPN provided the various different AFC playoff scenarios, which reveals just how slim Kansas City's hopes are:

One team that really helped itself over the weekend was the San Diego Chargers, who overcame a 21-point halftime deficit to beat the San Francisco 49ers in overtime. Philip Rivers commented after the game that he and his teammates were treating these last two weeks like playoff games:

With the Baltimore Ravens losing to the Houston Texans, the Chargers control their own destiny. San Diego owns a head-to-head victory over Baltimore, so should both teams finish 10-6, Baltimore would be on the outside looking in.

The Ravens have what looks like a very winnable game against the Cleveland Browns to close out the season. Then again, most expected the Philadelphia Eagles to beat the Washington Redskins, and now the Eagles are out of the playoff race. A loss would eliminate Baltimore altogether.

The biggest game of Week 17 involves two of the Ravens' biggest division rivals, the Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals play the Denver Broncos Monday night, and a loss would mean Pittsburgh leapfrogs them in the division.

However, Cincinnati can still win the AFC North if it beats Pittsburgh on Sunday night in Week 17.

That won't be easy considering the two teams' head-to-head record. The Steelers have won 22 of the last 30 meetings since the turn of the century, including seven of the past nine.

That's compounded with Andy Dalton's less than stellar record during prime-time games. In general, Dalton's an extremely streaky quarterback. When the lights turn on bright, he's consistently pretty bad.

According to Field Yates of ESPN.com, the Bengals quarterback has won two of the 11 nationally televised games in his NFL career:

Fox Sports NFL also provided the numbers from his last four prime-time games:

Cincinnati could very easily go from leading the AFC North to out of the playoffs altogether in the space of two weeks.

While not quite as dramatic, the Bengals could also indirectly determine the top seed in the AFC. The New England Patriots are a half-game ahead of the Denver Broncos and own a head-to-head victory. Should Denver lose to Cincinnati, the Pats would earn home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.