Continuing from my last article Week 8 NFC the another side is the AFC; the playoff picture begins to take shape; at this point in the season there a few surprises. The Kansas City Chiefs being the biggest one, only winning two games last season the Chiefs find themselves atop the AFC at 7-0, after an overhaul the Chiefs brought in head coach Andy Reid from the Philadelphia Eagles and traded for a new quarterback Alex Smith from the San Francisco 49ers.
Continuing from my last article Week 8 NFC the another side is the AFC; the playoff picture begins to take shape; at this point in the season there a few surprises. The Kansas City Chiefs being the biggest one, only winning two games last season the Chiefs find themselves atop the AFC at 7-0, after an overhaul the Chiefs brought in head coach Andy Reid from the Philadelphia Eagles and traded for a new quarterback Alex Smith from the San Francisco 49ers.
The AFC West have the two most explosive teams, the Denver Broncos (6-1) and the Chiefs. The Broncos have just lost their first game of the season to the Indianapolis Colts (5-2) who sit in first place in the AFC South. However, these two have not played yet and there is still a lot of football before their first meeting on November 17th. These two teams are the clear front runners in the conference having a clear lead of San Diego Chargers (4-3) and the Oakland Raiders (2-4). Either the Chiefs or the Broncos will enter the playoffs as a wild card, the other will probably have home field advantage.
The Colts have a commanding lead in the AFC South, as the rest of the teams in the conference are plagued with injuries. The Jacksonville Jaguars (0-7) have yet to win a game this season and are going back and forth with their quarterbacks; between starting quarterback Blaine Gabbert and backup Chad Henne, as Gabbert is having problems staying heathy. The Houston Texans (2-5) have their share of injuries with Matt Schaub looking like he is out for the season as well as J.J. Watt on defense. The Texans were considered contenders at the beginning of the season but now are not even close to a playoff berth. The Tennessee Titans (3-4) could push for a wild card spot but their offense will have to get their act together as the defense is playing quiet well.
Stars of HBOs Hards Knocks the Cincinnati Bengals (5-2) are playing as expected and have a big lead for first place in the AFC North, the Super Bowl Champions Baltimore Ravens (3-4) and Cleveland Browns (3-4) are just two games behind but everybody knows that every game counts in the NFL; it has not been a smooth ride for either team. The Ravens are have offense line problems and had lost one of Joe Flacco’s favorite target Anquan Boldin to the 49ers. The Browns are in somewhat of a rebuilding mode as they traded away their former first rounder running back Trent Richardson to the Colts a few weeks ago. Let’s not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers (2-4) who just haven’t been the Steelers we used to know, they also have O-line issues and lost their game changer Mike Wallace in the offseason when he signed a multi-year contract with the Miami Dolphins.
This leaves us with the AFC East, that seems to be wide open; even though the New England Patriots (5-2) have a one game lead over the New York Jets (4-3) they just have not been as been dominant in games, losing to the Jets in overtime last Sunday. The Jets are gaining trust in rookie quarterback Geno Smith who has been playing well as of late. The Buffalo Bills (3-4) are not what people expect and they are playing well despite their record and their practice squad (fourth string) quarterback Thad Lewis. They marched into Sun Life Stadium to beat the Miami Dolphins (3-3) at home, who people thought would compete with the Patriots in the division but things have not panned out that way. They are having problems at the offensive line and are heading for a season record of 76 sacks; Ryan Tannehill may not even finish the season if this continues.
My prediction 1-Broncos, 2-Bengals, 3-Colts, 4-Patriots, wild cards 5-Chiefs and 6-Ravens.
Oh well, nobody liked when I chose the Dutch to win the World Cup in 2010 and they were runner ups, let’s just see where this goes!
Saints vs Broncos in the Super Bowl, Brees and Manning square off again.
Writer: Stephan Chong
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