The Cincinnati Bengals’ playoff hopes are slim, but they are real and we’ll learn more about what the path to the postseason looks like after Thursday Night Football.

Thursday’s game between the Denver Broncos (9:5) and the Los Angeles Chargers (8:6) pits two AFC playoff contenders against each other (8:15 p.m., Amazon Prime). The loser of the game will continue to be the Bengals’ main target in the final weeks of the season.

However, there is definitely a better outcome for the Bengals, and fans should root for the Chargers.

Here’s why:

The Chargers have an easier path to the playoffs

The Bengals have to win and the loser of Thursday’s game has to lose, but the Broncos appear to be the team that can more easily overtake Cincinnati in the playoff race.

After Thursday, Los Angeles will close out the year with a softer schedule. The Chargers will face the New England Patriots (currently 3-11) and the Las Vegas Raiders (currently 2-12) to close out the regular season.

A head-to-head race between the Bengals and the Broncos

In the meantime, the Broncos come to Paycor Stadium on December 28th, allowing the Bengals to handle their own business in a head-to-head matchup. Ideally, a win in this game would move Cincinnati to 8-8 and drop Denver to 9-7 (also assuming a Broncos loss to the Chargers).

If the Bengals force this scenario, it would result in a playoff win scenario in the season finale.

The Bengals face the 10-4 Steelers in Pittsburgh in their final regular season game of the year, while the Broncos host the 13-1 Kansas City Chiefs. It remains to be seen whether Pittsburgh has anything to offer in this game, and the same goes for Kansas City, which holds a two-game lead over the AFC’s No. 1 seed with three games remaining.

So is the chain of events required to get the Bengals into the AFC playoff round likely? No, it’s not that. But no one said this would be a cheap or easy route after Cincinnati suffered a hole over the course of this season.

However, when it comes to the playoffs, Bengals fans should root for the Chargers on Thursday Night Football.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bengals fans should support the Chargers on Thursday Night Football