AFC Playoff Picture: Breaking Down AFC Postseason Races

In what should be viewed as a rare treat, the AFC is filled to the brim with volatile playoff scenarios, and this is how they will all play out. 

In fact, there is one such team that guarantees to make the final week of the regular season an emotional one. Tim Tebow has been the biggest story of the NFL season, and the fact that the Broncos are not certain to make the playoffs only exacerbates the gravity of the ensuing hype. 

The Broncos had the chance to clinch last week and were humiliated by a lesser team in the Buffalo Bills. As one opportunity closes, another opens itself as the Broncos look to walk into the playoffs for the first time since 2005. 

If they do sneak in, it will have to come from the Broncos' defense returning to form, and not anything that Tebow may have up his sleeve in the form of late-game magic. 

Here is how the AFC will shake out this weekend. 

AFC West

The west will be won with defense, rendering what is the best storyline in the final week useless. The Chiefs play the Broncos forcing Denver castoff Kyle Orton to face his old team. We are about to get a literal answer to the question of whether it was wise to send off Orton. 

I have no confidence in Tim Tebow bouncing back this weekend. However, I have just as much confidence in the Broncos' defense finding their form against a still shaky Chiefs team. 

Once again, the unheralded Broncos' defense will get the job done. Ready the parade for Tebow though when Denver clinches the west. 

Wild Card

This brings me to the Cincinnati Bengals, who have been riding a great defense of their own. A commitment on that side of the ball through most of the season rewards the Bengals with a treat in a playoff bid. 

I hate to tell the Jets, Raiders and Titans, but the Bengals will be the ones cashing in the last remaining bid with a win over the Baltimore Ravens, who are playing far too inconsistently for my taste. 

And that is how the AFC wraps up a magnificent regular season. Now it's time to get to the games that truly matter. 

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