AFC standings, Week 18: KC Chiefs clinch top seed
The Games
In Week 18, the Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders opened Week 18 on Saturday afternoon. The Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars met on Saturday Night to determine the winner of the AFC South. The Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers met to close out the regular season as the latter aims to make the playoffs. The Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals met in Southwest Ohio.
The New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills met in Orchard Park as the former is looking for a playoff birth. The Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts met in the “AFC South Toilet Bowl”. The New York Jets and Miami Dolphins squared off as the former just needed a win and a New England loss to clinch the #7 seed in the AFC.
The Outcomes
The Kansas City Chiefs kicked off the last week of the regular season with a dominant victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. The Jacksonville Jaguars won the AFC South Championship against the Tennessee Titans with a clutch late-game defensive touchdown. The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Cleveland Browns at home. The Cincinnati Bengals cruised past the Anthony Brown-led Baltimore Ravens after forcing several turnovers.
The Buffalo Bills pulled away from the New England Patriots late to lock up the #2 seed. The Houston Texans rallied past the Indianapolis Colts after a clutch two-point conversion. The Miami Dolphins clinched a playoff spot after winning an all-field goal game against the New York Jets. The Denver Broncos ended their season with a victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Takeaways
The Chiefs are now focusing on another Super Bowl run, while the Raiders will begin prepping for a Tom Brady recruitment pitch. The Jaguars are the NFL’s surprise division winner, going from worst to first, while the Titans go from the #1 seed to a losing record. Mike Tomlin somehow clinches another winning season for the Steelers and the Browns now turn their focus to a fresh start in 2023. The Bengals and Ravens will meet again in less than a week in the wild-card round.
The Bills look like a serious threat as Josh Allen looked awesome toward the end of the game and the Patriots need to become better in the passing game if they want to compete with Buffalo going forward. The Texans blew their chance at the #1 pick with their consequential victory and the Colts have no choice but to hire someone other than Jeff Saturday as their next head coach. The Dolphins have a chance to upset Buffalo in the first round, but only if Tua Tagovailoa returns, and the Jets need to find a veteran quarterback upgrade this offseason. The Denver Broncos now begin their search for a (competent) head coach, while the Chargers paid the price by unnecessarily playing starters as Joey Bosa and Mike Williams left the game with injuries ahead of their playoff game against Jacksonville.