The Cincinnati Bengals made things a lot easier for those who chart playoff scenarios by pulling off the minor upset of the Denver Broncos on Monday night.
The Bengals clinched a playoff spot with the win. Instead of going into Week 17 with both wild-card spots in the AFC unsettled, now there's just one. The winner of the Bengals' game Sunday night at the Pittsburgh Steelers wins the AFC North, and the loser will go on the road for wild-card weekend.
The Bengals' win also cleared up some seeds. The New England Patriots are the No. 1 seed with the Broncos' loss. If the Broncos win Sunday at home as big favorites against the Oakland Raiders, they'll be the No. 2 seed. The Bengals are the only other AFC team that can get a bye, and they need a win and a Broncos loss (there are other scenarios involving ties, and if ties suddenly start happening in Week 17 to complicate this thing, I give up). The Broncos also clinch a bye if the Bengals lose.
The Indianapolis Colts are locked into the No. 4 seed and will host the loser of the Bengals-Steelers game on wild-card weekend; either AFC North second-place team will be the No. 5 seed. The Steelers can't move to the second seed, even with a win and a Broncos loss.
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That picture is certainly a lot clearer than figuring out all the moving parts among the teams who have clinched in the NFC, but unlike the NFC, the AFC still has a wild-card spot up for grabs. That team will be the No. 6 seed, and here are the teams still alive for that spot and who they play in Week 17, in order of how clear their path is:
San Diego Chargers (at Kansas City): Thanks to that incredible comeback at San Francisco, they win and they're in. Easy. Well, except the part about winning, because they've already lost once to the Chiefs this season, and Arrowhead Stadium is a tough place to play in December.
Baltimore Ravens (vs. Cleveland Browns): If the Ravens win and the Chargers lose, Baltimore gets the final spot. And Baltimore will be playing a Browns team that might be without its top two quarterbacks.
Houston Texans (vs. Jacksonville Jaguars): It's pretty amazing the Texans are alive at this point, considering they're on their fourth quarterback (and none of their first three quarterbacks were all that great). They need a win, a Chargers loss and a Ravens loss. The Ravens part of that equation will be tough.
Kansas City Chiefs (vs. San Diego): The Chiefs need to win and get a Ravens loss and a Texans loss. Considering both of those teams are close to double-digit favorites (and just getting a win against the Chargers will be tough), the Chiefs need a bit of a holiday miracle to pull this off.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
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