Mile High Report
With the Patriots on their late-season bye week, the Denver Broncos had an opportunity to retake the number one seed in the AFC with a victory over. Well, the Broncos defeated the Raiders easily and gained an important tie-breaker over the Patriots, and now control their own destiny when it comes to gaining homefield advantage in the playoffs.
As for the rest of the AFC, we had some major developments. The Jaguars appear to have control of the AFC South, but do have the ascending Texans and their top-ranked defense on their heels. Unfortunately for the Indianapolis Colts, they lost quarterback Daniel Jones for the season due to an Achilles injury as their late-season free-fall continues. They have gone from a legitimate one-seed contender to now likely missing the playoffs in a matter of weeks. The Steelers defeated the Ravens and now lead the AFC North, while the Texans defeated the Chiefs, who now have lost 4 of their last 5 games, fell below .500, and will need to win out and get some help if they want to make the playoffs. On Monday Night, the Chargers kept their AFC West title hopes alive with an OT thriller victory over the defending champs, the Philadelphia Eagles.
With all that said, here is how the AFC playoff picture looks after the conclusion of the Week 14 slate of games.
With a win over the Raiders and the Patriots on a BYE week, the Broncos gained an important tie-breaker over the Patriots and have reclaimed the number one seed in the AFC. Now, the Broncos have won 10-straight games, and join the Patriots as the only two teams in the NFL to have 11 or more wins so far this season.
The Broncos are led by their dominant defense, but Bo Nix and the offense have been playing better recently. They got their run game going vs. the Raiders, rookies RJ Harvey and Pat Bryant are emerging as weekly playmakers, and they have a top-ranked offensive line in the NFL this season. If their defense can remain elite and the offense can continue to play well, they will be a tough team to beat in the playoffs.
The road ahead will not be easy for the Broncos. They play three playoff teams (lol Chiefs), but all three will be at Mile High while the lone road game will be at Arrowhead on Christmas Night. If the Broncos want the one seed, they’ll need to continue their win streak and hope the Patriots fall behind a game or two. Next up will be Micah Parsons and the Green Bay Packers.
Remaining Games: vs. Packers, vs. Jaguars, at Chiefs (Christmas Night), and vs. Chargers
The Patriots were on their BYE this past weekend and lost the one seed to the Broncos, who gained a valuable tie-breaker over them. Now, the Patriots need to continue winning and get past their next...
