How the AFC South can wind up with two playoff teams
Believe it or not, there is still a plausible scenario where the AFC South can get two teams in the playoffs despite being widely considered the worst division in the National Football League. With the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars squaring off in primetime on Saturday Night with the AFC South title and a home […]
Believe it or not, there is still a plausible scenario where the AFC South can get two teams in the playoffs despite being widely considered the worst division in the National Football League.
With the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars squaring off in primetime on Saturday Night with the AFC South title and a home playoff game on the line, there is still a world where both teams manage to sneak into the postseason.
For starters, the Titans would need to win the AFC South. They enter Week 18 at 7-9 as losers of six consecutive games. It is going to take eight wins to even be in the conversation for the final AFC wild card spot. Pittsburgh, Miami, and New England are all still in contention at 8-8 with one game to play.
If Tennessee does win the division, Jacksonville would still hold a potential tiebreaker over all of the other eight-win teams. That means a Week 18 loss by the Steelers, Dolphins, and Patriots would get Jacksonville in regardless.
Buffalo is going to give it their best effort, as they are still in contention for the number one seed and a first round bye. That makes a Patriots loss a much more likely occurrence. Same thing goes for the Dolphins, but for a much different reason.
Dolphins star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is dealing with his second concussion of the season after the serious head injury he suffered earlier in the year. He did not play in Sunday's loss to New England. Backup Teddy Bridgewater is believed to have a broken finger in his right hand, which forced him out of the game on Sunday with grip issues. The status of both quarterbacks is in question, with rookie Skylar Thompson the next man up. If Miami is rolling with Thompson against the jets on Sunday, they could be in some trouble.
Pittsburgh may be in the best shape of the three with Cleveland already eliminated from playoff contention, but the Browns got the best of the Steelers, 29-17 when the two played earlier in the season. Overlooking Nick Chubb and that defense would be foolish.
The craziest part about this entire conversation is that none of those outcomes seem all that improbable. This two AFC South team scenario is currently +2003 when parlayed in BetMGM (Titans ML, Browns ML, Jets ML, Bills ML).
We may actually see two teams make the playoffs from a division that is 12-32 against teams outside of the division. That's remarkable.
Image via Andrew Nelles-USA TODAY Sports
