The Denver Broncos are 6-5 and barely holding into the seventh and final Wild Card seed in the AFC, but may have to fend off a foe or two. The eighth team in the AFC is the Indianapolis Colts at 5-6. The ninth team is the Miami Dolphins at 4-6, and the 10th team is the Cincinnati Bengals at 4-7.
NFL Next Gen Stats gives these teams a 30%, 9%, and 9% chance to make the playoffs, respectively, and there is really no chance that any other team in the conference is able to make some noise down the stretch, and it just does not at all feel likely that the Bengals will be able to do anything.
But the NFL media world wants to keep talking about them, so we will. Who do the Colts, Dolphins, and Bengals play in the coming weeks?
Below are each team's next three games, and for the Denver Broncos, their next three games come at the Las Vegas Raiders, home against the Cleveland Browns, and home against the Indianapolis Colts.
Colts (5-6) Schedule
Week 12 vs. Detroit Lions
Week 13 @ New England Patriots
Week 15 @ Denver Broncos
Dolphins (4-6) Schedule
Week 12 vs. New England Patriots
Week 13 @ Green Bay Packers
Week 14 vs. New York Jets
Bengals (4-7) Schedule
Week 13 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 14 @ Dallas Cowboys
Week 15 @ Tennessee Titans
If you ask me, I can see the Colts losing two of their next three. They can most definitely lose to the Detroit Lions and to the Denver Broncos. This would give them at least eight losses, and if Denver can get to nine wins against the Colts in Week 15, they would finish above them in the AFC, no matter what. Two teams in a conference that finish with the same record are seeded by the head-to-head tiebreaker, so a 9-8 Broncos team with a win over the Colts is ranked higher than that same 9-8 Colts team.
The Miami Dolphins toughest game over the next three comes in Week 13 at the Green Bay Packers, but I do believe the frisky New England Patriots can play spoiler. Honestly, the Dolphins may be the biggest threat to the Denver Broncos, as them winning two of three would put them at 6-7, so they could still be lurking.
And for the Cincinnati Bengals, I see one slam-dunk win against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and if they were to win two of their next three, they would be 6-8 on the season. As you can see, things may be looking good for the Denver Broncos down the stretch, but this team does need to take care of their own business.