The Jacksonville Jaguars’ time in the No. 1 seed in the AFC didn’t last too long.
Earlier Sunday a 24-21 win over the Houston Texans temporarily pushed the Jaguars to the top of the conference standings.
We are going to start a dialogue.#JAXvsHOU | #DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/I1pf4zwsW9
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) November 26, 2023
That lasted just three hours, though. With a 31-17 win against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Chiefs improved to 8-3 and created a four-team tie in the AFC. That bumped Jacksonville down to the No. 2 seed.
The Baltimore Ravens then pushed the Jaguars down another spot with a Sunday Night Football win against the Los Angeles Chargers.
But more importantly for now, the Jaguars expanded their lead in the AFC South and are very much in the race for the top seed in the conference with six weeks left. At 8-3, Jacksonville is pushing to finish with the best record in the AFC and has a massive primetime matchup against the Ravens not too far off on the horizon.
With only a Monday night game left to play in Week 12, here’s what the standings currently look like in the AFC:
AFC South
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 8-3
- Indianapolis Colts: 6-5
- Houston Texans: 6-5
- Tennessee Titans: 4-7
The Texans were the only AFC South team to lose in Week 12 and the Jaguars are now comfortably in front. With a 4-1 record in divisional play, Jacksonville is in great shape when it comes to tiebreakers too. Clinching before Christmas is looking like a realistic scenario for the Jaguars.
AFC East
- Miami Dolphins: 8-3
- Buffalo Bills: 6-6
- New York Jets: 4-7
- New England Patriots: 2-9
The Dolphins took care of business on Black Friday with a win over the Jets, and the Bills couldn’t pull off the upset in Philadelphia to stay on Miami’s heels.
AFC North
- Baltimore Ravens: 9-3
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 7-4
- Cleveland Browns: 7-4
- Cincinnati Bengals: 5-6
With both the Browns and Bengals down starting quarterbacks, it seems like the Ravens’ division to lose down the stretch. Baltimore is only a game and a half up on the Steelers and Browns, but it feels like much more.
AFC West
- Kansas City Chiefs: 8-3
- Denver Broncos: 6-5
- Las Vegas Raiders: 5-7
- Los Angeles Chargers: 4-7
Losses in two of three games made things a little uncomfortable for the Chiefs, but they got a victory against the Raiders to stay out in front. Denver’s fifth straight win kept things interesting, though.
If the AFC playoffs started today...
- Baltimore Ravens: 9-3
- Kansas City Chiefs: 8-3
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 8-3
- Miami Dolphins: 8-3
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 7-4
- Cleveland Browns: 7-4
- Indianapolis Colts: 6-5
In the hunt:
- Houston Texans: 6-5
- Denver Broncos: 6-5
- Buffalo Bills: 6-6
- Cincinnati Bengals: 5-6
When the dust settled the four AFC divisional winners all held par in Week 12 with wins. The trio of leaders trailing the Ravens will have a chance to get back to even when Baltimore is on bye in Week 13.
