Around the AFC No problems, Houston. Six weeks ago, who could have foreseen the AFC South being one of the best races out there and not including Indianapolis? The last time Houston lost was to the Broncos on Nov. 1. The last time Jacksonville lost? A week later, to the Texans. DeMeco Ryans and his salty defense have a great chance to run their record to 10-5 and their winning streak to seven Sunday against the Raiders. Tua the bench. The Dolphins made a big change this week, benching quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Instead of former Bronco Zach Wilson, coach Mike McDaniel is turning to rookie Quinn Ewers. The bigger impact here, though: Miami might well be moving toward dumping Tagovailoa, which after this season would come with $99 million in dead cap charges. That would blow Russell Wilson’s record out of the water. Steelers closing in. Pittsburgh fell to 6-6 but has since won two straight to get to 8-6 and in control of the AFC North. At one game ahead of Baltimore, Week 18 could still end up being a division championship game. In the meantime, Aaron Rodgers and company have a tough road trip to Detroit, plus a trip to Cleveland to deal with. The good news for Mike Tomlin’s team is that it’s built a bit of margin to work with. At this rate, the second-place finisher is getting left out of the postseason. Around the NFC Game of the year. Seattle’s 38-37 walk-off, overtime win against the Los Angeles Rams might have been the best Thursday Night Football game in history. The Seahawks trailed by 16 at home midway through the fourth quarter, stormed back to tie the game and then won on a salty 2-point conversion call dialed up by former Broncos assistant Klint Kubiak and caught by former Broncos tight end Eric Saubert. Incredible game overall. Now Seattle’s alone in first in the rugged NFC West at 12-3. COY consideration. He’s not going to win coach of the year, but find somebody who’s done a better job than Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco. The club’s dealt with injury after injury, the strange departure of Brandon Ayiuk and plays in the toughest division in football. All the Niners have done is get to 10-4. Not only that, but San Francisco at this point controls its own fate. They got a boost from Seattle on Thursday night. Shanahan’s team has a tough finish, but if they can win out — at Indianapolis, then Chicago and Seattle at home — they’ll be the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Who wants the South? Does anybody care to be crowned NFC South champion? The Bucs have lost consecutive games to New Orleans and Atlanta. Carolina could have taken control of the division but lost last week to the Saints, too. Now Tampa and Carolina play twice over the final three games of the season to try to sort out who’s going to the playoffs. The Panthers have a tougher game in between — vs. Seattle compared to Tampa traveling to Miami — but the best analysis of this division overall so far has been, basically, “Who knows?” Game of the Week New England at Baltimore With two terrific games already in the rearview and the Broncos and Jaguars also not under consideration for this exercise, we get to potentially the fourth-best game of the weekend. It’s still a dandy because of where the Patriots and Ravens each sit. New England blew a 21-0 lead to Buffalo and now has Josh Allen looking awfully big in the rearview mirror. The Ravens are flawed and flummoxing, and yet they can still force Pittsburgh into a division title game in Week 18. Who would want to face Lamar Jackson in the playoffs if they’ve won, say, four in a row entering Wild Card weekend? The Patriots have fallen behind Denver for the No. 1 seed, but if they get through this game, finishing vs. Miami and the New York Jets will keep the pressure on Denver and hold the Bills at arm’s length. Easier said than done as three-point road underdogs, but the bet here is they find a way. Patriots 24, Ravens 23 Lock of the Week Buffalo at Cleveland Allen’s gone Superman mode the past three weeks to pull Buffalo from a little wobbly to looking like a force to be reckoned with in the AFC. The past two weeks have seen the Bills trail Cincinnati by 10 in the fourth quarter and trail the Patriots by three touchdowns early. Allen turned them both into wins. Between another MVP-type run and a league-best rushing attack led by Dalvin Cook, this is a group that’s rounding into form. They need to win their final three and have the Patriots drop a division game against either the Jets or Miami to pull off a full-on division stunner, but even if they end up second in the AFC East, nobody wants to see Sean McDermott’s team coming to their building on Wild Card weekend. Oh, yeah, and don’t trip up against those sometimes-pesky Browns on the road as a 10.5-point favorite. Related Articles Broncos activate starting guard Ben Powers off injured reserve Through gauntlet of red-hot offenses, Broncos’ defense continues to preach red-zone strength Broncos’ LG Ben Powers close to return, but Sean Payton says he’ll split reps Bo Nix’s footwork is “a lot better” as he plays under center more. Coincidence? Do the Broncos lead the NFL in man coverage? Vance Joseph says he’s not so sure Bills 33, Browns 19 Upset of the Week Los Angeles Chargers at Dallas The Chargers may feel a long way back of the Broncos in the AFC West, but they’re really not. They’ve just not been able to make up any ground in three months because Denver hasn’t lost since, well, the last time the Broncos and Chargers played Week 3. Jim Harbaugh’s team is beat up and quarterback Justin Herbert gets battered on a weekly basis. And yet the group is 10-4 and just needs a pair of wins and one Broncos loss to set up a division title game in Week 18 in Denver. Easier said than done, considering the run Denver is on and also the fact that L.A. could be underdogs in its next two games on the road against the Cowboys and at home against surging Houston. Still, if ever there’s a team that can be scored upon, it’s Dallas, and Jesse Minter’s defense can at least slow the Cowboys down. The Chargers have a great chance to keep pace despite being 2.5-point underdogs. Chargers 27, Cowboys 24 Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis. ...read more read less