The race in the AFC has changed significantly in the past few weeks thanks to New England’s late season swoon. The Pats are more or less locked into the fourth seed, barring a total collapse. They have very little chance of moving up in the standings. With that in mind let’s take a look at the important games of Week 14 in the NFL.
Easy Calls
New York (A) at Tampa Bay: The Jets have an outside shot at passing New England. I think that’s worth rooting for. Call me crazy, but New England is one of the only teams in the AFC that worries me. Why are people burying them so early?
Carolina at New England: A battle of vague geographic regions. I like the Panthers for the same reasons stated above.
Cincinnati at Minnesota: I am rooting for the 9-3 Bengals. Sounds crazy? I’d rather Cincy get the two seed over the Chargers. This would make the road much tougher for San Diego. They would have to win an extra game to get to the Super Bowl (on the road at frigid Cininnati).
San Diego at Dallas: Again, I’d like to see the Chargers have the three seed.
Tough Calls
Miami at Jacksonville: This one will at least makes you think for a minute. Do we really want Miami in the playoffs? They played the Colts pretty tough. Personally I’d like to play them. I can’t imagine a scenario where they would beat us in Indianapolis. Not without Ronnie Brown. I’d like to see them steal the AFC East and force the Pats to go on the road. Realistically though we are rooting for who we would rather see play at Cincinnati in the Wild Card round.
Detroit at Baltimore: If the Ravens swipe the sixth seed they would be a tough matchup for Cincinnati. At the same time I’d be thrilled to see the Colts play them in the divisional round. Talk about owning a team.
AFC Playoff Standings
1. Indianapolis (12-0)
2. San Diego (9-3)
3. Cincinnati (9-3)
4. New England (7-5)
5. Denver (8-4)
6. Jacksonville (7-5)
7. Baltimore (6-6)
8. Miami (6-6)
9. New York (6-6)
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