Jags’ Win Over Jets Determined Playoff Fate for Bengals, Colts

The AFC playoff picture became a little bit clearer after this week’s “Thursday Night Football” matchup.

Two NFL teams’ playoff fates were determined by the Jaguars defeating the Jets 19–3 on Thursday Night Football, and those don’t include the two teams who competed in the game.

With the Jets’ loss, the reigning AFC champions Bengals clinched a playoff spot for the second consecutive year after missing out in five straight seasons. Right now, Cincinnati sits in the third seed with a 10–4 record behind the Bills and the Chiefs, who already clinched their spots in the previous week.

On the other hand, the Jags’ win also pushed one team out of playoff contention for the season: the 4-9-1 Colts. Indianapolis becomes the sixth team to officially be eliminated from this year’s playoffs, joining the Texans, Bears, Rams, Broncos and Cardinals. 

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With the Jaguars' win over the Jets:

✅ The Bengals clinched a playoff spot
❌ The Colts are out of playoff contention pic.twitter.com/s8dSG0EXAG

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) December 23, 2022

The Bengals have not yet clinched the AFC North, though, as the Ravens sit just one game back. Cincinnati faces the Patriots on Saturday in a battle between two teams still looking to improve playoff seeding.

Meanwhile, both the Jaguars and Jets remain in the hunt and sit 1.5 games back from the third and final wild-card spot. Jacksonville now has the tiebreaker over the Jets as both teams sit at 7–8.