AFC Playoff Picture: Breaking Down the Crowded West Division

Amazingly enough, there are just two weeks left in the NFL season, yet every team in the AFC West still has a shot at winning the division.

Here's a breakdown of every team's remaining schedule and what has to happen for them to make the playoffs.

Denver Broncos

The Broncos are alone in first place and control their fate, as the saying goes. They travel to Buffalo this week and host the Chiefs in Week 17.

If the Broncos win both games, they will make the playoffs. It's as simple as that for Tim Tebow and company.

Oakland Raiders

Alright, things get a little murky here. If the Raiders win one more game than the Broncos, they'll end in a tie for the lead in the division.

Since the teams split their head-to-head this year, the second tiebreaker would be division record. The third tiebreaker, if necessary, would be win-loss record against common opponents. Denver would win that one.

So Oakland has just one situation in which they could make the playoffs: win the division tiebreaker. In order for that to happen, they have to win their last two games and Denver needs to lose in Week 17 against Kansas City. 

If the Raiders lose one of their last two games, they will have no shot at making the playoffs because of who the loss would come against (KC or SD).

Phew. 

San Diego Chargers

The Chargers have a tough road to the playoffs because they have to travel to Detroit and then Oakland.

If the Chargers tie (record) with Denver, they would lose the tiebreaker due to their record against common opponents (they split their season series and would tie against division opponents), so San Diego has to win out and Denver has to lose out.

That would put the Chargers ahead of both Oakland and Denver, with KC still a game behind.

Kansas City Chiefs

If Kansas City beats Oakland at home this week, Denver loses to Buffalo and San Diego loses to Detroit, that would make the Week 17 matchup between KC and Denver the AFC West championship game.

How amazing is that?

After all Kansas City has been through this season, they still have a chance to play for the division in Week 17.

After all that, if the Chiefs beat Denver in Week 17, they would win the division no matter how the San Diego-Oakland game goes.