AFC wide open this season?

[MoneyFX]

Even though the Texans got handled at home by the previously 2-3 Packers, and the Ravens have a 5-1 record, none of those teams have played consistently to be a favorite in the AFC. NE has lost 3 games by a combined 4 points????? Ravens are inconsistent and defense is decimated without Suggs, Lewis and Webb. Texans falter against real competition and their offense suffers without an effective run game. Steelers D is not what they used to be, Broncos have holes all over their team and the Chargers aren't that good.

So far, Houston has been the best to this point in the season, but they got exposed and their wins haven't come over the best of opponents. Baltimore the best AFC team? NE even with their close losses?

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Houston went up against a VERY angry Rodgers tonight and a Packers team desperate for a win....in fact I expected the Texans to lose tonight.

They are still the best team in the AFC and what they showed tonight does not change that.

 

[RayClay]

Not to rain on the parade, but the patriots are lucky they're in a winnable division this year and should concentrate on that. They're young and have talent, but they still have secondary problems as well as putting everything together problems. They've managed to give games away despite some awesome stretches of front seven and offensive play, and you get no awards for being awesome during losses.

It really doesn't matter who the "best" team is early in the year, it's who improves, gels and does it when it counts, and that means get in the playoffs any way you can.

 

[Ifleninwasawizard]

I don't think there is any one truly elite team in football right now. If you had to pick two it might be the 49ers and Texans, but they are both very beatable teams. This goes even more for the ravens.

There isn't a single team in the league the pats don't present a serious problem to. Of course every team with a decent QB presents a real problem to us. The difference is that if Brady is on one of his better days it is going to be incredibly difficult to outscore us.

Even with all our problems we are still in the top echelon of NFL teams

EDIT: I forgot about the Falcons. For an undefeated team they have been a bit under the radar. They seem like a solid team and this could be the year they make a run. Of course anyone who thinks Brady is a choke artist should consult Matt Ryan's one lonely playoff game last year.

 

[hellolin]

I would love to give the vote to the Ravens and I did, as their playmakers and player's experience, but then losing suggs lewis and webb is going to be huge and it's going to be hard for them. Houston is better than they showed tonight and I think they are a better team than us right now. So I'd say that AFC as a whole is weak and wide open. Samething can be said on the NFC side, yes the Falcons still hasn't lost a game yet but they have ceratinly been under the tests of several teams, giants and 49ers are up and down every other week, saints are done, packers are only 3-3 at this point and their D is also hurting. So yeah I'd say the NFL is actually a lot of fun this year, no clear best team yet

 

[Ifleninwasawizard]

Not to rain on the parade, but the patriots are lucky they're in a winnable division this year and should concentrate on that. They're young and have talent, but they still have secondary problems as well as putting everything together problems. They've managed to give games away despite some awesome stretches of front seven and offensive play, and you get no awards for being awesome during losses.

It really doesn't matter who the "best" team is early in the year, it's who improves, gels and does it when it counts, and that means get in the playoffs any way you can.

I just checked this out 2012 NFL Regular Season Divisional Standings - National Football League - ESPN

Its almost surprising actually how many of these divisions across the NFL are pretty "winnable." I don't think the AFC east is really all that worse than the AFC west. We also probably should have beat the ravens, who are on top of the north. The NFC is obviously a lot better, but I think we would be competitive in all those divisions as well.

The whole NFL is actually wide open this year. Just look at some of the 3-3 teams: Green Bay, the whole AFC east, Eagles, Redskins, Bengals. Really good and really bad teams across the NFL have records you wouldn't expect them to have. This is actually a really exciting year because almost anybody could still make a run.

 

[VrabelJr]

Honestly, this year is looking like the year the Chargers sneak into the Super Bowl finally.

 

[jcdavey]

Honestly, this year is looking like the year the Chargers sneak into the Super Bowl finally.

not with the mistakes i've seen my chargers make lol

unless everyone on other afc teams keep getting injured


let's just all pray the jets don't somehow make the playoffs

 

[patsfan-1982]

Houston is the best team in the AFC the ravens have given up over 200 yards rushing in back to back games and the guy that keeps there over rated defense together Ray Lewis could be out for the year,


the pats are looking like a 10 maybe 11 win team it should only take 9 wins to get the AFC east crown so the pats will get a home playoff game but i dont see them geting a by

 

[stcjones]

Houston went up against a VERY angry Rodgers tonight and a Packers team desperate for a win....in fact I expected the Texans to lose tonight.

They are still the best team in the AFC and what they showed tonight does not change that.

You and I have been in agreement alot recently my friend...could not agree more. Not sure who picked the Pats at this point. Houston is a much more complete team right now despite the loss.

 

[Luxusdk]

Right now I think Texans or Ravens have to battle for it. For many years, AFC have been better then NFC, mainly because they was rebuilding. Now its the other way around.
Looking at AFC:
East: Still beleave we take it, regardless rebuilding mode on the team. Secondary is scary with the veteran guy in DMC on 25?!
West: Denver is about to turn it and grab this - Manning in playoff, who knows?
Chiefs is one of the best teams IF you ain't counting QB!!! So battleing Browns for 1 pick 2013!
North: Ravens are old as ***... Might have the last year in the team, depends on the old bodys in Ed, Ray etc..
South: Texans startet the rebuilding in 2001... So the have a 2-3-4 years kick start to the rest.

Wildcards: Beside Bengals/Raven in North there might be a cheap wildcard. My best guess is Chargers/Denver with a 8-8 score but 7-9 might do it

 

[Rob0729]

Houston went up against a VERY angry Rodgers tonight and a Packers team desperate for a win....in fact I expected the Texans to lose tonight.

They are still the best team in the AFC and what they showed tonight does not change that.

They must have faced a very angry Mark Sanchez last week because the Texans' secondary was awful against the Jets too. The thing is that an VERY angry Sanchez overthrows a wide open WR with no defender within three yards of him while Rodgers hits his receiver for a long TD. If the Jets had a decent QB and WRs, the Jets would have crushed the Texans last week because their mediocre receivers were wide open last Monday night. The only thing that stopped the Jets from lighting up the Texans was a QB who can't hit the side of the barn and WRs who can't catch balls if they are passed underhand to them.

The Texans are the best team in the AFC by default, but they are very beatable and I wouldn't bet money on them being the best team in the AFC come the end of the season.

The Ravens losing Lewis and Webb for the season could be the death nail of them having a chance to be the class of the AFC.

I'm not saying the Pats are or will be the class of the AFC (because they clearly aren't right now), but this is an wide open year for the AFC. At this point I wouldn't sleep on teams like the Chargers or Bengals. This conference could be won by a team with a 12-4 or even 11-5 record based on how this season is going.

The good news for the Pats is many of their problems are mental and inexperience by some players. That can be corrected. The secondary needs to get much better, but other than that it is mostly mental. This is a conference that anyone can get into the playoffs can win the AFC because no one is significantly better than anyone else.

 

[IllegalContact]

I want to call out whoever said the pats........you guys are idiots

 

[dannydyn]

Even though the Texans got handled at home by the previously 2-3 Packers, and the Ravens have a 5-1 record, none of those teams have played consistently to be a favorite in the AFC. NE has lost 3 games by a combined 4 points????? Ravens are inconsistent and defense is decimated without Suggs, Lewis and Webb. Texans falter against real competition and their offense suffers without an effective run game. Steelers D is not what they used to be, Broncos have holes all over their team and the Chargers aren't that good.

... and the Pats secondary is still....

...well....

...there


I hate to sound like a douche, but I think we can all agree that until we fix our secondary, we stand no chance. Can you imagine a QB like Rodgers going against our secondary?

 

[dannydyn]

The AFC may still be wide open, but any of the aforementioned teams' QBs, will shred our secondary.

 

[Banjo]

If Denver beats San Diego, there would leave only two AFC teams with winning records... TWO.

 

[ForThoseAboutToRock]

The Texans are the best team in the AFC by default, but they are very beatable and I wouldn't bet money on them being the best team in the AFC come the end of the season.

The Ravens losing Lewis and Webb for the season could be the death nail of them having a chance to be the class of the AFC.

Agree on both of these points. The Texans have played 2 bad games in a row. It seems that the Cushing injury could be having a significant impact on their defense.

The Ravens (last check) are still expecting to get Suggs back in the next 2-3 weeks (I don't have solid info saying this, just some quotes from late Sept about expectations). Also, the Ravens D is really underperforming in terms of rankings this year, especially given the "Raven's D" expectations. They're in flux right now, so it'll be interesting to see how they shake out with those huge injuries and then maybe getting Suggs back. It looks more like Joe Flacco's team today than it did yesterday.

I'm not saying the Pats are or will be the class of the AFC (because they clearly aren't right now), but this is an wide open year for the AFC. At this point I wouldn't sleep on teams like the Chargers or Bengals. This conference could be won by a team with a 12-4 or even 11-5 record based on how this season is going.

AFC is looking wide open. This doesn't at all look like a season in which the AFC superbowl participant will be blemish-free. Another team not to sleep on will be the Dolphins - I'm hoping their rookie QB / strong D combo recipe doesn't taste the same as Seattle's just did.

NFC playoff picture will be very interesting: Old favorites like GB and NYG are going to have to battle through SEA (probably), Ariz (maybe), 49ers (obviously), Falcons (front runners now... not a great sign for December), Bears and Vikes. This list has 2 too many on there right now - who will get bounced?

 

[Brady2Gronk]

I think the Pats are right there behind the Texans. With the Ravens dealing with some major injuries I think that puts us ahead of them. I still think the Pats play the Texans in the AFC championship and I think that is a toss up.

 

[dannydyn]

I think the Pats are right there behind the Texans. With the Ravens dealing with some major injuries I think that puts us ahead of them. I still think the Pats play the Texans in the AFC championship and I think that is a toss up.

I think you're forgetting our secondary issues. There is no way we make it to the AFCC game with that secondary. They've been playing even worse than last year.

 

[Kontradiction]

As I stated last year, in a conference where parity reigns supreme, it's usually coaching that separates one team from the pack. Our pass defense is BAAAAAAAD, but the front seven is stout.