AFC Rankings At This Moment November Edition

[corta765]

Welp a month later things have certainly changed here as our beloved Bills are in stride and have maybe their most complete roster since the 90s while the rest of AFC is settling fast. Here is where I see things standing as we approach the final stretch:

 

The Two Towers

Buffalo

Kansas City

-Manning vs Brady, Colts v Pats, Yankees v Red Soxs, Peanut Butter v Jelly.. (wait haha) all classic battles that were the Shakespearian rising to take on the mountain and falling before finally breaking through. Bills fans have their gripes with McD and rightfully, but against KC he finally showed the killer instinct you need to beat them and was rewarded on Josh's 26 yarder game ender. January is when it really matters, but this change is the final piece if Buffalo is to slay the dragon who will be waiting come January.

 

Great Offense Or Great Defense

Baltimore

Pittsburgh

-The Ravens at their best they are brutally hard to stop across the board... they also now have four losses and Lamars performance yesterday did nothing to quiet his big game critics. They now are looking at going on the road to start the playoffs and the remaining schedule has just one freebee vs NYG. The biggest issue is the defense is soft and not the unit fielded last year which means if the Ravens are down early it is an issue. The offense can cruise most of the time but if it is not things get dicey quickly

-The Steelers defense is truly impressive to watch as their physicality and group attack mentality wears down so many teams. The offense is far more competent then in prior year versions as Tomlin has them getting every ounce of talent out he can. Still todays NFL favors offense over defense big time, no doubt this Steeler team can win the division and has some real legs to it, BUT against Buffalo KC or even HOU can they hang in if it becomes a shoot out?

 

Your AFC West Wildcard Teams

LA Chargers

Denver Broncos

-Jim Harbaugh should be used as a case point example of making sure your roster is using everything it has properly and to the best of its ability. The Chargers have had pieces including most importantly at QB yet spun their tires. Competent coaching and development all the sudden has the Chargers being a very fiesty team and the offense is jelling to the point they will upset someone this January.

-As a person who was skeptical of Bo Nix I throw my flowers to him the kid can ball. We have seen many rookies flame out after a good 1st year where they make the playoffs and the skies seemingly the limit, regardless for a talent poor offense he has them going. The defense is superb and as a Bills fan I feel way better seeing them this year crush it on the backend knowing it was not just fully our own ineptitude but their good haha. They will still have a bad game or two and the finale vs KC is going to probably dictate the playoffs, but I would expect to see the Broncos back in the playoffs for the first time in forever.

 

The Texans

-They are basically winning the division by default as even though some injuries have hurt the max potential of this team. Stroud will be fine long term but this is the danger of hyping a young QB when they still need to learn and grow. Regardless if they can get going with Nico back this offense can still be a real issue and the defense can keep them with anyone.

 

Probably Too Late & Major What Ifs Are Coming

Miami

Cincy

-The Dolphins offense is back with Tua back and look more diversified than ever before under McDaniel. At 4-6 they are not out of it, but realistically they have to go 6-1 the remainder of the year which is a tall order for even the best teams. It is fair to ask what could have been had Tua been healthy as Hill finally looks to be aging and they need to transition this roster talent wise. Years of draft picks feel wasted as they went win now too fast. Cincy on the other hand has wasted Burrows best season as the defense has regressed with talent jettison over years and they have had some awful luck going 1-5 now in one score games. The Bengals should do everything in their power to keep Higgins, but it feels like he is gone and they may have wasted one of the best triplet groups ever and never got a ring. Ownership here always being cheap shows up again as Burrow sees his window tighten no fault of his own. Outside of miracle 7-0 run its over for this core of players.

 

Intriguing Youth

Indianapolis

New England

-Both teams have young QBs who are taking their chops head on. Maye started slow but has looked quite good the last few starts and will be fun to watch the remainder of the year even though they will not be close to a playoff team. Richardson and the Colts on the other hand have had ups and downs as the youngster is very raw and had to learn some real lessons on leadership which he has taken to heart and then put on a good performance taking down the Jets. Colts faithful would love to see their boys claw into the post season, but truthfully if Richardson can keep showing some real strides that would be far more important then a token playoff berth.

 

2026 Draft

Vegas

Tennesee
New York Jets

All three of these teams are just playing for next year and their directions are all very different. Vegas was using this as a "rebuilding year" maybe kind of? but will be needing a new QB regardless. The Jets have imploded spectacularly and wasted a good young core for Aaron Rodgers friends from the 2010s and now are looking like the 4th worst team in the AFC East long term. The Titans at least tried a young talented QB and while it failed have probably the most stable long term foundation. Regardless the 2026 draft is paramount for all of these teams if they really want to reset their rosters and get back into the playoff race for 2026.

 

The Jaguars

-People have finally realized Trent Baalke is an atrocious GM, but more importantly a full house cleaning is needed from top to bottom. If there is a team that could desperately use Bill Belichick the Jags might be #1 for what he could do to that roster and org. The problem is he will have his pick this offseason and not sure where the Jags rate compared to spots like DAL or maybe NYG.

 

The Browns

-They need to bottom out but this is a rocky QB crop and they still don't seem fully sit to start moving on from Watson. No love is lost for this org, but for the fans it is beyond hopeless and the team itself may even drive out the coach who has done wonders with that team.

[Ya Digg?]

10 minutes ago, corta765 said:

Welp a month later things have certainly changed here as our beloved Bills are in stride and have maybe their most complete roster since the 90s while the rest of AFC is settling fast. Here is where I see things standing as we approach the final stretch:

 

The Two Towers

Buffalo

Kansas City

-Manning vs Brady, Colts v Pats, Yankees v Red Soxs, Peanut Butter v Jelly.. (wait haha) all classic battles that were the Shakespearian rising to take on the mountain and falling before finally breaking through. Bills fans have their gripes with McD and rightfully, but against KC he finally showed the killer instinct you need to beat them and was rewarded on Josh's 26 yarder game ender. January is when it really matters, but this change is the final piece if Buffalo is to slay the dragon who will be waiting come January.

 

Great Offense Or Great Defense

Baltimore

Pittsburgh

-The Ravens at their best they are brutally hard to stop across the board... they also now have four losses and Lamars performance yesterday did nothing to quiet his big game critics. They now are looking at going on the road to start the playoffs and the remaining schedule has just one freebee vs NYG. The biggest issue is the defense is soft and not the unit fielded last year which means if the Ravens are down early it is an issue. The offense can cruise most of the time but if it is not things get dicey quickly

-The Steelers defense is truly impressive to watch as their physicality and group attack mentality wears down so many teams. The offense is far more competent then in prior year versions as Tomlin has them getting every ounce of talent out he can. Still todays NFL favors offense over defense big time, no doubt this Steeler team can win the division and has some real legs to it, BUT against Buffalo KC or even HOU can they hang in if it becomes a shoot out?

 

Your AFC West Wildcard Teams

LA Chargers

Denver Broncos

-Jim Harbaugh should be used as a case point example of making sure your roster is using everything it has properly and to the best of its ability. The Chargers have had pieces including most importantly at QB yet spun their tires. Competent coaching and development all the sudden has the Chargers being a very fiesty team and the offense is jelling to the point they will upset someone this January.

-As a person who was skeptical of Bo Nix I throw my flowers to him the kid can ball. We have seen many rookies flame out after a good 1st year where they make the playoffs and the skies seemingly the limit, regardless for a talent poor offense he has them going. The defense is superb and as a Bills fan I feel way better seeing them this year crush it on the backend knowing it was not just fully our own ineptitude but their good haha. They will still have a bad game or two and the finale vs KC is going to probably dictate the playoffs, but I would expect to see the Broncos back in the playoffs for the first time in forever.

 

The Texans

-They are basically winning the division by default as even though some injuries have hurt the max potential of this team. Stroud will be fine long term but this is the danger of hyping a young QB when they still need to learn and grow. Regardless if they can get going with Nico back this offense can still be a real issue and the defense can keep them with anyone.

 

Probably Too Late & Major What Ifs Are Coming

Miami

Cincy

-The Dolphins offense is back with Tua back and look more diversified than ever before under McDaniel. At 4-6 they are not out of it, but realistically they have to go 6-1 the remainder of the year which is a tall order for even the best teams. It is fair to ask what could have been had Tua been healthy as Hill finally looks to be aging and they need to transition this roster talent wise. Years of draft picks feel wasted as they went win now too fast. Cincy on the other hand has wasted Burrows best season as the defense has regressed with talent jettison over years and they have had some awful luck going 1-5 now in one score games. The Bengals should do everything in their power to keep Higgins, but it feels like he is gone and they may have wasted one of the best triplet groups ever and never got a ring. Ownership here always being cheap shows up again as Burrow sees his window tighten no fault of his own. Outside of miracle 7-0 run its over for this core of players.

 

Intriguing Youth

Indianapolis

New England

-Both teams have young QBs who are taking their chops head on. Maye started slow but has looked quite good the last few starts and will be fun to watch the remainder of the year even though they will not be close to a playoff team. Richardson and the Colts on the other hand have had ups and downs as the youngster is very raw and had to learn some real lessons on leadership which he has taken to heart and then put on a good performance taking down the Jets. Colts faithful would love to see their boys claw into the post season, but truthfully if Richardson can keep showing some real strides that would be far more important then a token playoff berth.

 

2026 Draft

Vegas

Tennesee
New York Jets

All three of these teams are just playing for next year and their directions are all very different. Vegas was using this as a "rebuilding year" maybe kind of? but will be needing a new QB regardless. The Jets have imploded spectacularly and wasted a good young core for Aaron Rodgers friends from the 2010s and now are looking like the 4th worst team in the AFC East long term. The Titans at least tried a young talented QB and while it failed have probably the most stable long term foundation. Regardless the 2026 draft is paramount for all of these teams if they really want to reset their rosters and get back into the playoff race for 2026.

 

The Jaguars

-People have finally realized Trent Baalke is an atrocious GM, but more importantly a full house cleaning is needed from top to bottom. If there is a team that could desperately use Bill Belichick the Jags might be #1 for what he could do to that roster and org. The problem is he will have his pick this offseason and not sure where the Jags rate compared to spots like DAL or maybe NYG.

 

The Browns

-They need to bottom out but this is a rocky QB crop and they still don't seem fully sit to start moving on from Watson. No love is lost for this org, but for the fans it is beyond hopeless and the team itself may even drive out the coach who has done wonders with that team.

I don’t think Belichek wants anything to do with Dallas. Jerry isn’t going to give up control, and at Belichek’s age he’s not going to go somewhere and not have control 

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

8 minutes ago, Ya Digg? said:

I don’t think Belichek wants anything to do with Dallas. Jerry isn’t going to give up control, and at Belichek’s age he’s not going to go somewhere and not have control 

He’s gonna go the cowher route where people always start rumors he’s coming back but he’s getting paid plenty to be a tv personality and why possibly tarnish his legacy