AFC Playoff Picture: Colts would host Steelers in Wild Card round if playoffs started today

Week ten in the NFL is almost over, as the Houston Texans and the Cincinnati Bengals will play tonight to officially wrap up another week of action.  That means that we're another week closer to the playoffs, and as the Indianapolis Colts come off of their bye week they will be looking to make a strong second-half surge and make the postseason.

Of course, at this point the Colts would be in the playoffs if it started today.  Thanks to the awful AFC South division, the Colts are in first place despite a 4-5 record, and no matter what the Texans do tonight (they are 3-5 currently), the Colts would hold the tiebreaker due to a head-to-head victory earlier this season.  That means that the Colts are currently in line to host a playoff game despite their losing record, and if the playoffs started today they would host the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4) in the Wild Card round.

The Steelers have had their own quarterback issues this year after Ben Roethlisberger went down with a knee injury earlier this season and missed four games, and then was injured again last week.  He returned from that injury on Sunday, however, thanks to an injury to Landry Jones.  The Steelers also lost star running back Le'Veon Bell to a torn ACL, however, that ended his season.  Despite those losses, though, the Steelers have continued to win games and are 6-4 on the season, in second place in the AFC North behind the unbeaten Bengals.  The Colts will play the Steelers in Pittsburgh on Sunday Night Football in a few weeks on December 6, which could be a significant game when it comes to playoff implications.  If the current playoff picture held, there would be a rematch of that game a month later in Indianapolis for the Wild Card round of the playoffs.

Here's the full playoff picture for the AFC if the playoffs started right now:

1.  New England Patriots (9-0)

2.  Cincinnati Bengals (8-0)

3.  Denver Broncos (7-2)

4.  Indianapolis Colts (4-5)

5.  Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4)

6.  Buffalo Bills (5-4)

The Colts would host the Steelers while the Broncos would host the Bills in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, while the Patriots and the Bengals would get first round byes.  Here are the rest of the teams in the hunt still:

7.  New York Jets (5-4)

8.  Kansas City Chiefs (4-5)

9.  Oakland Raiders (4-5)

10.  Miami Dolphins (4-5)

11.  Houston Texans (3-5)

12.  Jacksonville Jaguars (3-6)

13.  Baltimore Ravens (2-7)

14.  San Diego Chargers (2-7)

15.  Tennessee Titans (2-7)

16.  Cleveland Browns (2-8)