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They did it despite losing 7-3 on Sunday against the Chiefs in Kansas City because San Diego beat Oakland 38-26. Broncos and Raiders finished tied for the division lead with an 8-8 record, but Denver won the tiebreaker: better results in matches played against the same opponents.
Baltimore (12-4) won the North Division of the American and rest in the first round of the playoffs with the second position after defeating Cincinnati 24-16. Although the Bengals lost their 9-7 record allowed them to get the wild card, beating in the tiebreaker to Tennessee, the only other team with that mark in the AFC. The Bengals beat the Titans 24-17 in November.
Pittsburgh (12-4) is another wild card, but lost both games against the Ravens this year to finish in second place in their division. The Steelers, who beat Cleveland 13-9, will be in Denver next weekend.
Cincinnati at Houston (10-6).
"It's a little weird," said Andy Dalton, Bengals rookie quarterback. "Obviously, we did not work today, but still have a chance."
Tebow's magic in the final moments of the game helped Denver to turn around their season, going from a 2-5 mark at the top of a weak division. He had many problems over the last three games of the Broncos, who lost, but managed to advance to the postseason for the first time since 2005.
"Obviously it's a little bittersweet at this time," said Tebow. "We would have loved to have won that game to have a little momentum into the postseason. But I think it's still something special about what we did, recover and win the Eastern Division of the AFC is very special," said
By winning every game in the second half of the season, the Patriots got the home field advantage in the AFC playoffs. Having lost their last three games, the Jets could not go to a third game followed by the conference title.
The Patriots (13-3) won the right to stay at home after winning 49-21 on Sunday to Buffalo, who was 21-0 lead. This should be comforting for them, not because the Patriots have lost their two previous playoff games at home, and his last three playoff games in general.
"It depends on how we play," said three-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady. "It's great playing at home. It's great to have a round off. But I think we need to focus here this week on what we need to do to play our best football in a couple of weeks," he said.
The Jets (8-8) ended a late-season collapse with a 19-17 loss in Miami, which stayed out of the competition. They fell in their last three games after taking control of the last wild card in the AFC.
"At times we played well this season but were not consistent enough," said quarterback Mark Sanchez, who was among the most inconsistent of the Jets. "One has to ask the hard questions and clear things up for next season," he said. "It feels good now, but back and just be good," he added.
San Francisco (13-3) just okay because he took a turn for the season. In the first year head coach Jim Harbaugh, the 49ers are in second place seeding in the NFC, behind Green Bay (15-1) after winning by 34-27 to St. Louis.
"I will sit and watch the games, which begin," said tight end Vernon Davis. "My mind is about to enter an entirely new phase, that is how I see it. We just have to keep growing, keep moving forward."
New Orleans (13-3) is seeded third after winning by 45-17 to Carolina. The Saints will host Detroit (10-6), who lost 45-41 at Green Bay.
Atlanta (10-6) defeated Tampa Bay 45-24 and is fifth in the NFC. Travel to New York to meet with the Giants, who rose to the AL East title Sunday night to beat the Dallas Cowboys, 31-14.
