Its very early in the season. Most teams are six games in. Needless to say, nothing is set in stone. But I wanna take a look at who I think will win each of the divisions.
AFC East – Buffalo Bills
The Bills are currently a game behind the Dolphins but have the head to head tiebreaker. Miami is a good team, dont get me wrong, but they are the worst of the 5-1 teams, by far. The five teams they have beaten have five wins between them through Week 6. The Bills on the other hand have played five teams that are at .500 or better. Their loss to the Jets in Week 1 is looking less and less dubious as the season goes on. (The Jets arent good, are they?) And, the loss to the London Jaguars was close. In the end, this division will likely be decided Week 18 in sunny Florida.
AFC North – Pittsburg Steelers
This is, hands down, the best division in the league. And that was not true two weeks ago. Two weeks ago I would have said that the Ravens are going to run away with the division. But then the Bengals won two in a row. The Browns gave the 49ers their first loss. And the Steelers took down the Ravens. Honestly, the only reason Im picking the Steelers at this point is they are undefeated in the division. I dont think theyre the best team. I dont think the AFC North has a best team right now. Theyre all at .500 or better and look like theyre going to beat each other up all season.
AFC South – Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars are sitting pretty high on the power rankings right now with big over the Bills and two division wins against the Colts. In fact, they havent played a team thats under .500 yet. I think the most important thing they are doing is playing smart football. Staying two weeks in London to avoid jetlag was genius. And, despite a slow start, they finally figured out how to put some points on the board. The Colts and maybe even the Texans might be able to make a run but it seems unlikely that they will.
AFC West – Kansas City Chiefs
Boy oh boy, this division is not looking that great. Easily the worst division in the AFC. While the Chiefs havent had the hardest schedule so far this season they do have Taylor Swift on their side and I wouldnt dare upset the Swifties. From a football perspective the Chiefs have had two tough games, a loss to the Lions and a win over the Jaguars, but their other four games have been pretty mediocre. The only game theyve won by more than one score is the Bears game but Im pretty sure you start with 21 points when you play Chicago this season so that hardly counts. Theres a slight chance the Raiders make something happen but I really dont think theyll be a threat.
Wildcard – Dolphins, Ravens, Browns
We get three wildcard teams this year and if any of the division winners I picked dont take the division I feel like they should still make the playoffs. The Dolphins and Ravens will almost certainly make the playoffs too. As long as they can keep their QBs healthy anyway. And I really dont know who is going to get that last spot. Our official power rankings would have me believe that its the Browns but I wouldnt be surprised to see the Jets or Texans sneak in. Theyre both playing way better than anyone expected and this league is so volatile that anything could happen. Hell, the Chargers or Bengals could get their shit together and make a run at this point.
Well, there you have it, my early season division winners. Let me know what you think in the comment section. Tomorrow Ill take a look at the NFC.
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