The NFL regular season begins in less than a month and barring any major injuries to teams with playoff hopes, these are our 2010-11 AFC predictions.
I know the New York Jets are among the sexy picks to win the AFC East and perhaps advance to the Super Bowl, but the team to beat in the AFC this season are the Baltimore Ravens.
With Darrelle Revis holding out, the Jets chances of winning the AFC championship took a serious hit.
Unless New York can figure out a way to renegotiate Revis’ deal and get him back on the field, the Jets are the third best team in the AFC.
The Miami Dolphins will be very competitive in 2010, but they still don’t have enough talent to surpass the Jets and New England.
Speaking of the Patriots, everyone seems to be overlooking this team.
At last check, New England has won 10 or more games in six of the last seven seasons and Tom Brady – two years removed from major knee surgery – remains one of the top five QB’s in the NFL.
Another sexy playoff pick this season are the Houston Texans, a team that on paper has had enough talent to make the playoffs but can’t quite get over the hump.
The Texans may be sexy, but there are at least eight teams in the AFC that are sexier. More specifically, Houston doesn’t have the type of shutdown defense that any team with playoff hopes must have.
Only one team from the AFC South will advance to the playoffs this season, and that team is Indianapolis.
The Colts have Peyton Manning – the best quarterback in the NFL – and that’s the end of the conversation.
The AFC North will be interesting this season with Baltimore and Cincinnati vying for the division title. Even though Ben Roethlisberger will be suspended for at least four games, you can’t count out the Pittsburgh Steelers either.
Some believe the Bengals have a defense that is good enough to hold down the better offenses in the AFC, but that simply isn’t the case.
Cincinnati has plenty of potential to be a good team and should earn a playoff spot this season, but they aren’t going to win their division.
The Ravens are primed for a Super Bowl run this season.
Baltimore has perhaps the best defense in the NFL and an offense that finally has a wide receiver in Anquan Boldin that will prevent opposing defenses from stacking the box to stop their potent running game.
In the AFC West, it’s the San Diego Chargers and everyone else. Oakland may surprise this season and Denver will be decent, but the Chargers are clearly better on both sides of the ball than any other team in the division.
The New York Jets, New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals and San Diego Chargers are the six teams who will advance to the playoffs, with the Ravens defeating the Colts in the AFC championship.
AFC East
New York Jets
New England Patriots
Miami Dolphins
Buffalo Bills
AFC South
Indianapolis Colts
Tennessee Titans
Houston Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars
AFC North
Baltimore Ravens
Cincinnati Bengals
Pittsburgh Steelers
Cleveland Browns
AFC West
San Diego Chargers
Oakland Raiders
Denver Broncos
Kansas City Chiefs
AFC Wildcard Teams
New England
Cincinnati
AFC Championship
Baltimore over Indianapolis
Come back on Tuesday to see our 2010-11 NFC predictions.
