AFC Standings - Week 12 Predictions
By the 11th week, the competition for top spots is as tough as ever. Three teams have edged ahead of the field but we still have six weeks to go. At this point, New England Patriots, New York Jets and Atlanta Falcons are leading the league with
8 wins and 2 losses each. The next few weeks would shape the playoffs.
In the American Football Conference, North and South divisions are hotly contested. Jets and Patriots are tied for first place in AFC East. Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers are tied for first place in AFC North. Jacksonville Jaguars and Kansas City
Chiefs lead the Southern and Western divisions respectively. These six teams at present are almost certain playoff contenders.
Jets and Patriots are in for an easy 12th week. They are facing the worst teams of this season on Thursday and both are the favourites to win. Both teams are scheduled to go up against Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills and Chicago Bears in the coming
weeks. Dolphins and Bills beating the Jets or Patriots would be a major upset. In all likelihood, the league leaders’ win-loss record won’t be adversely affected by teams close to the bottom of the league standings.
Jets face Pittsburgh Steelers in week 15 of the season and Patriots would be up against Green Bay Packers. The Steelers vs. Jets game could turn either way. Packers, on the other hand as tough a team as they might be, would be seriously challenged by the
Patriots. At the end of the day, the AFC East title would come down to the results of week 15 and Week 13.
The 13th week could prove to be the tie breaker when New England Patriots and New York Jets face each other. Offensively, Patriots are the highest scoring team in the league at the moment. Their defence is just barely respectable. Jets' offence
is certainly capable of scoring against New England. The game would eventually come down to the Jets' defence and their ability to restrict the number one scoring side in the league. Jets rank 5th in the league in terms of points allowed.
In any event, both Jets and Patriots are going to the Playoffs, one as division leader and the other as the wildcard entrant.
In AFC North, the competition is between Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. Baltimore have three relatively easy matchups scheduled in the next weeks. They would face Houston Texans, Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals and are favourites for all
three games. Pittsburgh would be faced with Browns, Bengals and Buffalo Bills. Again, Steelers have had the kind of season that warrants naming them as the favourites.
None of that matters because Browns and Bengals, the other AFC North teams have absolutely no chance of making the playoffs. Bengals and Browns have won just 2 and 3 games respectively. The odds of them somehow making the playoffs are astronomical. It would
be Pittsburgh and Ravens in the playoffs either as wildcard or division champions.
There are no clear leaders in AFC South and West. There at least won’t be any wildcards from those divisions. Apart from those two playoff entries, the AFC playoff picture is fairly clear at this point already.
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