[saintrules]

AFC Preview

September 2nd, 2019

Brady favored for seventh ring

ESPN.com - From an unexpected retirement by Andrew Luck, blacklisting of Antonio Brown, and Tom Brady still drinking GOAT milk, the AFC has seen a few surprising and not so surprising events occur over the offseason.

AFC Favorites

AFC Favorites (10+ Wins)
RK	Team	Projection	Team Ratings
1	New England Patriots	14-2	86 OVR - 85 OFF - 88 DEF
2	Kansas City Chiefs	13-3	83 OVR - 87 OFF - 80 DEF
3	Pittsburgh Steelers	11-5	84 OVR - 84 OFF - 84 DEF
4	Baltimore Ravens	10-6	84 OVR - 84 OFF - 85 DEF
5	Los Angeles Chargers	10-6	80 OVR - 80 OFF - 81 DEF

The obvious is obvious, which of course, is that Tom Brady, Coach Belichick, and the New England Patriots will be the likely winners of the AFC East and Conference, outright. Not only is the team once again commanded behind the likes of GOAT Tom, but the defense holds Stephon Gilmore, Devin McCourty, and Jason McCourty patrolling the not-so-friendly skies in Foxborough. That will be put to the test when reigning NFL MVP, Patrick Mahomes comes to town, but with a clear difference in defensive talent, the likelihood of the Chiefs beating New England isn't quite there. Can the Chiefs beat basically everyone else in the AFC? Well, Mahomes will have Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, LeSean McCoy, and Sammy Watkins..so, absolutely. Speaking of beating basically everyone else, the Steelers, Ravens, and Chargers will do just that, except on one another and the aforementioned teams. The three have a ton of question marks, but for the most part they are pretty intact when it comes to talent. The biggest question mark really comes down to Los Angeles Chargers where Phillip Rivers' window of opportunity gets smaller by the year. The 37 year old, eight time Pro Bowl QB, is up for a contract renewal and there's not necessarily a guarantee of it getting filled. The Chargers have been one of the most talented units across the league the last few years and have absolutely nothing to show for it. The time for Rivers is now.

AFC Contenders

The Contenders (7+ Wins)
RK	Team	Projection	Team Ratings
6	Houston Texans	9-7	81 OVR - 81 OFF - 81 DEF
7	Buffalo Bills	9-7	80 OVR - 79 OFF - 83 DEF
8	Oakland Raiders	8-8	80 OVR - 84 OFF - 76 DEF
9	Indianapolis Colts	8-8	83 OVR - 87 OFF - 79 DEF
10	Cleveland Browns	7-9	82 OVR - 83 OFF - 81 DEF
11	Jacksonville Jaguars	7-9	81 OVR - 80 OFF - 83 DEF

Contending in the AFC is going to be a dogfight. Without a clear separation in talent, all six squads listed above have a realistic opportunity to win their division (AFC South) or clinch a Wild Card bid. Deshaun Watson is officially the most talented QB in this pack following the retirement of Andrew Luck in Indy. That of course is made a millions times better as Houston will feature DeAndre Hopkins. Defensively, all six teams have either long-term talent in place, like JJ Watt in Houston and Calais Campbell in Jacksonville, or some very fun up-and-coming names like Myles Garrett in Cleveland, Micah Hyde in Buffalo, and Darius Leonard in Indianapolis. Quarterbacks like Derek Carr and Nick Foles will try and turn the corner this season and take their squads to the next level, whilst Baker Mayfield, Jacoby Brissett, and Josh Allen still try and secure their seat at the table.

AFC Longshots

The Longshots (1+ Wins)
RK	Team	Projection	Team Ratings
12	Tennessee Titans	6-10	79 OVR - 79 OFF - 81 DEF
13	New York Jets	6-10	79 OVR - 77 OFF - 83 DEF
14	Denver Broncos	5-11	78 OVR - 77 OFF - 81 DEF
15	Cincinnati Bengals	3-13	77 OVR - 76 OFF - 79 DEF
16	Miami Dolphins	2-14	72 OVR - 69 OFF - 76 DEF

Boy have things changed for Tennessee over the last few years... The once rebuilding and promising team behind Mariota has now been handed over to NFL one team journeyman, Ryan Tannehill. That seems to be the story for most of the squads above as there's a lot of talent that has the unfortunate potential to flame out. LeVeon Bell, AJ Green, Von Miller, Chris Harris Jr, and Geno Atkins are just a few of the names in this mix that may go from veterans to one-to-two year contract guys by the time the rest of the talent catches up. Big questions: Will Tennessee go Tannehill or draft? Will Miami go Rosen or draft? What the heck is Cincy going to do with the Red Rocket? QB needs to be the first area addressed for every single one of these franchises, possibly even New York.