After securing a 28-3 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday, the Denver Broncos moved one spot closer to moving into playoff position in the AFC.
Going into Week 5, the Broncos are currently the No. 8 seed in the conference, and seven clubs from the AFC will reach the playoffs this season. The seven teams above Denver are the Buffalo Bills (4-0), Los Angeles Chargers (3-1), Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1), Indianapolis Colts (3-1), Jacksonville Jaguars (3-1), Bengals (2-2) and Kansas City Chiefs (2-2).
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My decision to tweet those standings earlier this week was quickly regretted as countless fans quickly chimed in that the Broncos should be above the Bengals due to a head-to-head tiebreaker. That would be true in a two-way tie, but it’s not the case when more than two teams are involved.
From ESPN’s playoff standings page:
[Cincinnati] Wins tie break over Kansas City and New England [2-2] based on best win percentage in conference games. Division tie break was initially used to eliminate Denver (Kansas City wins tie break over Denver based on strength of schedule).
So the Bengals hold a tiebreaker over the Chiefs, and KC holds a tiebreaker over Denver, so the Broncos are below Cincinnati in the AFC’s current playoff standings. Quirky, but true.
It should be a moot point within a few weeks because the Bengals appear to be falling fast after starting 2-0. For now, though, Denver’s below Cincy in the AFC’s playoff standings. So, please get out of my mentions!
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: NFL playoffs: Denver Broncos still behind Bengals (here’s why)