AFC Midseason Playoff Picture
A way to early breakdown of the AFC moving forward.
By: Justin Miles (justm1les)
The NFL is coming up on week 9, meaning the season is right around the half way mark. Let’s take a look at the AFC playoff picture and breakdown some stats from the season thus far.
Here are the current standings of the top AFC teams:
- Buffalo Bills (6-1)
- Tennessee Titans (5-2)
- Kansas City Chiefs (5-2)
- Baltimore Ravens (5-3)
- New York Jets (5-3)
- Miami Dolphins (5-3)
- Los Angeles Chargers (4-3)
These standings give us a mock draft for the playoff picture.
With these current standings, the Bills would clench a first round bye.
The Titans would play the Chargers.
Chiefs would face the Dolphins.
And the Ravens would match up against the Jets.
While this would lead to some very interesting games, it is unlikely the standings will remain the exact same.
Things are bound to change as soon as this upcoming week. Especially with the Titans and Chiefs facing off in what will be quite the Sunday Night Showdown. However, this does give fans an idea of how everything is shaping out.
Clearly, points allowed and points scored both play a huge role in how successful a team is. However, it may not be as clear cut as it seems.
The Chiefs have scored the most points out of the conference, with 228 in the first half of the season. The Ravens have scored the second most, with 208. Finally, the Bills fall to third with 203 points scored. These three teams come to no surprise, they clearly have three of the most high powered offenses in the league.
Defensively, the Bills have allowed the fewest points, with only 98 given up. The number two team is the Denver Broncos. However, their slow start offensively has them nowhere to be seen in the playoff picture. In third come the Tennessee Titans, who have allowed just 138 points.
Obviously, the best of teams have great scoring differentials. As expected, the Bills are leading the pack with an astounding differential of +105. However, to some surprise, some of the best teams have negative differentials. For example, the Titans have a point differential of -6. The Chiefs have the second best differential of +51 and in third are the Ravens with a differential of +25.
While many arguments can be made regarding strength of schedule and other things, at the end of the day wins are the only thing that matters.
While the Titans are in second now, it seems they do not compare to the other divisional leaders. They will face a true test against the Chiefs in a duel for second place of the AFC this Sunday night.
As the season continues, fans will get a better idea of what teams are contenders and who are pretenders.
What are your thoughts? Who do you think will be running the division come playoff time?
Stats via: ESPN
