Up to date AFC Playoff image, AFC Wild Card standings after Ravens beat Bengals

Let’s test the heart beat on the AFC Playoff Image and AFC Wild Card standings after the Baltimore Ravens escaped Sunday Evening Soccer with a win over Cincinnati. 

It appears unimaginable for the Baltimore Ravens to play a standard recreation.

Going again to final yr, when John Harbaugh was working with a duct-taped collectively roster and nonetheless barely lacking the playoffs to this Sunday Evening when he nearly galaxy-brained his means into one other consecutive house loss, the Ravens model of soccer is utter chaos.

Final week Harbaugh was ripped for not choosing a area aim in a tie recreation and as a substitute making an attempt to go for a possible kill shot. Lamar Jackson threw an interception within the endzone and the Ravens watched helplessly because the Payments marched down the sphere, drained the clock, and kicked a game-winning area aim.

Harbaugh was in nearly an equivalent spot on Sunday night time. Up by solely three factors, he elected to kick a area aim from contained in the Bengals 10-yard line fairly than go for the kill shot. The analytics behind the transfer steered that if Cincinnati scored a landing, the Ravens would solely want a area aim to win fairly than a landing (had Jackson repeated his failure from Week 4).

It was shut however the analytical strategy got here via and the sport got here all the way down to the ever-reliable leg of Justin Tucker. Harbaugh was vindicated with the win, and the Ravens each ended a house dropping streak and catapulted themselves into the AFC Playoff image because of this.

Word: This shall be up to date after the Week 5 slate concludes on Monday night time with Chiefs vs. Raiders. 

Up to date AFC Playoff Image after Week 5

With a win on Sunday night time, the Ravens moved into the NFL Playoff Picture as leaders of the AFC North. If the sport was any indication, nevertheless, it’s not going to be a straightforward title to carry all through the season.

The excellent news for Baltimore is that solely Cincinnati appears to be a critical challenger. Cleveland is hanging round at 2-3, having not stayed out of their very own means lengthy sufficient to be sitting at 4-1 with victories over the Jets and Chargers snatched from the jaws of defeat.

1. Buffalo Payments (4-1)
2. Kansas Metropolis Chiefs (3-1)
3. Tennessee Titans (3-2)
4. Baltimore Ravens (3-2)
5. New York Jets (3-2)
6. Miami Dolphins (3-2)
7. Los Angeles Chargers (3-2)

Based mostly on these standings, right here’s what the playoff matchups would appear like for the primary weekend of motion:

(2) Kansas Metropolis Chiefs vs. (7) Los Angeles Chargers
(3) Tennessee Titans vs. (6) Miami Dolphins
(4) Baltimore Ravens vs. (5) New York Jets

No matter what occurred on Sunday night time, the AFC belongs to the Buffalo Payments who’ve proven no indicators of slowing down anytime quickly. If Isaiah McKenzie will get out of bounds in Week 3 towards the Dolphins, there’s a really respectable likelihood that Buffalo sits with a two-game lead over the Chiefs fairly than the single-game lead that exists now.

AFC Wild Card standings after Week 5

There was a ton of motion within the AFC Wild Card standings due to the Ravens comeback win over the Bengals on Sunday Evening. With Baltimore catapulting as much as the No. 4 seed, Cincinnati fell onerous all the best way to close the underside of the place issues stand.

Cincinnati is now thirteenth within the AFC and sits behind the Colts, Jaguars, Broncos (in some way), Patriots, and Browns.

Clearly, there’s loads of time for the Bengals to show issues round they usually had been this near strolling out of M&T Financial institution Stadium with an enormous divisional win. Mike Tirico stated it on the NBC broadcast, there’s an honest likelihood these two groups meet in Week 18 with the AFC North title on the road.

For now, right here’s what the Wild Card standings appear like after Week 5:

fifth Seed: New York Jets (3-2)
sixth Seed: Miami Dolphins (3-2)
seventh Seed: Los Angeles Chargers (3-2)

On The Bubble
8. Indianapolis Colts (2-2-1)
9. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-3)
10. Denver Broncos (2-3)
11. New England Patriots (2-3)
12. Cleveland Browns (2-3)
13. Cincinnati Bengals (2-3)

In The Hunt
14. Houston Texans (1-3-1)
15. Las Vegas Raiders (1-3)
16. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-4)

There’s nonetheless yet one more recreation on the books that might transfer these standings round slightly. For that to occur, the Las Vegas Raiders must shock the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs on Monday Evening Soccer. Such a factor would merely assist the Raiders transfer into 2-3 territory because the Chiefs would nonetheless management the AFC West by the use of a partial tiebreaker over the Chargers due to their Week 2 win.

AFC Playoff Image Tiebreaker Eventualities

With so many groups tied within the standings, a handful of tiebreakers come into play based mostly on numerous elements associated to the schedule.

• Titans maintain the tiebreaker over Ravens based mostly on finest win share in convention video games.
• Jets maintain tiebreaker Chargers based mostly on power of victory. Division tie break was initially used to eradicate Dolphins (NY Jets wins tie break over Miami based mostly on head-to-head win share).
• Dolphins maintain tiebreaker over Chargers based mostly on power of victory.
• Jaguars maintain tiebreaker over Browns, Broncos, and Patriots based mostly on finest win share in convention video games. Division tiebreaker was initially used to eradicate Bengals (Cleveland
  wins tie break over Cincinnati based mostly on finest win share in division video games).
• Broncos maintain tiebreaker over Browns and Patriots based mostly on power of victory. Division tiebreak was initially used to eradicate Cincinnati.
• Patriots maintain tiebreaker over Browns based mostly on power of schedule.
• Browns win tiebreaker over Bengals based mostly on finest win share in division video games.