Recap The Court

Jacob Smith

We’ve looked at the NFC, now let’s look at each division in the AFC. Contenders, bottom of the barrel, on the come up, everything from the Super Bowl to a rough time. Who better to tell you about each division (sarcastically) than me? Let’s get started with the talk of the offseason, the AFC East.

AFC East

J – E – T – S JETS JETS JETS! They were a QB away, now they have a QB. Aaron Rodgers is in New York a part of the New York Jets and wow do they get scary now. Garrett Wilson, Sauce Gardner, Breece Hall, Dalvin Cook and Quinnen Williams. Though they finished third in the division last year, they were immediately put in the Super Bowl contenders conversation once the Rodgers move happened, and it’s deserved. New York got themselves a guy that puts them in the upper echelon of the AFC with Kansas City, Cincinnati and Buffalo, and seeing the Jets make a run is starting to feel like it would be great for football. One of those “football is great when this team is good” situations.

Another team in the AFC East looking to assert themselves at the top of the pecking order, with a little help from a healthy quarterback is the Miami Dolphins. Tua when he was healthy at the start of last season, was ripping the league apart. Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle in the fourth quarter were almost guaranteed to take the top off the defence for a long touchdown at least once, and that game against the Ravens still must be fresh in a lot of fans minds as the potential of what this team can be when they stay healthy. With their defence the biggest x factor and question, especially with the firepower in the AFC, a lot of pressure will be on the offence to maintain the excellence they showed, and take down the team that has owned that division for a few years, the Buffalo Bills.

Go Bills! With the excitement of possibly getting Jordan Poyer, Micah Hyde, Tre’Davious White and Von Miller on the field at the same time for an extended period of time this season, there’s legitimate reason to be as excited for the defence only making Josh have to score 20-25 points a game, as fans are for Josh having the ability to put up 40. Stefon Diggs is back, despite other fanbases and the media’s best shots at making everyone believe nobody wants to play in Buffalo, and maybe with less turnovers, Buffalo can maintain their fight for the number one seed in the AFC that they posed all last season.

The last team in the AFC East is the New England Patriots, and what is there to say about the team responsible for the dynasty. Just a couple years ago, Mac Jones took headlines with his efficiency and accuracy, and last year their defence took the headlines with flashy rookies. If i’m being honest, the path for a good division record for the Patriots this year seems bleak, but what is the saying? Never bet against Bill Belichek? That seems to be getting put to the test again this year as the Patriots will probably have to pull something out of a hat to make a splash this season with how stacked the conference is.

AFC South

Ok let’s start with the Tennessee Titans. Derrick Henry is electrifying, and he’s put that team on his back. While he’s had some injury issues, whenever he’s healthy, you can’t miss him on the field, the issue for the Titans has been helping him out. We all saw what AJ Brown did in Philadelphia this past season, and when he was on the Titans it was very obvious how important he was to the offence paired with Corey Davis. The Titans brought in DeAndre Hopkins this offseason, and while that could be a good move if Hopkins is what he was at the start of his Arizona time and in Houston, it brings a lot of questions back around why AJ Brown ever left the building.

The Titans passing offence fell off a cliff last season with only Treylon Burks to depend on, it allowed defences to pack the box and focus solely on Henry, and they clearly didn’t have a primary dude at receiver. Rumours were they didn’t want to bring back AJ Brown because of the money he wanted, but then they went and paid Hopkins a pretty good contract, who brings the same skills as AJ Brown and is significantly older. Anyway, confusion around that aside, the Titans need to figure out whether they’re giving the reigns to Malik Willis or Will Levis, and if Tannehill is chosen to still lead the team all the way throughout the season, with the strength of this division, they should still be contenders if not favourites.

The Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts will be entering the season with rookie quarterbacks, and a slow and steady climb ahead of them. With the Texans introducing John Metchie III into the wide receiver depth chart and questions around who the top guy is going to be in the running back room, they share a lot of the same questions as the Colts.

Indianapolis has a situation going on with their star running back Jonathan Taylor who has until August 29th to find a trade until maybe he’s held in Indiana for the season until he’s a UFA? They’ll be starting Anthony Richardson at QB while the Texans start CJ Stroud, and while the ceiling for both can be very high, I don’t expect either team to really make a jump this season, leaving the door open for another playoff appearance for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jags made a substantial jump last season, and fingers can obviously be pointed to the change in coach but a lot of it has to do with Trevor Lawrence. Now adding Calvin Ridley who’s returning off a gambling suspension, the Jaguars should still be a very strong team to contend with the Titans for the division, and I personally would like to see the Jaguars make another playoff push after their memorable game against the Chargers last playoffs.

AFC West

Just because it’s the Chiefs division and probably will be until Patrick Mahomes retires, doesn’t mean we can’t get excited about Justin Herbert. The Chargers, in all of their odd-fourth-down-calls glory, have fairly high expectations with Herbert as their QB and Derwin James quarterbacking the defence. Austin Ekeler is one of the best pass catching running backs in the league and they drafted Quentin Johnston out of TCU to be another big contested catch guy alongside Mike Williams and their number one guy Keenan Allen. The biggest question for the Chargers will be stopping the run and tightening up the box to avoid getting gashed.

It is the Chiefs division though, and while we can talk about how unstoppable Mahomes and Travis Kelce are, and how creative the offence is, the biggest question mark is on the other side of the ball. Chris Jones needs no introduction, but his contract needs talked about. He’s currently holding out waiting for an extension, and it can’t be understated the hole that leaves in the Chiefs defence. Going against the Bengals, Bills and Chargers and the versatile offences, that Chiefs secondary will benefit greatly from a pass rush, and no Chris Jones hurts that greatly. If he does in fact hold out until Week 8 and they don’t get anything done, what they’re able to do up front will definitely be the biggest sign of how the season will go for the team looking to build on a dynasty.

With the Broncos and Raiders, it’s about their new additions, more specifically Sean Payton and Jimmy Garoppolo. Davante Adams showed the world that the really didn’t need Aaron Rodgers last season when he continued his dominance with Derek Carr throwing him the ball. Now with Carr in New Orleans and Jimmy coming in from San Fransisco, how he’s able to execute the offence that is now without Darren Waller, will be the thing to watch for this Raiders team trying to make it back to the playoffs.

Russell Wilson is back for his second year in Denver, and with all the talking Head Coach Sean Payton has done about how bad last year was, surely they have to take a step forward. This is a team that could’ve been in the playoffs if the offence was able to maintain over 18 points a game last year, so the bar isn’t set very high, let’s see if they can reach it in an even tougher AFC.

AFC North

A lot has been made about the North being a four team division this year, and while I had questions about that being the case when the preseason started, I think I can be convinced of three now. The Cincinnati Bengals have made back to back AFC championships, but lose a lot on the defensive side of the ball in free agency. The Steelers look fantastic in the preseason but that is the preseason so how much weight do you give it? The Ravens add Odell Beckham Jr. to Lamar’s offence and get Lamar back healthy but can they maintain it for a whole season? The Browns get Deshaun Watson in the offence for another complete season but questions remain about what Deshaun we’re getting and if he can go back to what he was in Houston.

Joe Burrow is a top five QB in the NFL, and the Bengals WR room is still one of the best in the league. Their offence will go as it has but the question is the secondary being able to contain the passing offences they will go up against. In my opinion the Bengals are still the favourite and a Super Bowl contender because of who they have on offence, but the losses on defence still raise questions that need to be answered.

Kenny Pickett and George Pickens are only getting better as a duo in Pittsburgh, and that Steelers defence is still getting after the passer and forcing interceptions in the secondary. In the case of the Steelers, it’s more going to be about surpassing expectations if this team wants to make a run. How Pickett is able to evolve in the offence and the people around him making plays. I have them third in the division right now but if you watched their three preseason games, you saw that their ceiling can definitely be the top of the division with the talent they have and Tomlin never having a losing season.

The question for Baltimore is obvious. Can they get Lamar Jackson healthy for a whole season and a playoff run? Nobody doubts that Lamar can still dice up defences on his feet and throw bombs down the field like he has, and with OBJ that may be easier than it has been throughout his career. Staying healthy and making that playoff push riding momentum throughout the year can be the thing that pushes this Ravens team filled with talent, back into a team that makes a deep playoff push.

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Under two weeks until the regular season kicks off. Now we get two weeks of hot takes and bold predictions until the real football starts, and I hope this division breakdown contributes to that. The last question that remains is can we fast forward to the seventh and the Chiefs and Lions kickoff? Please?