Miami Dolphins (8-7) would clinch with:
• A win plus either a loss by Baltimore or win by San Diego.
• A tie plus losses by Baltimore and San Diego.
Not one of the quartet in the hunt fully controls its own destiny — a bizarre twist added by the NFL’s tiebreaker scenarios. Miami currently holds the edge on Baltimore because San Diego, a winner Sunday, created a three-team tie at 8-7. In that scenario, the Ravens’ win over Miami is canceled out by Miami’s win over San Diego, pushing the conference-record tiebreaker to the forefront. The Dolphins hold that edge on both the Ravens and Chargers.
Baltimore Ravens (8-7) would clinch with:
• A win plus a loss by either Miami or San Diego.
• A loss plus losses by Miami, San Diego and Pittsburgh.
That aforementioned three-team tiebreaker? Baltimore needs to break it in Week 17 to pull back into the No. 6 seed. The Ravens have to do that by winning, first of all, and then getting the Dolphins or Chargers to trip up. Head-to-head, Baltimore would hold the tiebreaker edge on either of those teams. In a three-team jumble where all three teams have the same record, the Ravens would miss out.
San Diego Chargers (8-7) would clinch with:
• A win or tie plus losses by Miami and Baltimore.
The Chargers are third in the pecking order. They would lose the head-to-head tiebreaker with Miami, the conference-record tiebreaker with Baltimore and would be No. 3 in the three-team tiebreaker. So, the Chargers’ only hope is to get to 9-7 and hope for help.
Pittsburgh Steelers (7-8) would clinch with:
• A win plus losses by Baltimore, Miami (vs. NY Jets) and San Diego.
More at link.