The Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens are the teams to catch in the AFC.
The defending Super Bowl champs got their seventh win of the year when they traveled to Germany to hand the Miami Dolphins a 21-14 loss. Then the Ravens breezed through the Seahawks to even things up at the top of the conference.
For the Jacksonville Jaguars, a Week 9 bye meant their five-game win streak was on a temporary hiatus. While a dramatic, come-from-behind for the Houston Texans tightened the AFC South race a bit, the Chiefs’ win may be the result that has the most impact on Jacksonville’s year in the long run.
Here’s what the standings look like around the AFC with only Monday Night Football left to play in Week 9:
AFC South
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 6-2
- Houston Texans: 4-4
- Indianapolis Colts: 4-5
- Tennessee Titans: 3-5
With the Jaguars watching from home on bye, the Texans and Colts closed the gap a little bit in the AFC South by getting a pair of Sunday wins.
AFC East
- Miami Dolphins: 6-3
- New York Jets: 4-3
- Buffalo Bills: 5-4
- New England Patriots: 2-7
The door was open for the Bills to take over first place in the AFC East, but they couldn’t walk through it. Not it’s the Jets who have a surprising chance to make things interesting.
AFC North
- Baltimore Ravens: 7-2
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 5-3
- Cleveland Browns: 5-3
- Cincinnati Bengals 5-3
The NFL’s best division continues to be really tough to beat. After the Steelers beat the Titans on Thursday, the Ravens and Browns both won in blowouts Sunday, and the Bengals beat the Bills in primetime.
AFC West
- Kansas City Chiefs: 7-2
- Las Vegas Raiders: 4-5
- Los Angeles Chargers: 3-4
- Denver Broncos: 3-5
The Chargers can get back to .500 if they get a win Monday against the Jets, but it doesn’t seem like it’ll matter much in the AFC West race. The Chiefs are way ahead and don’t look like they’re in danger of falling back to Earth.
If the AFC playoffs started today...
- Kansas City Chiefs: 7-2
- Baltimore Ravens: 7-2
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 6-2
- Miami Dolphins: 6-3
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 5-3
- Cleveland Browns: 5-3
- Cincinnati Bengals: 5-3
On the outside looking in:
- New York Jets: 4-3
- Buffalo Bills: 5-4
- Houston Texans: 4-4
The Chiefs and Ravens are out in front with the Jaguars now all alone in third. Behind the division leaders, the entire AFC North makes up the wild card frontrunners.
