AFC Playoff Picture, Week 12: Bengals rival takes over number one seed

The Cincinnati Bengals' chances of making the playoffs weren't looking great even when Joe Burrow was in the equation. Now that he's out for the year, however, things are looking pretty bleak for the Stripes to make the postseason for a third straight year.

Let's take a look at the playoff picture now that Week 11 is in the books.

AFC playoff picture entering Week 12

1. Baltimore Ravens (8-3)
2. Kansas City Chiefs (7-3)
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (7-3)
4. Miami Dolphins (7-3)
5. Cleveland Browns (7-3)
6. Houston Texans (6-4)
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4)

In the hunt: Buffalo Bills (6-5), Indianapolis Colts (5-5), Denver Broncos (5-5), Cincinnati Bengals (5-5)

If the season ended right now, the Bengals would not be in the playoffs and their hated rival would hold the top seed in the conference. The Ravens slid into the number one seed with the Chiefs' loss to the Eagles due to having more wins on the year (though they haven't had their bye week yet).

The Steelers dropped from the 5-seed to the 7-seed and the Bengals have a chance to knock them out of the playoff picture with their match-up this Sunday afternoon.

The Chiefs would host the Steelers, the Jaguars would host the Texans, and the Dolphins would host the Browns in the wild card round if the season ended today.

At this point, Bengals fans aren't expecting a trip to the postseason but they are theoretically still in it. Anything is possible at this point, as this season has been pretty crazy.