The NFL playoff race usually provides a lot of drama over the final few weeks of the regular-season, but that might not be the case this year, at least in the AFC.
In what would potentially be a nightmare scenario for the NFL, the AFC could have all seven playoff spots clinched by the end of Week 16. If that happens, the final two weeks of the regular season would definitely lose some luster in the AFC, which is definitely not what the NFL wants to see.
If every AFC spot gets clinched by the end of Sunday, it would be unprecedented: According to NFL playoff guru Joe Ferreira, since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, no conference has ever had ALL of its playoff berths clinched with two weeks left to play in the season and that's exactly what could happen in the AFC if all the spots are clinched after Week 16.
So what has to happen for this nightmare scenario to unfold? The first thing that had to happen was the Chargers beating the Broncos on Thursday night and Los Angeles pulled that off with a 34-27 win over Denver.
With that game out of the way, here is the scenario where every AFC playoff spot gets filled this week:
It would definitely take a few upsets, but upsets happen all the time in divisional games, which is what we're getting in two of the three games above. Also, no one would be surprised if the 49ers beat the Dolphins in a game where San Francisco is currently favored by one point.
Of course, all of this can be avoided if just one of the Colts, Dolphins or Bengals can pick up a win this week. If that happens, there's no scenario where all seven AFC playoff spots can be clinched in Week 16.