Bengals have two ways to make playoffs

The NFL says that the Bengals can make the playoffs as as AFC wildcard team in one of two ways:

-- The Bengals have to win at home Sunday afternoon against Pittsburgh, and the Jets have to lose to Oakland;

Or

-- The Bengals have to win, Denver has to lose at home to San Francisco, and Kansas City has to defeat Jacksonville.

Further explanation from Elias Sports Bureau:

A Jets loss means that among possible contenders for two wildcard, only Denver could finish above 9-7. If Denver claims the first Wild Card at 10-6, the Bengals would win any tie for the second spot based on conference record (7-5). No team among Kansas City, Jacksonville, Tennessee or the Jets could be above 6-6. If Denver loses and joins a pack at 9-7, the Bengals could claim the first wildcard. The key for Cincinnati is that Kansas City would also have to win, because all ties must first be broken within a division, and Chiefs would eliminate Denver based on AFC West record. In the next step, Bengals would take the first Wild Card based on best conference record. If Kansas City is not involved, Denver still gets the first wildcard at 9-7, based on conference record (8-4), and Cincinnati would take the second wildcard based on second-best conference record.

-- This second scenario presumes a Jets win, in which case Jets would take first wildcard at 10-6. But as long as Kansas City wins to tie a losing Denver team at 9-7, the Broncos in any tie among 9-7 teams cannot take advantage of their best overall conference record (8-4) or their head-to-head win over the Bengals. The Broncos are first eliminated in the same AFC West tiebreak described above. Jacksonville would be eliminated because it lost to Kansas City and finished 8-8. The next tiebreaker would involve Cincinnati, Kansas City, and possibly Tennessee. If the Titans defeat visiting New England to make it a three-way tie, the Bengals take the second wildcard based on best conference record. If the Titans lose and it’s just Cincinnati vs. Kansas City, the Bengals take the second wildcard based on head-to-head play.



If the Jets and Denver both win, they will both be 10-6 and the Bengals cannot qualify. Denver would claim the first Wild Card with a better conference record, and the Jets would be the second Wild Card.