Now that we have begun to separate the contenders from the pretenders, the AFC Playoff picture has become much clearer. Vegas is bullish on the Broncos.
Now that we’re midway through the season, the playoff picture has come into focus. November and December may be where champions are forged, but September and October are where frauds are exposed. The AFC has a lot of them.
Outside of the AFC West, only two teams are more than one game over .500. The Broncos, Chiefs, and Raiders are a combined 17-6. The theme of this AFC season has emerged, and it’s that the Chargers might be the 2 seed if they played in the NFC.
The AFC is weaker than in years past. The Bengals aren’t the wild card dynasty they have been in recent memory, Pittsburgh is incredibly banged up, and the Ravens are much less fearsome when Joe Flacco is the 2nd best player on the offense.
However, the Spying Bradys are still doing Patriot things because they’re a bunch of cyborgs created in Bill Belichick’s warehouse out on Cape Cod. They’re 7-1 and Belichick just booted the most athletic defensive player in team history out the door because he’s unhappy with the defense. Football’s #whitepeopleproblems are #Belichickproblems.
Turning to Vegas is always helpful in times of sports confusion. Many of the mathematical models that crashed the stock market were originally created in the desert to gain the slightest edge on a bookie that seems to know it all.
With eight games to go, let’s take stock of where each division currently stands, and where Vegas thinks it will ultimately end up.