How 5 games in Week 18 affected the AFC playoff bracket
The regular season is in the books and the AFC postseason bracket is set.
The Baltimore Ravens will have next week off as the No. 1 seed in the conference, while the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, and Houston Texans will all host playoff games.
For the Jaguars, it was a disastrous weekend. A win against the Tennessee Titans would’ve secured Jacksonville the AFC South title for the second straight season. That didn’t happen, nor did a backdoor scenario that would’ve seen the Jaguars sneak in as the No. 7 seed.
Here’s how every result with the potential to shake things up in the AFC went down in Week 18:
Steelers 17, Ravens 10
Pittsburgh’s win means the Jaguars could only make the playoffs by beating the Titans. It also meant the only path to the playoffs for the Bills was a win or a Jaguars loss. Buffalo got both of those results and the Steelers also got the Jacksonville loss they needed.
Texans 23, Colts 19
The Texans secured their spot in the postseason and eliminated the Colts with their dramatic win. Houston became the AFC South champion when the Jaguars lost Sunday.
Titans 28, Jaguars 20
With the Texans, Bills, and Steelers all rooting for the Jaguars to lose, they obliged against the AFC South’s last place Titans. The Jaguars’ loss booted them from the postseason field and clinched spots for Buffalo and Pittsburgh. It also handed the No. 4 seed to the Texans.
Raiders 27, Broncos 14
Despite both teams being eliminated from the playoffs, this game could have had implications if the Ravens beat the Steelers on Saturday. It ended up meaningless.
Bills 21, Dolphins 14
With their second win of the year against the Dolphins, the Bills vaulted all the way to the No. 2 seed and will host the No. 7 Steelers. Miami tumbled to No. 6 and will travel to face the No. 3 Chiefs.
