NFL history could be made this weekend in the AFC playoff race
When the NFL expanded the playoff field to 14 teams in 2021, the expectation was that it would make the last weeks of the regular season more exciting.
In theory, more teams would be in the hunt for the postseason, but something unprecedented could happen in the AFC race this year.
There’s a chance we could know all seven AFC playoff teams by Sunday afternoon. That’s according to Joe Ferreira, a former NFL executive who studies playoff scenarios.
“I’m not an NFL historian, but I kind of play that role as it relates to the playoffs and playoff scenarios,” Ferreira told the Washington Post earlier this year. “I like to throw those nuggets out because I think it’s interesting for fans.
“It’s great. The more interest there is, the more demand there is for factual data versus just speculation.”
Ferreira unearthed an interesting nugget about the AFC playoff field.
If the Chargers beat the Broncos on Thursday night, then three games on Sunday could determine the AFC postseason participants. If the Titans top the Colts, the 49ers beat the Dolphins and the Browns knock off the Bengals, we’d know who’s in. And nine AFC teams would be playing out the string the final two weeks.
“No conference has had all playoff teams locked in with two weeks to play since the 1970 NFL merger,” Ferreira wrote on X.
If things play out that way, the seven postseason teams would be the Chiefs, Bills, Steelers, Texans, Ravens, Chargers and Broncos.
And the Chiefs could clinch the top seed in the AFC playoffs if they win and Buffalo loses to the Patriots on Sunday.
This story was originally published December 19, 2024 at 9:08 AM.
