The under-the-radar NFL matchup that could reshape the playoff bracket

Broncos vs. Colts isn't the most exciting NFL game. But the outcome could shape the playoff picture.

What could be the most important Week 15 NFL matchup isn’t a faceoff between division leaders. It doesn’t even feature two teams with winning records.

And yet, in a week full of notable games, there may not be one that could alter the playoff picture more than the Indianapolis Colts’ visit to Denver to take on the Broncos. 

No, it's not the 10-win Pittsburgh Steelers facing the 11-win Philadelphia Eagles or the 10-win Buffalo Bills facing the 12-win Detroit Lions, both matchups on Sunday that could help decide the No. 1 seed in the NFC or keep alive long-shot paths to the AFC’s top seed. Yet those four teams have either already clinched playoff berths or are all but certain to. One month before the playoffs begin, meanwhile, both the Colts (6-7) and the Broncos (8-5) are still fighting for berths, and they could reshape the wild-card race and with it the bottom of the AFC’s bracket. 

Seven teams from each conference make the playoffs. The Broncos sit in seventh and the Colts in eighth. Denver is one of four 8-5 teams trying to hold off the conference’s two 6-7 teams on the outside of the playoffs looking in: Indianapolis and Miami.

It’s why Colts-Broncos carries the feeling of a playoff game in December. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/nfl/-radar-nfl-matchup-reshape-playoff-bracket-rcna184073

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