AFC NFL Preview

AFC EAST. Division Winner= New England Patriots

I hate to say it and it’s hard to write being a Jets fan, but with Brady playing all games it will be hard to stop them from winning the division. They are the defending super bowl champs even if they cheated to do it. Their defense isn’t going to be as good, but they have enough weapons at offense especially with Gronk, and they have Edelman and Amendola as well. They are pretty weak at running back, but as long as you have Tom Brady and Bill Belichick you have a great shot at winning the division. The rest of this division will be close all year. All teams improved immensely. The Bills have Rex Ryan and a great defense, and they also added McCoy. They could get one of the wild card spots and also can win the division. The Miami dolphins have improved also adding Suh on the defense and Ryan Tannehill is just going to get better. Lamar Miller is also an under-rated running back. They don’t have many options at wide receiver besides Jarvis Landry. The Jets will be interesting this year with first year coach Todd Bowles leading the reigns. They have Revis and Cromartie back, and they picked up other key players like Buster Skrine, Calvin Pryor, and Marcus Gilchrist, not to mention drafted Leonard Williams out of USC and Devin Smith to add to the wideout corp. He can be dangerous at special teams with his speed. The defense will be a force to be reckoned with. On offense, They added a key deep threat in Brandon Marshall, who might be poised to have a big year. Marshall and Decker is a great 1-2 punch. The running game will also be good with Chris Ivory, who is one of the most under-rated backs in my opinion. The Jets also have good back ups in Bilal Powell, and picked up Zac Stacy from the Rams. This division will be one to watch. The Jets have an easy schedule so they can sneak into the wildcard. The AFC east will get at least one team from their division in the wild-card if not two.

AFC SOUTH. Division Winner= Indianapolis Colts.

This should be an easy division for the Colts to win. There aren’t many good teams standing in their way. The Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars will both be terrible and I don’t see the Tennessee Titans doing much of anything. The Jaguars might even be better than both of those teams actually and finish second in the division I think, but this is the Colts division to lose and I cannot see them losing this division. They are one of the favorites from the AFC to make the Super Bowl and even to win the Super Bowl. They are my dark horse to win it all. They picked up Frank Gore from the 49ers, and Andre Johnson from the Texans, and of course you have Andrew Luck throwing to T.Y Hilton and both Fleener and Allen as tight end options, so they will be tough to dethrone in that division.

AFC NORTH. Division Winner= Pittsburgh Steelers.

I think the Steelers will win this division, but it won’t be easy, The Bengals are a better team and the Ravens will always be there, but I think the Bengals might pose a bigger threat for the Steelers for the division. The Browns will finish dead last and could even be the worst team in the NFL this year. The Steelers have great offensive Weapons. Big Ben has always been consistent and LeVeon Bell at running back and Antonio Brown at Wide Receiver and those two could be the best or near the best respectively at their positions. They will be deadly on the offensive end. The defense will be good enough to win a good number of games, but it’s not as good as it has been in the past. The Bengals have a pretty solid running back in Jeremy Hill. They also have a great receiver option in A.J Green. The Bengals are a bit questionable at QB and their success will depend on how he does this season.

AFC WEST. Division Winner= Denver Broncos

I think the Broncos will edge out the Chargers and Chiefs in this division. I think the Chargers and Chiefs will both be decent and have a shot at taking this division. The Chargers didn’t get much better but they did draft Melvin Gordon, and they desperately needed a good running back. Philip Rivers is a decent QB in terms of getting the job done. He has Keenan Allen to throw to and Malcolm Floyd and Antonio Gates when he returns. I can see them being around .500. Denver will win this division I think, but not by much. Peyton is getting older and is not as good as he used to be. He still has weapons to throw to in Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. C.J Anderson is now their #1 back, and there is no running back by committee as there usually is with Denver because he is the clear running back for them. They will need him to have another big year if they want to succeed this year. Anderson also has decent hands to catch passes from the back field. He is the X factor for them I believe. If anyone makes a run at Denver and the AFC West it’s the Kansas City Chiefs. They picked up Jeremy Maclin from the Eagles for Alex Smith to throw to and of course they have one of the deadliest tight ends in Travis Kelce. Jamal Charles is one of the best backs in the game. He is a work horse and does it well. Their success will depend on how Alex Smith does, but as long as he’s decent there’s no doubt that they will make the playoffs. They have a legit shot at winning this division as well. The Raiders will once again be in last place. They did add a key piece on offense in Amari Cooper and they have a solid running back in Latavius Murray. I can see them winning 6 or 7 games this year. Derek Carr at QB is not a threat at all. They also have Crabtree, but he’s not what he used to be, but he’s still a decent #2. The. Raiders defense will be solid as I believe they are a bit under-rated.