Cincinnati Bengals

Bengals now sitting atop AFC thanks to Patriots loss

Published Dec. 7, 2015 1:29 a.m. ET

foxsports

If the season ended today, the Cincinnati Bengals would have home field advantage throughout the playoffs as the top seed in the AFC.

The Bengals improved to 10-2 with a 37-3 drubbing of the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, and created a three-way tie with Denver and New England thanks to the Patriots' 35-28 home loss to the Eagles. Cincinnati holds the first tiebreaker among the three teams with an 8-1 conference record. The Broncos, who are 6-2 in the conference, have the edge over New England for the second seed by way of their 30-24 win last week over the Patriots, who are 7-1 within the AFC.

The Bengals and Broncos will square off in Week 16 on Monday Night Football. If the Patriots and Bengals both managed to win out and finish 14-2, New England would climb back into the top spot due to a better record against common opponents with Cincinnati. Several other tiebreakers could come into play if either team falters in the remaining four games.

Cincinnati would love to get a first-round bye, considering it hasn't been able to get out of the first round in four straight seasons.