With Sunday's 1 p.m. games completed, the NFL playoff picture has become a bit clearer, though there are still some scenarios to be decided with the afternoon slate of games (not to mention Sunday night's contest to determine the NFC West, of course).
In the AFC, the Steelers rolled over the Browns, giving them the AFC North title and the No. 2 seed in the playoffs. Oakland handed Kansas City its first home loss of the season, meaning if the Colts beat the Titans this afternoon, then the Chiefs will drop to the No. 4 seed with Indianapolis taking over as the No. 3 seed (a Colts' win would also eliminate the Jaguars from contention). The Ravens hung on to beat the Bengals and the Jets routed the Bills, but neither meant much in the playoffs after the Steelers took care of business.
It's never safe to assume anything in the NFL, but -- assuming the Colts beat Colts beat Titans, the first round of the AFC playoffs will be Jets at Colts and Ravens at Chiefs.
1. New England Patriots (14-2): AFC East champions, earned first-round bye and home-field advantage in playoffs
2. Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4): AFC North champions, clinched first-round bye and No. 2 seed
3. Kansas City Chiefs (10-6): AFC West champions; the Chiefs could drop to the No. 4 seed if the Colts win
4. Indianapolis Colts (9-6): The Colts can clinch the AFC South division with a win/tie against the Titans or a Jaguars loss at the Texans. Indy can also become the AFC's No. 3 seed if they win, since the Chiefs lost to the Raiders
5. Baltimore Ravens (12-4): Wild Card; clinched the No. 5 seed
6. New York Jets (11-5): Wild Card; clinched the No. 6 seed
Outside Looking In: Jacksonville Jaguars (8-7): Jaguars need to win and hope the Colts lose -- that'd give them the AFC South title and the No. 4 seed. A loss/tie or a Colts win/tie would eliminate Jacksonville.
Patriots and Steelers get the first-round byes. The Jets will travel to the No. 3 seed (Chiefs or Colts) while the Ravens will play at No. 4 seed.