If the Broncos and Patriots both will all their remaining games, who will be the number one seed in the AFC?

1. Where the teams stood after Week 12 — the starting point

After Week 12 the Patriots are consistently listed at 10-2 and the Broncos at 9-2 across multiple outlets — USA TODAY and NBC’s Week‑12 playoff rundowns both show New England 10-2 and Denver 9-2 ^{[1] [2]}. Several other trackers (Sporting News, NFL Playoff Pass) echo New England as the conference leader and Denver one slot behind ^{[4] [3]}.

2. How to convert “win all remaining games” into final records

None of the sources gives a packaged “if both teams win out” projection, so you must add remaining games to current records. The Week‑12 pieces list Patriots with six games left (typical at that calendar point) and Broncos with seven remaining in some trackers; for example, Sporting News and CBS snapshots enumerate New England’s remaining slate and Denver’s bye and later opponents ^{[1] [5]}. Using the commonly cited Week‑12 records, New England (10-2) plus six wins becomes 16-2; Denver (9-2) plus seven wins becomes 16-2 only if Denver had seven remaining; however the majority of Week‑12 trackers indicate Denver had one more game played later or a bye that leaves them with fewer remaining games — the consistent Week‑12 ordering across outlets places New England ahead after their extra played-and-won game ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

3. Why New England would be No. 1 under the “both win out” scenario (what sources show)

USA TODAY and NBC’s Week‑12 coverage explicitly show New England owning the conference top spot (10-2) with Denver a half- or full-game back (9-2) because New England had played and won one more game at that checkpoint ^{[1] [2]}. Given that gap in games played, the simplest arithmetic in the available reporting implies New England would finish with either equal or better final record if both teams win all remaining games; the standing snapshots and seeding pieces treat New England as the conference leader and project them toward the No. 1 seed if they continue to win ^{[1] [3]}.

4. Tiebreakers and finer detail — what the sources do and don’t say

Some outlets note conference and division tiebreakers matter (Bleacher Report and SI discuss conference records and remaining strength of schedule), and one Week‑11/12 snapshot said Denver held a win-percentage edge in AFC games at one point ^{[6] [7]}. However, the current set of sources does not provide a full, source-backed tiebreaker calculation for a hypothetical identical final record; available reporting focuses on current standings and probabilities rather than an explicit “both win out” head‑to‑head tiebreaker ruling ^{[6] [7]}. Therefore: available sources do not mention a definitive head‑to‑head tiebreaker outcome for an identical final record scenario.

5. Alternative viewpoint and uncertainty to flag

A few game-by-game or projection pieces treat Denver as the AFC’s top remaining threat and sometimes list Denver as the No. 1 seed in midseason projections (SI and Bleacher Report snapshots show Denver listed as a 1 seed in some projections or prior-week standings) — reflecting that week-to-week game counts and conference-game records can flip seeding ^{[7] [6]}. Because Week‑12 shows the Patriots having played (and beaten) one more game, seeding hinges on that timing; if sources had a different cut (e.g., Denver and New England equal games played at a different snapshot), the No. 1 seed could change ^{[6] [7]}.

6. Bottom line for readers

Using the Week‑12 standings reported by USA TODAY, NBC, Sporting News and centralized trackers, New England sits ahead at 10-2 with Denver 9-2; under the straightforward “both teams win every remaining game” arithmetic implied by those snapshots, New England would be the No. 1 seed ^{[1] [2] [3]}. For an absolute, rule‑book tiebreaker ruling you would need a source that lays out final identical‑record scenarios and conference/division records — available sources here do not supply that full hypothetical tiebreaker analysis ^{[6] [7]}.