The Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t get any breathing room in the AFC South on Sunday. They got something a little sweeter later in the day, though.
In primetime, the Green Bay Packers gave the Jaguars a gift when they toppled the Kansas City Chiefs. The xx-xx win for Green Bay dropped the Chiefs to 8-4 on the year and opened the door for Jacksonville to climb to the top of the AFC standings on Monday night.
Earlier on Sunday, not much went the Jaguars way.
A Denver Broncos drive into the red zone in the final minute of regulation came up short and the Houston Texans escaped with a 22-17 win. Not long after, Gardner Minshew led the Indianapolis Colts down the field for a touchdown and a 31-28 overtime win over the Tennessee Titans.
Jacksonville also didn’t get any help from the Washington Commanders either, who were clobbered 45-15 by the Miami Dolphins.
With only the Jaguars’ Monday night game, here’s what the standings in the AFC look like in Week 13:
AFC South
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 8-3
- Indianapolis Colts: 7-5
- Houston Texans: 7-5
- Tennessee Titans: 4-8
With the Jaguars waiting until Monday to hit the field, the Texans and Colts both made up a little ground with dramatic wins against the Broncos and Titans, respectively.
AFC East
- Miami Dolphins: 9-3
- Buffalo Bills: 6-6
- New York Jets: 4-8
- New England Patriots: 2-10
While the Bills were on bye, the Dolphins extended their division lead to three games with five weeks left to play. Another matchup with Buffalo is on the horizon, but the division race could be all wrapped up by the time that Week 18 game happens.
AFC North
- Baltimore Ravens: 9-3
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 7-5
- Cleveland Browns: 7-5
- Cincinnati Bengals: 5-6
With the Ravens on bye, the Steelers and Browns entered the weekend with a chance to climb to just a game out of the division lead. Instead they afforded Baltimore a two-game lead by both losing.
AFC West
- Kansas City Chiefs: 8-4
- Denver Broncos: 6-6
- Los Angeles Chargers: 5-7
- Las Vegas Raiders: 5-7
The Chargers got a little closer to being back in the playoff mix with an ugly win in New England, but the Broncos took a step backwards with a loss in Houston. It still doesn’t look likely that any AFC West team catches Kansas City.
If the AFC playoffs started today...
- Miami Dolphins: 9-3
- Baltimore Ravens: 9-3
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 8-3
- Kansas City Chiefs: 8-4
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 7-5
- Cleveland Browns: 7-5
- Indianapolis Colts: 7-5
On the outside looking in:
- Houston Texans: 7-5
- Denver Broncos: 6-6
- Buffalo Bills: 6-6
The Dolphins are the leader for now because of the conference record tiebreaker over the Ravens. A win on Monday would vault the Jaguars to No. 1, though.
