Ravens enter bye as AFC’s No. 1 seed, Steelers lead Wild Card race ahead of Week 13

Though there’s another game remaining on the schedule in Week 12, the AFC’s week is officially a wrap with the Baltimore Ravens and LA Chargers on Sunday Night Football.

The Pittsburgh Steelers would sit as the fifth seed in the Wild Card round if the season ended today. Meanwhile, the Baltimore Ravens hold a 1.5 game lead in the division after another win in Week 12. The Steelers would have an opportunity to cut their lead to a half a game with a win in Week 13, as the Ravens will be off on a bye week.

Incredibly, three of the four teams in the AFC North would be in the playoffs if the season ended today, including the Ravens, Steelers and the Browns.

Cleveland, however, received some bad news on the injury front coming out of Week 13, as star DE Myles Garrett suffered a shoulder injury that will require further evaluation ahead of Week 13. Garrett was wearing a sling post-game, noting that he “felt something pop” when he suffered the injury, Jake Trotter of ESPN reports. After already having lost quarterback Deshaun Watson for the season with a shoulder injury, any long term absence from Garrett might just prove too much for this team to overcome to remain in the playoff conversation.

Here’s a look at the updated AFC standings and playoff picture ahead of Week 13.

AFC standings ahead of Week 13

1. Baltimore Ravens (9-3)

2. Kansas City Chiefs (8-3, season sweep of MIA+JAX)

3. Miami Dolphins (8-3, 6-2 conference record)

4. Jacksonville Jaguars (8-3, 5-3 conference record)

5. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-4, 3-1 AFC North record)

6. Cleveland Browns (7-4, 3-2 AFC North record)

7. Indianapolis Colts* (6-5, win over HOU, 4-3 conference record)

In the hunt…

8. Houston Texans* (6-5, loss to IND, 3-3 conference record)

9. Denver Broncos* (6-5, 3-4 AFC)

10. Buffalo Bills (6-6)

11. Cincinnati Bengals (5-6)

12. Las Vegas Raiders (5-7)

13. Los Angeles Chargers (4-7, 2-4 AFC)

14. Tennessee Titans (4-7, 2-5 AFC)

15. New York Jets (4-7, 2-6 AFC)

16. New England Patriots (2-9)

* In the three-way tie for the seventh seed, the tie breakers are as follows: Colts and Texans go to a division tiebreaker first. Indianapolis has a head-to-head win over Houston. Then the Colts and Broncos start over, going to record in AFC games. The Broncos and Texans then start over, where Houston tops Denver in record in conference wins.