AFC Playoff Picture for Week 13: Ranking the Best Wild Card Contenders
Week 13 of the NFL kicks off with a spectacular Thanksgiving tripleheader, and while the NFC playoff race doesn’t look as tight, it’s the AFC that has several teams, each vying for a wild card spot. And, of course, one lucky AFC squad gets the coveted first-round bye when they sit atop the conference standings. But for now, which American Football Conference team is the best contender to reach Super Bowl LIX? One particular choice, coming off a tight Monday Night Football win just yesterday, is Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. But let’s see the full contender breakdown.
1. Ravens (8-4)
Despite being fifth overall in the AFC standings, Baltimore is still a fierce team that has won three of their last five games since starting the 2024 season 0-2 before firing off five straight wins. Quarterback Lamar Jackson has 3,053 passing yards with 27 TDs on the season paired with just three interceptions, while equally good running back Derrick Henry has totaled 13 touchdowns on over 1,300 total rushing yards off 221 rushing attempts. On the wide receiver end, Zay Flowers has 57 receptions for 789 yards and four touchdowns, ahead of tight end Mark Andrews (37 receptions for 423 yards and six touchdowns) and fellow wide receiver Rashod Bateman (35 receptions for 574 yards and five touchdowns).
The Ravens have the AFC’s best PPG, averaging at least 30 in every contest so far this season, slightly ahead of Buffalo, who notches 29/game.
2. Chargers (7-4)
Behind the talents of quarterback Justin Herbert, running back JK Dobbins, and rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey, Los Angeles has presented a significant challenge to the AFC West race behind Kansas City. The Chargers were a hot team before last night’s loss to Baltimore, and they’ve only cooled off a bit. No need to worry if you’re a Chargers fan—you still have a good chance of being in the AFC playoff field.
The Chargers are in the middle of the pack on points per game, notching just about three scores in each contest, which dulls their ranking a little bit more. But this was a tough Monday night matchup anyway, and LA still has four wins in their last five games. Justin Herbert is a top-tier AFC quarterback with the added help of coaching from Jim Harbaugh, so the Bolts have struck there as well.
3. Broncos (7-5)
The Chargers aren’t the only AFC West team with a good quarterback under center. Bo Nix and the Broncos have caught fire recently, especially after Nix’s four-touchdown performance against the Atlanta Falcons. Denver has also won most of its last five games, winning three, including the aforementioned Atlanta blowout, a dominant 38-9 win. This week’s 29-19 win over Las Vegas was a bit quieter for Nix, with only two touchdowns, but he had a split load with wide receiver Courtland Sutton, who continues to impress as the Broncos’ WR1.
There’s just one small problem with the connection between Sutton and Nix, however. Either Nix isn’t confident enough to continuously pass to him, as he has a really bad tendency to throw to lower-depth charted wide receivers, or he’s splitting the entire wide receiver corps in an unorthodox manner. Either way, Denver continues to be the AFC’s top sleeper team as we head into these final couple of weeks.
4. Dolphins (5-6)
Now we’re into the lesser chance wild card AFC squads. Miami could’ve been a better team had it not been for quarterback Tua Tagavailoa missing four games with concussion protocols. The Fins were 1-3 in games without him, and that was the easier part of their schedule. And yet, the script seems to have been flipped, as Miami now has three straight wins. They’ve got to be careful, though. One more loss, and depending on this week’s results, they could be the first AFC team out of playoff contention, being marked with that dreaded “e” in the ESPN standings.
5. Bengals (5-7)
The 90s called, and they want Joe Burrow’s hairstyle back. The Bengals have seemingly lived up to their perennial nickname of the “Bungles” with their current situation. Cincinnati has lost three of its last five contests and is looking less and less likely to be a playoff team after being a consistent contender in the previous three seasons or so. They must also win out their remaining schedule, something not easily done when you narrowly avoided a three-game losing streak. But with a couple of key yet complex tiebreakers, Cincinnati could flip this whole AFC playoff picture on its head.
7. Colts (5-7)
Finally, Indianapolis. Anthony Richardson started the season, got benched for the grizzled Joe Flacco, then started and sat again, and now he remains the starting quarterback for the remainder of this season. Richardson has done somewhat well despite having to work with a slightly damaged running back group and a strung-out wide receiver corp, both key parts of an offense that ranks 22nd in total yards per game. The Colts have cycled through quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers almost as much as any team ever has, and you’d be surprised to find them still relatively in the playoff hunt. It’s just another year in what’s often labeled the NFL’s worst division, or the “7-9 Division” in some extreme cases.
And remember, this is a wild card ranking. Divisional leaders aren’t on this list, so the top AFC contenders in Kansas City (10-1), Buffalo (9-2), and Pittsburgh (8-3) aren’t being considered. They control their own postseason destiny, unlike the teams that are still fighting for the rest of the seven AFC playoff spots up for grabs.
Related: Ravens Win the Latest Edition of the “Harbaugh Bowl”