There’s a real litany of sport on at the moment —as someone based in the UK that currently has the ‘luxury’ of not working, I’ve loved keeping my phone on airplane mode and watching the full NBA playoff and NFL games in the mornings.
It might only be 3 weeks in to the NFL season, but I’ve seen enough.
Here’s who makes the playoffs from the AFC.
AFC Playoffs
- For the first time since the motor car was invented, the Patriot’s won’t win the AFC East (OK it was only 2008, but it feels like an eternity)
- It’s going to be tight for the AFC North title. The Bengals will win some games, but not many.
- The AFC South is a three-horse race, but one horse (the Texans) only has three legs.
- The Chiefs… 16-0?
- The LA raiders will miss out on head to head record vs the Patriots and the Colts.
Here’s a breakdown of how each division will go.
AFC East
Josh Allen’s ability to overthrow wide-open receivers in the end zone is more than made up for by his scrambling ability and Sean McDermott and Brian Daboll’s offensive scheming in Buffalo.
The Pats defensive is stifling and they’re starting to build a strong running attack, but I think they’ll lose enough games to fall into second place.
The Dolphins and the Jets are both garbage. The Jets more so #tankfortrevor …
- Buffalo Bills
- New England Patriots
- Miami Dolphins
- New York Jets
AFC South
This is the only division in the AFC that I had any real trouble with. Although the Texans are 0–3, they had the hardest opening 3-game schedule I’ve ever seen, and the Titans are 3–0 but with a total winning margin of 6 points.
In fact, by the end of week 6, they could well both be 3–3. That being said, I think the Texans will have to win both matchups against the Titans to get to a winning record and to win the division, and despite a shaky start by Philip Rivers and the Colts, they’ll push the Titans hard.
The Titans get it done.
- Tenessee Titans
- Indianapolis Colts
- Houston Texans
- Jacksonville Jaguars
AFC North
The AFC North teams get to play the NFC East and the AFC South. Lucky them!
I’m writing this after watching Lamar be largely ineffective against a weak Kansas City defense in week 3, but I’ve no doubt they’ll get to 13 wins without too much fuss. The Steelers will push them close, but I think the Ravens just have enough.
- Baltimore Ravens
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Cleveland Browns
- Cincinnati Bengals
AFC West
So we don’t need to talk about who’s going to win this division. Frankly, it’s hard to see who has a chance of beating the Chiefs. 16–0, anyone?
Before the season, I thought that the Raiders (along with the Colts) could benefit from the extended playoff format and nick the 7th seed, but based on the start of the season, they may do slightly better than that.
The Broncos have a QB crisis and although Chargers rookie Justin Herbert looks good, neither of them are likely to challenge for the playoff spots.
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Las Vegas Raiders
- LA Chargers
- Denver Broncos
Concluding notes
There you have it. The AFC playoffs are locked in. Feel free to hibernate until the playoffs.
There are a couple of things I’m not certain about.
- Which way will the AFC South go? The Head to Head games will most likely decide this division
- Who out of the Patriots, Colts and Raiders (and maybe, just maybe, the Texans) will take the last two playoff spots?
Now check out the NFC version.
*Will = probably, possibly, might, almost certainly won’t…