NFL Playoff Picture: AFC West Wide Open with Raiders Loss, Broncos Win

The NFL playoff picture is coming into focus. Some divisions, like the NFC North and NFC West, are well in hand, but some are still up for grabs. 

The AFC West is wide open, and there is a furious race to the finish line brewing. The Oakland Raiders got handled down in Miami against the Dolphins to fall to 7-5 and the Denver Broncos won with another comeback led by Tim Tebow, bringing their record up to 7-5.

When you factor in the tiebreakers, Denver would be in and Oakland would be out if the season ended today. Thankfully there are still four glorious weeks of the regular season left, and this race will be an exciting one to follow. 

Looking at the schedules

For the Raiders, the schedule gets tough:

• Dec. 11 Oakland Raiders @ Green Bay Packers
• Dec. 18 Detroit Lions @ Oakland Raiders
• Dec. 24 Oakland Raiders @ Kansas City Chiefs
• Jan. 01 San Diego Chargers @ Oakland Raiders

The game against the Packers I have already counted as a loss for the Raiders, though they could surprise everyone and pull off the upset.

The final three games are all tough. The Lions will also be trying to stay alive for the postseason, and the other two are against divisional opponents.

I can see Oakland easily losing two out of four, and I won't be surprised to see them lose three.

For the Broncos, the schedule is also challenging:

• Dec. 11 Chicago Bears @ Denver Broncos
• Dec. 18 New England Patriots @ Denver Broncos
• Dec. 24 Denver Broncos @ Buffalo Bills
• Jan. 01 Kansas City Chiefs @ Denver Broncos

One thing that jumps out at you is that the Broncos have three out of their final four in Denver in front of their home crowd. Invesco Field has been stomping loud lately, and Denver fans are tough to play against.

I give the Broncos a loss against New England, but overall I see Denver winning at least two of these games.

Prediction

I see Denver pulling away with the AFC West divisional crown with a record of either 9-7 or 10-6. The Raiders are likely to end up at 8-8, and will miss the playoffs.