Reviewing the AFC and Setting Up the First Round of the Playoffs

No.1 TENNESSEE 12-5: Remarkably this team overcame the loss of Derrick Henry, and locked up the top seed in the AFC, with a gutty win over Houston last Sunday. Henry is probably going to be ready to go for the playoffs and they are going to be a handful.

No.2 KANSAS CITY 12-5: The Chiefs stumbled around and defeated Denver to grab the No.2 seed. They are still the team to beat in the AFC, and open the playoffs against Pittsburgh, who they defeated 36-10 a couple of weeks ago.

No.3 BUFFALO 11-6: This is another team that no one wants to play. They have won their last four games and seem to be hitting on all cylinders. They will open at home with the New England Patriots in what should be a very good matchup.

No.4 CINCINNATI 10-7: The Bengals rested a lot of their main offensive starters and lost to the Browns to drop to the No.4 spot. That might turn out to be a break because they will play the upstart Los Angeles Raiders instead of the Patriots. Most people would take that trade.

No.5 LAS VEGAS RAIDERS: They ended the season with a remarkable 35-32 overtime win over the Chargers, to clinch a playoff spot and jump all the way to the 5th spot. Don’t bet against them as they head to Cincinnati and take on the Bengals.

No.6 NEW ENGLAND 10-7: The Patriots enter the playoffs having lost 3 out of their last 4 games. Not exactly the frame of mind you want to be in. They head to Buffalo and take on a Bills’ team they have dominated the last several years.

No.7 PITTSBURGH 9-7-1: After losing 36-10 (in a game that wasn’t even that close), the Steelers won their last two games, and here they are. They won’t be given much more than a 1% chance in Kansas City and few can argue with that. But, they showed a ton of grit and heart to make the playoffs.

LA CHARGERS 9-8: The Chargers will look back at 2021 and shake their heads wondering how in the hell a team this good didn’t make the playoffs. Probably don’t have to look any further than the head guy calling the shots. He made some of the most bizarre coaching decisions and most didn’t work out. Football is pretty easy; and analytics is just a fancy word.

• AFC MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS:
• Derek Carr
• Joe Burrow
• Patrick Mahomes
• Josh Allen
• AFC COACHES OF THE YEAR:
• Mike Vrabel
• Bill Belichick
• Mike Tomlin
• Brian Flores (who got fired in an idiotic move)
• MOST SURPRISING TEAMS:
• Cincinnati
• Las Vegas
• MOST DISAPPOINTING TEAMS:
• Cleveland
• Baltimore
• BIGGEST CHOKERS:
• Indianapolis (maybe the biggest choke job of all time losing to 2-14 Jacksonville and cost them a playoff berth)
• Los Angeles Chargers (best team to not make the playoffs)