NFL playoff image: Christmas Eve version after Broncos vs. Patriots
With their win over the Minnesota Vikings, the Detroit Lions secured their first division title since 1993.
Because of how other teams in the conference did, the Lions are now in second place in the NFC.
Making the playoffs was the Miami Dolphins in the AFC. They beat the Dallas Cowboys with an overtime goal on the last play of the game.
But they haven’t won the division yet because the Buffalo Bills are still in the running. We are now also in a playoff spot. The Denver Broncos and the Patriots from New England will play in a prime-time game on Christmas Eve.
Here is the most up-to-date playoff picture. This article will be changed after the Patriots-Broncos game is over and then after all three Christmas Day games.
The Broncos are still in the running for the playoffs on Christmas Eve, which could be seen as a positive sign for the team.
Denver came into the season hoping to end a seven-year postseason drought, but a 1-5 start quickly dashed those dreams.
Since then, the Broncos have come back into the game and have even gone over 500 points twice.
But when you start with 1 through 5, there is almost no room for mistake. Denver’s hopes are low after recent losses to both the Texans and Lions, but things are looking better in the long run.
The Broncos will be keeping an eye on the scoring as long they are still in the running. A few other games in the AFC could change Denver’s chances as the Broncos look for help.
Even though the Broncos have been playing well lately, they haven’t ended any week with a playoff spot. Following the loss to New England, it doesn’t look like that will happen at all.
With a record of 7-8, Denver is 11th in the AFC. They are a full game off the Texans (8-7), Steelers, and Bengals, who are ahead of them, and one game behind the wild card place.
Because the race was so close, the Broncos didn’t have much room for error. There is no room for error now either.
Their only chance of winning is for the teams in front of them to lose, which would be a huge help.
The Broncos’ 4-6 record in the conference is hurting them, and they missed a chance to get better against New England. Their dreams were crushed even more when they lost the game to the Patriots in Sunday night.
There are head-to-head tiebreakers between the teams, and the Broncos have the edge over the Bills but not over the Texans. To break a tie between Denver and any other team, you can’t use a head-to-head test.
Broncos’ goal is easy to understand: win out. It’s unlikely that Denver will finish 9-8 and make the playoffs, but it’s not impossible. Even though they lost in Week 16, they were still officially in the running.
It’s still possible for the Broncos to claim the AFC West, but Kansas City would have to lose for Denver to do so.
If the Chiefs win on Christmas, Denver would no longer be in the running for the division title.
The Broncos lost 26–23 to the New England Patriots, who came into the game with a 3-11 record and were last to the NFL at points scored. This pretty much ended their dark horse playoff chances.
The team’s record is now 7-8, and there are still two games to play to secure one of the three wild-card spots.
Chad Ryland, the Patriots’ rookie kicker, had been having a bad season. Earlier in the game, he missed a field goal and an extra point. But he made a 56-yard field goal out of thin air and put Denver away.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton did a great job helping with that field goal. With 58 seconds left, the Patriots had the ball on the opponent’s 19-yard line. The score was tied 23–23.
Two runs by Ezekiel Elliott in the beginning of the drive gained seven yards. Both times, Payton seemed to think he could get the bat back with 30 seconds left to win the game before OT.