AFC Midseason Rankings

[corta765]

I did the exercise at the quarter poll and I am back at the midway point. There is certainly some separation being created but also some teams that are hard to still get a full read which probably means they are an up and down team in general.

As always comment, disagree, ask for Beane to fire me etc.. lets discourse

 

Still Feel Like The Class of The AFC BUT Major * For Each

Buffalo Bills- 6-2 with a golden look at the 1 seed if they take care of business.. but that WR corp is a problem if they get down chasing and the defense has been hurt by injuries robbing its full potential.

Kansas City Chiefs- They look to have turned the corner before losing to the Bills in game they never had control. At 5-4 they can still take the division but the 1 seed is probably toast and even the division will require a lot of hard nose football to take it. They are different come playoff time, but being a road team needing 3 wins vs 1 seed at home needing 2 is very different.

 

Their Good, Just No Track Record

Indianapolis Colts- I have no doubt Indy is a really good team and the stats back it up. The question is whether Jones is a 99' Rams style new kid on the block story or the 2008 Titans with Kerry Collins which was a nice story but didn't have the gas come postseason.

 

Want To Believe As The Record Is Good But...

New England Patriots- Their only quality win is over Buffalo in a game Buffalo made a million mistakes. Maye is legit, but the rest of the roster still is light on talent and what happens when they do play Tampa, Baltimore, Buffalo etc.. They can easily win 12 games, but they just need to prove it is real, Maye we do know is real

Denver Broncos- The roster is superb and they have some quality wins. The big question and driving factor on their season is whether Bo can actually take a step or his good/bad nature is who he is. If he cannot be more good then bad they will not take the division.

 

Coaching, Injuries, Or Talent Limit Their Ceiling

Los Angeles Chargers- Coaching actually helps here but the injuries to their offensive line just lower substantially their ceiling and without Alt they are not the same offense regardless of Herbert. Probably a wild card team but hard to see a run outside of Herbert going off

Pittsburgh Steelers- The offense is doing what it can and at times is pretty decent. The defense though is a shell of itself and even at its best it is a middling opportunistic unit. Tomlin has his good and bad weeks. I still think they take the division and have the ability to be a spunky out but the best teams should have their way.

 

They Still Need To Go 7-2 To Make It In

Baltimore Ravens- They certainly look better and the offense is going. They also basically cannot slip up much the remainder of the way as they sit at 2-3 in conference and the defense still is not what it has been. I see a stiffer road here then people want to believe.

 

Maybe Frisky Enough For Playoffs

Jacksonville Jaguars- Every time they make you want to believe they crap out against a lesser team. Regardless the defense isn't bad and the offense when it is humming can be good. Can they get to 10 wins?

Houston Texans- Their defense might be the best in the NFL but the offensive line is the worst. Stroud has looked better, but between early losses that put them in a hole and an offense not scaring anyone it just feels like low chance they run the table especially with IND rolling and JAX looking solid to in division.

 

Trash

Cincinnati Bengals- They won't sell off their best pieces to retool like Hendrickson, their offense is great even without Burrow, and they are at this point directionless in terms of the teams identity. Maybe they fire Taylor? Maybe they trade like they should've in the offseason Higgins to remold the defense? Maybe they finally admit their entire team strategy is Trash? I doubt any of this happens and they do the same sh*t again next offseason.

 

The Rebuild Is On

Miami Dolphins- Welp that was that. They had a fun run for a few years where they showed signs of being a threat ... and then they couldn't get it going Tua was figured out etc.. Rebuild is on.. does McDaniel stay?

Oakland sorry Vegas Raiders-I get it, they tried thinking with Geno & Pete the old magic would come back and they could be frisky. Geno is fired, the roster does not have the talent to really go, and its another rebuild for the Raiders.

 

Watson Trade Worst In NFL History?

Cleveland Browns- A truly elite defense is being wasted because the offense sucks, the QB sucks, and they can't score. By the time the offense gets going the defense will need revision. The domino impact of not keeping Baker AND then trading what they did for Watson AND Waston being hot garbage is going to make an incredible 30 for 30 by ESPN.

 

On To The 2026 Draft

Tennessee Titans- Having had to watch a few Titans games or moments I think Ward has some legit potential... but that roster is so bad and needs so much help its hard to diagnose one specific issue.

 

On To The 2027 Draft

New York Jets- Multi year rebuild which they have loaded up for. Even if they draft a new QB this is going to take years

Edited 3 hours ago by corta765

[Marcus Aurelius]

A good and articulate summary.

[boyst]

They're*

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

More so than ever I think one single loss this week rewrites the script of every good team a ton haha everyone will give up on the colts if they lose this next one, bills will go back to a big time question mark, ravens will probably be seen as pretty good but in too big a hole,Steelers will probably get given up on also but it would probably keep things open for the ravens 

[BuffaloBill]

16 minutes ago, Marcus Aurelius said:

A good and articulate summary.

This^^^

 

With that said, the Colts are an enigma to me. They might be a flash and sizzle situation. However Jonathan Taylor is the real deal.

 

I also think NE* is better than @corta765 suggests. Not suggesting they are the 2nd coming of the Brady era. Drake Maye is the real deal and they are very well coached. We will see how they pan out over the rest of the season but they are not to be taken lightly in my opinion.

[SF Bills Fan]

Agree on most of this, but I think the Ravens will keep improving, getting healthy and their schedule is fairly light here on. I think they will be the team that is scary at playoff time. If we are in the AFC Championship game, I'd bet they are the team we play.

[boyst]

4 minutes ago, BuffaloBill said:

This^^^

 

With that said, the Colts are an enigma to me. They might be a flash and sizzle situation. However Jonathan Taylor is the real deal.

 

I also think NE* is better than @corta765 suggests. Not suggesting they are the 2nd coming of the Brady era. Drake Maye is the real deal and they are very well coached. We will see how they pan out over the rest of the season but they are not to be taken lightly in my opinion.

 they are the 2019 Tennessee Titans. Was it 2019? It was one of those years when they were good and ran a bunch and got to the playoffs as a one seed to get exposed. 

[corta765]

26 minutes ago, BuffaloBill said:

This^^^

 

With that said, the Colts are an enigma to me. They might be a flash and sizzle situation. However Jonathan Taylor is the real deal.

 

I also think NE* is better than @corta765 suggests. Not suggesting they are the 2nd coming of the Brady era. Drake Maye is the real deal and they are very well coached. We will see how they pan out over the rest of the season but they are not to be taken lightly in my opinion.

Thats why for the Colts I listed 2008 Titans or you could use even 2021. Certainly a good team with a great running back and many good pieces... but how does it go when the brightest lights come.

 

NE I think is very good which is mostly because of Maye & Vrabel. At some point I expect a little down swing for a little, but I would rather play PIT IND DEN LAC before NE at this point.

[Big Turk]

Colts going to be like Vikings last year....finish with a great regular season record and get smoked in their first playoff game because their QB gets exposed.

[PrimeTime101]

26 minutes ago, boyst said:

 they are the 2019 Tennessee Titans. Was it 2019? It was one of those years when they were good and ran a bunch and got to the playoffs as a one seed to get exposed. 

I 100% agree with this message. 

[Dukestreetking]

Bills now #1 in ESPN power rankings. So we got that going for us.

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

1 hour ago, boyst said:

 they are the 2019 Tennessee Titans. Was it 2019? It was one of those years when they were good and ran a bunch and got to the playoffs as a one seed to get exposed. 

2021 I believe…they lost to cincy in the divisional after the bye…2020 they did win the division and lose in the WC in Lamar’s first playoff win so pretty similar 

[Augie]

51 minutes ago, PrimeTime101 said:

I 100% agree with this message. 

 

I 100% want you both to be correct. 

 

It would be entertaining to see the meltdown if the Colts came out of nowhere to win a Super Bowl, however. I think somebody should bet $5k that they win it all, without mentioning it to the wife. It could take some of the sting out of not winning it….again. 

[djp14150]

My thoughts……

 

new England is decent but they are going to falter some.  Good start has given them confidence.

 

Indianapolis was in a bunch of one score games last year, I think 8-6. They won 2 near or at the end of the game.  Thry have a tough closing schedule playing twice against Jax and hou and they play ATL, KC, SEA,and  SF. Indy got TEN twice

 

JAX— they still have TEN twice, hou ne, indy 2 times. Thry have chargers, broncos,and  cardinals

 

at 3-5, does Houston try to fight for division or fade? They lost to JAX earlier  and play them in Sunday a los puts them in a hole being 3 games back in record+ season sweep.

 

west….

 

chargers have the upper hand because they swept division play at 3-0 earlier in the season.  They have PIT and JAX before their bye and still have PHL and Dallas.

Denver has 5 divisional games to play and Jax, gb, and wounded was team to play.

kC still plays twice against Denver so they still control their fate in division race. Thry also have dal, Indy, and Houston.

 

north…

 

I only see the division winner making the playoffs from here.  Baltimore still has 5 divisional games games to play.

 

 

i think the WC teams will be the 2nd place teams other than the north.

 

 

 

 

 

[JP51]

2 hours ago, SF Bills Fan said:

Agree on most of this, but I think the Ravens will keep improving, getting healthy and their schedule is fairly light here on. I think they will be the team that is scary at playoff time. If we are in the AFC Championship game, I'd bet they are the team we play.

I may be whistling by the graveyard here... defense still banged up... 2-3 conference record and losses head to head with the Chiefs, Texans and Bills. Their games are with the Steelers (2) Browns (1) Bengals (2) Vikings, Pats, Green Bay and the Jets...  I think they need 8-1 (11-6) to very likely  get in with their conf record and head to heads.... 7-2 (10-7) gives them a fair shot but no guarantee... 6-3 (9-8) I think is outside looking in with the Pats, Bills, Chargers, Chiefs, Jags, Bronco's Steelers, Colts all way ahead of them... not that it cant happen... but I can envision a 3-2 in the remaining division games and one loss to either the Vikings, Green Bay or the Pats...  I think that effectively knocks them out...  

 

So effectively if the season ended today, they would need to knock KC, Buffalo or the Chargers out of the playoffs or overtake the Steelers....  Chargers currently have a 3 game lead over them...  not impossible...Steelers cant get swept ....  but that is what they are facing. A loss to Minnesota would really hurt.

Edited 36 minutes ago by JP51

[Sojourner]

2 hours ago, BuffaloBill said:

This^^^

 

With that said, the Colts are an enigma to me. They might be a flash and sizzle situation. However Jonathan Taylor is the real deal.

 

I also think NE* is better than @corta765 suggests. Not suggesting they are the 2nd coming of the Brady era. Drake Maye is the real deal and they are very well coached. We will see how they pan out over the rest of the season but they are not to be taken lightly in my opinion.

Well coached annd not to be taken lightly indeed. The adjustments in that Browns game were top notch. Obliterated one of the best defenses in the league. 

[Warriorspikes51]

here's to hoping the Bucs ruin the Patriots bandwagon

[Jrb1979]

3 minutes ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

here's to hoping the Bucs ruin the Patriots bandwagon

Those same Bucs can do the same to the Bills the following week. 

[corta765]

8 minutes ago, JP51 said:

I may be whistling by the graveyard here... defense still banged up... 2-3 conference record and losses head to head with the Chiefs, Texans and Bills. Their games are with the Steelers (2) Browns (1) Bengals (2) Vikings, Pats, Green Bay and the Jets...  I think they need 8-1 (11-6) to very likely  get in with their conf record and head to heads.... 7-2 (10-7) gives them a fair shot but no guarantee... 6-3 (9-8) I think is outside looking in with the Pats, Bills, Chargers, Chiefs, Jags, Bronco's Steelers, Colts all way ahead of them... not that it cant happen... but I can envision a 3-2 in the remaining division games and one loss to either the Vikings, Green Bay or the Pats...  I think that effectively knocks them out...  

Agreed.

 

I also think alotttt of media wants BAL in biggest so many of them were high on the Ravens at the start of the season and them missing the playoffs would not be a great look for the masses. It ignores the fact that their schedule is no joke still, their tie breakers suck, and they still have injuries that have weakened a team that is not nearly the monster it was thought to be. Like Josh/Pat Lamar gives them a chance every day so you cannot discount that, but reality is a different thing too.

[djp14150]

On NFC….

 

East…it looks like the eagles will win the division and be only playoff team

 

South— I think Tampa wins the division. Carolina has 5 divisional games games and plays nfc west except AZ .  Carolina is 5-4 so thry are in playoff hunt.

 

west— San Francisco, like chargers, played division form early and went 3-0. Next 2 games are also div games. The results will say a lot about how they do in the division 

 

Arizona before beating cowboys were 2-5, all one score games and I think 4 of the 5 had blown leads late in games,

 

north— all 4 are 500 or better.  Some talk of all 4 making the playoffs is possible, but unlikely.  This is very wide open. Green Bay has 5 of 6 divisional games games left.

 

i think the 2nd place teams in north and west make WC. 3rd WC is between 3rd place teams in north and west and 2nd place in south