AFC could see shift on Sunday
The AFC has been strange this season. In fact, we’ve seen some huge shifts thus far in the regular season, even dating back to before the first game was played.
For instance, the New England Patriots were everybody’s pick to represent the conference in the Super Bowl come February. There was even talk about them having a perfect season. Then the Kansas City Chiefs happened, and the underdogs blew out the home favorites, 42-27, on the opening Thursday night.
From that point through the first five weeks, the Chiefs became the NFL’s darling. Most everyone believed that Alex Smith and Co. were the best team in football, beating not only the Patriots but the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins and Houston Texans as well.
Then, in Week 6, the Pittsburgh Steelers went into Arrowhead Stadium and took care of Kansas City, knocking it from the ranks of the unbeaten. Since then, the Steelers have not lost while the Chiefs have lost three of four, making the Steelers the popular pick to be the AFC’s Super Bowl team.
While those three will continue to play for the role of favorite as we roll toward January, there are some other matters to attend to this weekend.
For all intents and purposes, there are a handful of AFC teams that should they lose in Week 10, they are eliminated from playoff contention.
The Los Angeles Chargers are one such club, taking on the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field. A loss would drop the Chargers to 3-6 and while they are certainly mathematically alive, it would be a miracle to see them play a 17th game this year.
The same can be said for the Houston Texans. Houston is also 3-5 and on the road to take on the red-hot Los Angeles Rams. A defeat to the Rams, something that is widely expected with Deshaun Watson out for the year with a torn ACL, would be a death nell for the Texans.
Another team in that boat would be the New York Jets. New York has played wildly better than anybody could have expected, sitting at 4-5. However, a loss at the hands of the underwhelming Tampa Bay Buccaneers would give them a 4-6 record with games still coming against the Patriots and Chiefs among others.
The Cincinnati Bengals are also on life support. Cincinnati is 3-5 and taking on the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium, knowing a win is a must. Without one, the Bengals have no path to the playoffs barring the miraculous.
Finally, the Denver Broncos have to find a way to escape their doldrums, losers of four straight. It won’t be easy with the Patriots coming into town for a Sunday night visit. At 3-5, the Broncos either win or face a second consecutive year of missing the playoffs.
We may not see a ton of movement atop the AFC playoff picture this weekend, but we can certainly see teams being eliminated en masse, clearing the deck.
