It's the final quarter of the season, and now, we can talk about playoff scenarios.

Last year, after 12 games, the Broncos could clinch a playoff berth with a win. The depth of quality teams in the AFC makes that difficult this year, although there are two scenarios, both of which start with the Broncos winning, and then the following to happen:

1. Baltimore loss Pittsburgh loss Cleveland loss Kansas City loss Houston loss or tie

2. Baltimore loss Pittsburgh loss Cleveland loss Houston loss or tie San Diego loss Kansas City tie the Indianapolis Colts can also ensure their place in January in Week 14; with a win at Cleveland and a Texans loss to Jacksonville next Sunday, the Colts will be AFC South champions. (In that scenario, the Texans would trail by three games, and the best they could do is tie the Colts at 9-7, which would be broken in Indianapolis' favor on the third tiebreaker, common opponents.)

Although the Broncos took a massive step by defeating the Chiefs 29-16 Sunday, they cannot pause to draw a breath. Three teams remain within one game of them for the No. 2 seed; two of them -- San Diego and Cincinnati -- are among the Broncos' next three opponents, both on the road.

Buffalo is also squarely in the playoff race in December for the first time in a decade, and it can be argued that Sunday's game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High is the Bills' biggest in nearly 15 years. A loss could drop the Broncos in a tie for first place if it is coupled with a Chargers win over New England on Sunday night.

However, the Broncos are in great shape if any AFC West tiebreakers come into play, thanks to Sunday's win. They win a head-to-head tiebreak with Kansas City, would win any potential three-way tiebreaker including San Diego on head-to-head record among the three clubs, and would win a two-way tiebreaker against San Diego by beating Oakland in Week 17, even if they lose at Qualcomm Stadium in Week 15, because of a superior division record.

But those are matters for future weeks. Let's look at where things stand now:

PLAYOFF SEEDING AFTER WEEK 13:
(Tiebreakers, if applicable, are in parentheses)

AFC

1. New England, 9-3-0 (head-to-head over Denver)
   • Average remaining opponent winning percentage: .500

2. Denver, 9-3-0
   • Average remaining opponent winning percentage: .511

3. Cincinnati, 8-3-1
   • Average remaining opponent winning percentage: .625

4. Indianapolis, 8-4-0
   • Average remaining opponent winning percentage: .479

5. San Diego, 8-4-0
   • Average remaining opponent winning percentage: .667

6. Miami, 7-5-0 (conference-record tiebreaker) *
   • Average remaining opponent winning percentage: .479

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN:

7. Kansas City, 7-5-0
   • Average remaining opponent winning percentage: .521

8. Buffalo, 7-5-0
   • Average remaining opponent winning percentage: .583

9. Baltimore, 7-5-0
   • Average remaining opponent winning percentage: .458

10. Pittsburgh, 7-5-0
    • Average remaining opponent winning percentage: .604

11. Cleveland, 7-5-0
    • Average remaining opponent winning percentage: .563

12. Houston, 6-6-0
    • Average remaining opponent winning percentage:.396

ELIMINATED:

13. N.Y. Jets, 2-10-0
    14. Tennessee, 2-10-0
14. Jacksonville, 2-10-0
15. Oakland, 1-11-0

* Among wild-card teams, division ties are broken before teams from different divisions are compared. So even though Miami and Pittsburgh have identical 6-3 conference records, the Steelers are not considered because the head-to-head intra-division tiebreaker eliminated them and the Browns and left the Ravens standing. In a similar vein, Miami beat Buffalo on the division-record tiebreaker, which left Miami, Baltimore and Kansas City to be considered against each other for the No. 6 seed.

NFC

1. Arizona, 9-3-0 (conference-record tiebreaker)
   • Average remaining opponent winning percentage: .563

2. Green Bay, 9-3-0
   • Average remaining opponent winning percentage: .458

3. Philadelphia, 9-3-0
   • Average remaining opponent winning percentage: .458

4. Atlanta, 5-7-0
   • Average remaining opponent winning percentage: .510

5. Seattle, 8-4-0 (common-opponent tiebreaker) *
   • Average remaining opponent winning percentage: .625

6. Detroit, 8-4-0
   • Average remaining opponent winning percentage: .438

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN:

7. Dallas, 8-4-0 (lose the conference-record tiebreaker)
   • Average remaining opponent winning percentage: .521

8. San Francisco, 7-5-0
   • Average remaining opponent winning percentage: .542

9. New Orleans, 5-7-0
   • Average remaining opponent winning percentage: .323

10. Chicago, 5-7-0
    • Average remaining opponent winning percentage: .500

11. Minnesota, 5-7-0
    • Average remaining opponent winning percentage: .458

12. St. Louis, 5-7-0
    • Average remaining opponent winning percentage: .479

13. Carolina, 3-8-1
    • Average remaining opponent winning percentage: .396

14. Tampa Bay, 2-10-0
    • Average remaining opponent winning percentage: .531

ELIMINATED:

15. N.Y. Giants, 3-9-0
16. Washington, 3-9-0

* Dallas is eliminated on the conference-record tiebreaker with Detroit and Seattle. The tiebreaker then reverts back to step one with to Seattle and Detroit; they have the same conference record, but Seattle has the superior record against common opponents (4-0 to Detroit's 2-2).

• NFL Tiebreaking Procedures