The early games are over, and here's how things stand in the division:

The Patriots gave up 21 points in the 4th quarter to lose 34-27 to the Houston Texans. This means that the Cincinnati Bengals can take the #3 seed with a win against the New York Jets on Sunday Night Football. At the same time, the Patriots have clinched the strength of victory tiebreaker with the Bengals, meaning that a Bengals loss guarantees Cincinnati the #4 seed.


The Baltimore Ravens have an equally simple scenario. With a win in Oakland, they are in the playoffs as a Wild Card and might face the division rival Bengals next week. With a loss, they are eliminated from playoff contention. (A tie would be more complicated. I'm not going to worry about that unless the game goes deep into overtime.)

The Pittsburgh Steelers held on to beat the Miami Dolphins 30-24, but the Houston Texans' win kills most of their playoff scenarios. (The Texans have a better record than the Steelers against common opponents.) The only way the Steelers can squeeze into the playoffs now is with three unlikely results:

• BAL must lose to OAK.
  


• DEN must lose to KC.
  


• CIN must lose to NYJ tonight.
  

Finally, the Cleveland Browns defeated the Jaguars 23-17, meaning that they end the 2009 season on a 4-game winning streak! Something for new team president Mike Holmgren to build on, perhaps?

More updates later!