Breaking down the AFC playoff picture heading into Week 14

We’re three quarters through the NFL season, but the AFC playoff picture is as jumbled as ever.

Two teams have reached double-digit wins, and seven teams are above .500. None of the above, though, play in the AFC South, where there’s a three-way tie atop the division.

That leaves much to be decided over the final four weeks, starting with Thursday’s titanic AFC West clash between the division-leading Raiders and the hot-their-heels Chiefs.

Anyway, your full AFC playoff picture entering Week 14:

No. 1 seed: Oakland Raiders (10-2)

• Remaining schedule: at Chiefs, at Chargers, vs. Colts, at Broncos
• Remaining opponent combined record: 28-20 (.583)
• Quick read: Derek Carr and the upstart Silver & Black currently are sitting pretty, but the December itinerary is brutal with road dates remaining vs. all three division opponents. Don’t be surprised if the Raiders wind up settling for a wild-card bid.

No. 2 seed: New England Patriots (10-2)

• Remaining schedule: Ravens, at Broncos, vs. Jets, at Dolphins
• Remaining opponent combined record: 25-23 (.521)
• Quick read: The only gimme remaining for the Gronk-less Pats looks to be the spiraling Jets as the Ravens, Broncos and Dolphins – particularly those last two on the road – have given ‘The Hoodie’s’ crew big problems in recent seasons.

 No. 3 seed: Baltimore Ravens (7-5)

• Remaining schedule: at Patriots, vs. Eagles, at Steelers, at Bengals
• Remaining opponent combined record: 26-21-1 (.552)
• Quick read: The Christmas Day tussle in the Steel City likely will settle the AFC North, but the Ravens also are in good wild-card tiebreaker shape with their current7-2 AFC record.

No. 4 seed: Houston Texans (6-6)

• Remaining schedule: at Colts, vs. Jaguars, vs. Bengals, at Titans
• Remaining opponent combined record: 18-29-1 (.385)
• Quick read: Brock Osweiler and the boys should be extra thankful they’re residing in the AFC South. After all, where else could they be riding a three-game losing streak and still be hanging on to first place? The Texans are 1-5 on the road, but likely will have to win in Indy or Nashville – and probably both – to stay atop this mess.

 No. 5 seed: Kansas City Chiefs (9-3)

• Remaining schedule: Raiders, vs. Titans, vs. Broncos, at Chargers
• Remaining opponent combined record: 29-19 (.604)
• Quick read: Surging KC has won seven of eight after a 2-2 start, and despite a challenging remaining slate, are in solid shape with a 3-0 AFC West record and three straight home games starting Thursday.

 No. 6 seed: Denver Broncos (8-4)

• Remaining schedule: at Titans, vs. Patriots, at Chiefs, vs. Raiders
• Remaining opponent combined record: 35-13 (.729)
• Quick read: No team in the league has a more demanding remaining slate than the defending champs, and whether its Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch or whomever at quarterback, they’re likely going to have go 2-2 at the minimum to even have a shot at a wild-card slot.

In the hunt: Dolphins (7-5), Steelers (7-5), Colts (6-6), Titans (6-6), Bills (6-6), Chargers (5-7), Bengals (4-7-1)

Quick read: Don’t look now, but the team no one in the AFC wants to see in the postseason has one of the league’s easiest remaining slates as the Steelers’ last four foes currently are a combined 17-30-1. And if comes down to Week 17, Pittsburgh will get the New Year’s Day gift of a visit by the still-could-be-winless Browns.

Eliminated: Jets (3-9), Jaguars (2-10), Browns (0-12)

If the season ended today: Wild-card round – (3) Ravens vs. (6) Broncos, (4) Texans vs. (5) Chiefs. Divisional round – (1) Raiders vs. Texans, Chiefs or Broncos; (2) Patriots vs. Ravens, Texans or Chiefs.