The bye week is often a time to reflect on the first chunk of the games a team played and to look forward to what is to come. I’ve been thinking a lot about the scope of the league and how the Pats will fare come playoff time. It has seemed for a while now that the regular season is just one big warm up for the real show in Foxboro, the playoffs. So let’s dive in, shall we?
Here’s everything you need to know about the best of the best of the AFC aka, “The Teams Just Trying to Keep Up.”
This is where the AFC stands as of today in terms of playoff seeding
Credit to CBSSports
The Patriots are at the top of the conference at 7-1, followed closely by the Raiders, only 1 game back. The Steelers being behind the Texans is a little shocking, and you’d think you could pin that on Ben Roethlisberger being out injured, but he was only out a game against the Patriots, a contest Pittsburgh was hardly guaranteed to win with Roethlisberger. Clearly, the best QB of these six teams belongs to Pats Nation followed by a (when healthy) Roethlisberger, and then Oakland with Derek Carr. The other three are serviceable QBs ranging from inconsistent to above average. Looking beyond these 6 teams, the only other teams with at least 4 wins are the Bills, which received a thrashing from TFB last week, and the Tennessee Titans who still feel one season away before being competitive with the top of the AFC.
All these teams have their strengths, and how exciting that the Raiders are relevant in the NFL again, but now let’s look at how they might match up with the Patriots.
[Read more…] about Pats Potential Playoff Primer: The AFC Elite Scouting Report
