The Denver Broncos defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, 29-23, on Sunday and helped settle the draft order for the first four 2012 NFL Playoff teams to be eliminated. As a result of advancing to the divisional round against the New England Patriots, the Broncos avoided picking up the No. 21 overall selection, the first slot for a playoff team. Instead, that went to the Cincinnati Bengals, who lost to the Houston Texans on Saturday. The Atlanta Falcons would have selected at No. 22, but the pick was sent to the Cleveland Browns as part of the Julio Jones trade during the 2011 NFL Draft. The Browns will now pick at Nos. 4 and 22 after the Falcons' loss to the New York Giants.
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The Detroit Lions lost to the New Orleans Saints and took the No. 23 pick. The 12-4 Steelers then round out the known draft order with the No. 24 selection. After the divisional round, the Broncos could be picking at either No. 25 or waiting for the Championship round to end. In the latter's case, the Broncos would at worse pick at No. 29 overall. Should the Broncos make it all the way to the Super Bowl, they would select at No. 31 or 32, depending on whether they win.
Here is the complete draft order:
1. Indianapolis Colts, 2-14
2. St. Louis Rams, 2-14
3. Minnesota Vikings, 3-13
4. Cleveland Browns, 4-12
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 4-12
6. Washington Redskins, 5-11
7. Jacksonville Jaguars, 5-11
8. Carolina Panthers, 6-10*
9. Miami Dolphins, 6-10*
10. Buffalo Bills, 6-10
T-11. Seattle Seahawks, 7-9*
T-11. Kansas City Chiefs, 7-9*
13. Arizona Cardinals, 8-8
14. Dallas Cowboys, 8-8
15. Philadelphia Eagles, 8-8
16. New York Jets, 8-8
17. Cincinnati Bengals (from Oakland Raiders, 8-8)
18. San Diego Chargers, 8-8
19. Chicago Bears, 8-8
20. Tennessee Titans, 9-7
21. Cincinnati Bengals, 9-7
22. Cleveland Browns (from Atlanta Falcons, 10-6)
23. Detroit Lions, 10-6
24. Pittsburgh Steelers, 12-4
For in-depth coverage of the Broncos, visit Mile High Report. For more on the NFL, be sure to check out SB Nation NFL and Mocking the Draft.