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Breaking down the AFC Wild Card race

By Joel Deering

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - NOVEMBER 25: Outside linebacker Terrell Suggs #55 of the Baltimore Ravens celebrates his touchdown after a fumble recovery against the Oakland Raiders with teammates during the fourth quarter at M&T Bank Stadium on November 25, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - NOVEMBER 25: Outside linebacker Terrell Suggs #55 of the Baltimore Ravens celebrates his touchdown after a fumble recovery against the Oakland Raiders with teammates during the fourth quarter at M&T Bank Stadium on November 25, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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Jacksonville Jaguars - AFC Wild Card race
ORCHARD PARK, NY – NOVEMBER 25: Lorenzo Alexander #57 of the Buffalo Bills takes down Blake Bortles #5 of the Jacksonville Jaguars during the fourth quarter at New Era Field on November 25, 2018 in Orchard Park, New York. Buffalo defeats Jacksonville 24-21. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /

Locks to be out

  • Cincinnati Bengals (5-6)
  • Buffalo Bills (4-7)
  • Jacksonville Jaguars (3-8)
  • New York Jets (3-8)
  • Oakland Raiders (2-9)

Although the Cincinnati Bengals are currently in ninth place in the AFC Wild Card race, they don’t stand a chance. Why? The loss of QB Andy Dalton. With Jeff Driskel and Tom Savage as the QBs being relied upon the rest of the season, the Bengals are done.

Raise your hand if you think those two QBs can lead the Bengals to a playoff spot when they still have to play the 5-6 Denver Broncos, 8-3 Los Angeles Chargers, 4-6-1 Cleveland Browns (Who they just lost to 35-20) and the 7-3-1 Pittsburgh Steelers?

Yeah, don’t think I see any hands out there. You may have noticed I didn’t include the Raiders on the list of teams they still have to play, because, you know, they’re the Raiders.

Josh Allen is back at QB for the Buffalo Bills. That means they have a shot in the AFC Wild Card race, right? Wrong! Josh Allen is coming off a game in which he completed just 42.1% of his passes. Believe it or not, that’s not his worst completion percentage of the season. Allen has had one game this season in which he’s completed more than 60% of his passes. Regardless of what their schedule looks like, a team with a QB completing 52.5% of his passes on the season isn’t part of the AFC Wild Card race.

The next three teams who are locks to be out are the Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets and Oakland Raiders. Jacksonville has lost seven straight games, the Jets are just a mess and the Raiders are….. the Raiders. I think it’s safe to say none of these teams are really in the AFC Wild Card race.

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