Broncos gain in wild card race

This was a great weekend for the Broncos as it relates to the wild card race. Going into the week, there were 3 teams sitting at 6-4 - Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, and Denver. Denver would have been out of the playoffs had the season ended (what a dumb cliche, i know). Pittsburgh and Jacksonville both lost this week leaving Denver atop the wild card standings. Of the three 5-5 teams - Baltimore, Miami, and Houston - only Baltimore won (beating Pittsburgh 20-17 in OT).

So, the standings sit:

Denver: 7-4
Baltimore: 6-5
Pittsburgh: 6-5
Jacksonville: 6-5
Miami: 5-6
Houston: 5-6
Tennesee: 5-6

Both Baltimore and Pittsburgh hold tie breakers over Denver by virtue of head to head. Jacksonville holds the tie-breaker (for now) by virtue of a better conference record.

Baltimore and Pittsburgh face each other one more time. Jacksonville faces Indianapolis and visits New England. With all of this in mind, I think Denver may be able to get in with 9 wins, but 10 wins should be pretty safe.