NFL Playoff Scenarios: Broncos vs. Steelers and Another Likely Matchup

The AFC playoff picture is still incredibly cloudy, but one potential matchup looks likely as we head to Week 16.

With the Pittsburgh Steelers losing 20-3 to the 49ers on Monday, they are now 10-4 and tied with the Baltimore Ravens for first in the AFC North. The Ravens have the tiebreaker because they defeated the Steelers twice already. Assuming the Ravens beat the Browns and the Bengals to finish 12-4, they’ll be getting a first-round bye.

That means the Steelers will be the No. 5 seed as the top wild card team. They play the No. 4 seed, aka the division winner with the worst record.

With a win against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 17, that team is the Denver Broncos. At 8-5, they are two full games behind the Houston Texans (10-4) and will land the fourth seed assuming they get in.

That means America will be treated to the league’s No. 1 pass defense against the No. 31 pass offense. How can a Tim Tebow-led offense fare against the signature defense of the NFL?

On the other side of the ball, the deadly combination Von Miller and Elvis “Doom” Dumervil would be giving a hobbled Ben Roethlisberger fits.

Let’s hope this one happens.

In the NFC the most likely matchup looks to be a matchup between fourth-seeded Dallas and fifth-seeded Atlanta.

The NFC East is a lock to get the No. 4 seed and certainly the Cowboys (8-6) aren’t penciled in to win it, but they are currently the only team in control of their own destiny right now. Besides, can you really trust the New York Giants (7-6) at this point?

The Falcons are 9-5 and enjoy the tiebreaker over the sixth-seeded Lions (9-5) based on Atlanta’s Week 7 head-to-head win.

The Falcons have the Saints and Buccaneers remaining, which sounds like 1-1 to me, ditto for the Lions who have the Chargers and the Packers.

Cowboys-Falcons would be an incredibly fun game to watch. The over/under point total would have to be around 60. Tony Romo and Matt Ryan are two quarterbacks facing scrutiny for their lack of postseason success and this would be a big chance for one of them to extinguish those doubts.

Nothing is certain in this wildly hard to predict league, but right now Steelers-Broncos and Cowboys-Falcons look very likely.