12-22-2015, 12:35 PM
(12-22-2015, 12:13 PM)ochocincos Wrote: The Bengals could still end up the 2nd seed even with a loss to Denver...how, you ask?
1) The Bengals beat Baltimore, Denver loses to SD. Bengals end with 12-4 record.
2) The Bengals can lose out (11-5). Denver loses to SD (11-5). KC wins out (11-5), taking the division over Denver. Cincy would then have the tie breaker over KC and still claim the 2nd seed.
Denver losing to SD isn't likely, but it could happen.
The Bengals could also end up the 5th seed if they lose out and the Steelers win out. The tie breaker would come down to Strength of Victory. SOV would come down to the final records of KC+SEA compared to ARI+DEN. Right now, Pittsburgh would have that tie breaker since their SOV is better.
That would then put the Bengals against the winner of the AFC South.
I think it's pretty much a given that the Steelers are going to win out, as they have Baltimore and Cleveland. Good news is by the time Baltimore gets to us in the last game, they will be competing for top pick in the draft and not have that much interest in winning.