Coming off a 26-21 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, the Denver Broncos (7-2) are entering their bye week as the AFC's No. 2 seed in the race to the NFL playoffs.

The Broncos remain in first place in the AFC West, above the Kansas City Chiefs (6-2), Las Vegas Raiders (4-5) and lowly Los Angeles Chargers (0-8). In the conference overall, Denver's only trailing the Buffalo Bills (7-1). Four other teams in the conference have won six games, but only the Broncos and Bills have seven wins coming out of Week 9.

Here's a look at the AFC's playoff picture going into Week 10.

NFL playoff picture (AFC)

1. Buffalo Bills: 7-1

2. Pittsburgh Steelers: 6-2

3. Kansas City Chiefs: 6-2

4. New England Patriots: 5-4

Just outside the current playoff picture are the Cleveland Browns (5-4), Raiders (4-5) and Baltimore Ravens (4-5). The Houston Texans (3-5) still have a fighting chance as well.

After their bye, the Broncos will host Las Vegas in Week 11 before going on the road to face the Steelers in Week 12. Denver will face the Bills and the Patriots in back-to-back weeks in December, and those games could have big seeding implications in the AFC's playoff picture.