Denver Broncos: AFC Playoff Predictions
By Aric Manthey
Ty Walden: Co-Editor
AFC PREDICTION:
Denver
Pittsburgh
New England
Houston
Cincinnati
Oakland
Explanation: The AFC was a bit of a tricky conference to predict this early into the season. So, I am just going to jump right into my predictions.
The No. 1 overall seed I believe will come down to the final day. In the end, the Broncos just have that high powered defense and with an offense that has improved with Trevor Siemian at quarterback, the Broncos get a quality win down the stretch that gives them the No. 1 seed over the Steelers.
Pittsburgh and New England will finish with the same record, but I see the Steelers edging out the Patriots due to Tom Brady’s declining performance at 39 years old and the defense not able to keep up with some high talent in the rest of the AFC.
Houston wins the AFC South by default. Normally, I had the Jaguars winning the division, but I am not quite sold on them at this point of the season to give them the division.
The reason why the Bengals will get the first wild card spot is in due fact that they have lost to Denver and Pittsburgh already. A loss to either Houston or New England will more than likely secure them a wild card at best unless the Steelers get cold late in the season.
The game between Baltimore and Oakland was so important for both teams because I believe that it will come down to the tiebreaker on who gets into the playoffs as the final wild card. Because the Raiders won against the Ravens, I firmly believe that could come back to haunt the Ravens later on.