NFL Playoff Picture... Set?

It didn't take long for the NFC to sort itself out this afternoon:

Chicago & New Orleans get 1st Round Byes
Philadelphia will host the Giants
Seattle will host the Cowboys
(Interestingly, three teams from the NFC East division make it in, and all three have to play next weekend!)

But the final AFC Wildcard team - Denver or Kansas City - is still not known, at 7:15 pm! The Broncos need to win or tie to get in, and they're trailing the lowly 49ers 20-16 with about 6:00 to go. If they don't pull off the comeback, the Chiefs sneak into the playoffs, seemingly out of nowhere. A little over 3 weeks ago, both Cincinnati and Jacksonville, at 8-5, looked like the favourites for grabbing the Wildcard spots. Then each team rattled off three consecutive losses to end up at 8-8 and on the outside looking in! The Jaguars' finish must've particularly frustrated their fans, since those three losses were by a combined total of only 15 points! So clearly any of them could've been a win, which would've made all the difference!

Back to how the AFC sits:

San Diego and Baltimore get 1st Round Byes
The Colts and Patriots finished 3rd and 4th, so they'll have home field advantage next weekend. And the Jets will visit one of Indy or Foxboro, but until the sixth team is determined, we won't know which. There's now 2:00 left at Mile High, and the Broncos are down by 7 but have the ball deep in SF territory. Could this already-late game be heading to overtime? We'll know shortly.

OK, Denver just scored to tie it at 23-23. SF has one timeout and 1:30 left to keep it from going to a 5th, sudden-death quarter, and rain on Denver's parade in the process.

Except that the 49ers had no offense at all, and had to punt it away with a few seconds remaining, so we're off to O/T. If they play the whole 15:00 with neither team scoring, the game ends in a tie and Denver advances to the postseason. But as Jim Hinckley will tell you, ties are quite rare in the NFL (there've been none so far all season, over 254 games played up to now!)

Glancing over the standings (while O/T continues) I'd have to say the Chargers look like the team to beat. Not only do they have the best record, at 14-2 - although the Bears could match them tonight, if they beat Green Bay - but they've got a perfect 8-0 home record and will host all AFC playoff games they play in. They're also heading into the postseason on a 10-game winning streak, which is pretty impressive!

Each of Denver and SF have now wasted a possession in O/T without getting into field goal range. With more than half the period gone, and Denver getting their 2nd possession, things are looking pretty good for the Broncos.

San Fran has the ball back, with under 4:00 to go, and is driving into Denver territory. They're at the Denver 25 yard line now, which should mean they'll at least have a chance for a field goal and victory for SF, but...

They're inside the Denver 20 now, at the two minute warning. Kansas City Chiefs, and their fans, must be going nuts about now!

The 49ers are lining up to make their field goal attempt now... And it's good!! The announcer called it as being missed (initially), but it was good all the way! Denver's out, and the Chiefs are in! Unbelievable finish!!

So now the AFC 1st round matchups are:

Indianapolis hosts the Chiefs
New England hosts the Jets

Whew, I'm spent!