State of the AFC Playoff Race: Week 14 Edition

Nov 30, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Zach Mettenberger (7) throws in the pocket under pressure from Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt (99) in the third quarter at NRG Stadium. Mettenberger was injured on the play. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Last week, I wrote the Houston Texans off. I apologize to any Texans fans out there because after the beatdown that this team put on the Tennessee Titans,  Houston are still very much alive. They aren’t exactly in control of their own destiny, but the Texans have set themselves up to play four meaningful games in December. It’s very unlikely that they will win the AFC South, but they do have three more divisional games down the stretch (2 vs Jacksonville, 1 vs Indianapolis.

Even if they are out of the AFC South race though, the Texans will still face the Baltimore Ravens in three weeks, and have the tie-breaker over the Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills. Ultimately, losses to Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, as well as to division-rivals Indianapolis may keep this team out of the playoffs. I won’t write them off, but the Texans need some help for sure.

The Cleveland Browns will benefit from playing their next two games at home, but this team could be eliminated from playoff contention after that stretch because they’ll face the Indianapolis Colts this week, then the Cincinnati Bengals in two weeks. Cleveland have yet to decide who will be under center on Sunday against Andrew Luck and the Colts, putting the team’s playoff hopes up in arms. I want to see Johnny Manziel start because I truly feel that he can provide a much needed spark to this offense, but he is still a rookie, and regardless of who is playing quarterback, I don’t know that it will be enough. As much as I want to see this team succeed, they are 2-2 in a division where every team is in the mix to make the playoffs. They’ll have to win out to have any chance at the postseason.

Both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens suffered heartbreaking defeats in Week 13. What made them even worse was that they both occurred at home. The Steelers were essentially blown out in their own building by a New Orleans Saints squad that has been up-and-down to say the least in 2014. Had it not been for two touchdowns in the final two minutes and change, the score would’ve looked much uglier. Baltimore on the other hand blew a ten-point lead heading into the fourth quarter against fellow AFC playoff challengers San Diego.

While neither team has any easy road to close out the season, Pittsburgh certainly didn’t do themselves any favors with their loss to New Orleans. They are left facing the Cincinnati Bengals twice, in addition to dates with Atlanta and Kansas City. For the Ravens, they’ll face current-six seed Miami this week, before taking on Jacksonville, Houston, and Cleveland. While I stated last week that the AFC North could potentially get two, maybe even three teams into the playoffs, I’m not so sure about that now.

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