How the AFC bracket was decided

Denver Broncos finished top of the AFC at 14-3 and took the only bye in the conference.

The field

1. Denver Broncos 14-3 — 2. New England Patriots 14-3 — 3. Jacksonville Jaguars 13-4 — 4. Pittsburgh Steelers 10-7 — 5. Houston Texans 12-5 — 6. Buffalo Bills 12-5 — 7. Los Angeles Chargers 11-6.

Broncos went into the postseason on W2 in the AFC West and +90 on points, which is the number that usually predicts January better than the record does.

Coaches talk about complementary football until it sounds like a slogan. It stops sounding like one when a defence gets off the field on third down and hands the offence the ball at the far forty three times in a half.

The standings page carries the whole table with the splits, the streaks and the dashed line under the seventh seed.