When the season began just a couple of weeks ago, the consensus among NFL pundits was that only two teams could win the American Football Conference (AFC).
They were the defending champion Denver Broncos and the team they beat in the championship game in January, the New England Patriots.
That theory can now be thrown out the window.
There are now six teams that can progress to the Super Bowl.
Denver and New England are both 2-1 and still well in contention. The Broncos, who suffered their first loss of the season this past weekend in overtime to Seattle, the same team that beat them in the Super Bowl, have shown that their offence will again be a force to be reckoned with.
Led by hall of fame quarterback Peyton Manning, Denver won their opening two games at home against the Colts and Chiefs before pushing the Seahawks and their league leading defence all the way on the road. The return of Wes Welker from a drug suspension provided another option for Manning, which will be vital in the run to the playoffs.
After a shock loss in Week 1 to the Miami Dolphins, the Patriots made light work of the Vikings and Raiders, teams they really should beat. The defence set the tone for these victories, giving up seven and nine points in each respective games.
Expect the Patriots offense to get better and better the longer this season goes. Head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady have been around long enough to know when they need to be playing at their best.
Out West, the San Diego Chargers are 2-1, with their loss coming in Week 1 to the undefeated Arizona Cardinals by one point. Their best game of the three was undoubtedly the Week 2 win over the Super Bowl champion Seahawks, in which they kept the ball for forty two minutes.
Offense is undoubtedly their strength, quarterback Philip Rivers has wideout Keenan Allen and tight end Antonio Gates among his targets. The loss of running back Danny Woodhead for the year with an ankle injury will hurt the run game.
The AFC North division has three legitimate contenders. The division leading Cincinnati Bengals (3-0) are the hottest team in the entire NFL right now. On both sides of the ball the Bengals are blowing the opposition away.
Their offense, led by Andy Dalton, is second in the league in points scored, while the defence is only conceding an average of eleven points per game, easily the best in the entire NFL.
The big question on the Bengals and Dalton in particular will be the ability to perform in the playoffs.
The 2012 Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens (2-1) are getting back to that form in spite of the drama surrounding Ray Rice. Wide receiver Steve Smith has come across from the Carolina Panthers and looked like a veteran Ravens player.
Losing tight end Dennis Pitta to a hip injury for the remainder of the season will hurt them no doubt, however the addition of Owen Daniels will cover that. Daniels caught two touchdown passes in the Ravens Week 2 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Despite losing that game to the Ravens, the Steelers are right in contention. A speedy offence led by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger which has options at wide receiver such as Antonio Brown and a running back duo of Le’Veon Bell and LaGarrette Blount is coupled with the usual steel curtain defence.
They jumped into contention following a 37-19 win over the highly fancied Panthers in Week 3, in which Bell and Blount combined for 265 yards rushing and a touchdown.
mushi
Guest
Also the LT you look at the top 50 base salries for this year and there more WR than left tackles in the list. the split is actually reasonably uniform across position groups (outside of running backs) but with QB's skewed to the top
mushi
Guest
I wasn't even going back to Dilfer and Johnson. you look at the years since they've had TQBR and the average total QBR ahs been 61 out of 100 so "above average" for a super bowl winning QB. If you are throwing some of those QBs in the great category well then Kijana Carter had a great career with the Bengals.
mushi
Guest
In the modern era you'd have to say yes. Though to be fair to Eli - Big Ben and Flacco had worse regular seasons than he did in their super bowl years.
Joe
Guest
If you're a Broncos fan you should be concerned with Manning's arm strength. Remember the first season with Denver. The playoff game vs Baltimore. His arm had nothing that day.It was freezing cold & he couldn't stretch the defense every pass was short Last season his arm strength faded as the season progressed but Denver was fortunate in the playoffs to avoid any extremely cold weather games That game Sunday at Seattle,it was 80 degrees. Perfect conditions.Go take a look at the film. Peyton's throws don't have any zip on them when he is forced to go beyond 15 yards down field ,the ball flutters As the season progresses the arm strength will begin to erode,especially in colder weather games And its not like Denver has a solid run game to fall back on.Monte Ball is slow,he isn't an every down back.CJ Anderson is more explosive but again, he isn't a guy you can depend on to carry the ball consistently. Manning's so smart his ability to manipulate defenses & audible specific plays at the line of scrimmage, he'll have Denver in the thick of things come Dec/Jan.But if Denver gets in any freezing cold weather games in the playoffs it will spell problems for that offense
Steve
Guest
Don't think Manning's arm strenght is going to be the issue (although I agree that there were some particularly 'un-Peytonlike' throws against the Seahawks). It's just that Denver were never going to have a season on offense like last year...where they were completely unstoppable. The couple of weeks will tell us a lot about how the AFC will play out, with some big games (Broncos vs Cardinals this week and Patriots vs Bengals next week) to really set the scene.
Nate
Guest
Not too worried about Peyton's arm strength. That final drive against the Hawks showed me he still has what it takes. Of bigger concern is the run game for Denver, they really need to get something going on the ground. If Ball continues underwhelming I expect Juwan Thompson to start getting some reps as the season goes on. I'm more concerned about the Denver defense as I still don't think they are playing nearly consistently enough. Great to see some big goal line stands so far this season but also a few drives that have been all too easy for the opposition.
josh
Roar Rookie
is Eli manning the worse QB to win 2 Superbowls?
Joe
Guest
Saying the O-line is the most important aspect isn't off base but not exactly breaking news.Games are won in the trenches,the O-line & D-line. After the QB the players who regularly get the biggest contracts (not that NFL contracts are often worth not much more than the paper they are written on) are left tackles & elite pass rushing defensive ends In recent years elite cornerbacks have risen to the upper echelon on the pay scale due to the rulechanges So the whole structure of the game is centered around protecting your QB & pressuring the opposing QB. The Bengals have probably the best combination of solid O-line & arguably the best D-line in the NFL That said,ive seen it so many times before & mentioned it earlier. Marvin Lewis is NOT a big game coach.He is scared to take chances his teams always come up short when it's all on the line. Dalton,i mean, he's adequate & people say"well Trent Dilfer & Brad Johnson won Super Bowl rings,they were average QBS " Yeah & Dilfer had arguably the greatest defense in NFL history behind him.That Ravens D gave up 23pts in their four playoff games that year,5.75pts per game! And the Bucs defense in 2003 was awesome also.It had 4 guys who are either in or will get into the HOF & also had Simeon Rice who was an absolute monster at DE Ive yet to see Dalton make a clutch throw in a big game Against Houston in 2012 he missed a wide open AJ Green in the end zone that would have tied the game late Last year vs the Bolts he was a joke.But thats what he is.He is timid & not a leader if you're banking on that guy to take you to a championship you'll end up disappointed The Bengals have the best roster in football but you have to have a great coach/QB combo to finish the deal. Cincinnati definitely is on the short end when it comes to that piece of the puzzle
Ash
Guest
Agree with mushi - if I were a coach I'd get the protection right and then get the QB after. Dalton I reckon just needs to eliminate the stupid errors like the dive last year against the Chargers. He has the ability for sure.
Joe
Guest
Youre right its wide open which is kinda funny cause during the offseason free agent period it was all but determined its a 2 horse race between the Pats & Broncos I'll still give Brady & Belicheck the benefit of the doubt. Its early in the season & while the Pats have struggled nobody wins a Super Bowl in September Cincinnati is a pretender.Dalton isn't a big game QB & Marvin Lewis may be the worst big game coach in the NFL. He is ultra conservative & in big games you have to take chances,not the Marvin Lewis philosophy of "play not to lose" Denver is in trouble already IMO Ive watched Manning early in the season, his arm strength (which this time last season was solid) isn't there.Defenses are basically daring him to go deep They'll win games because they have talent but its clear Peyton's arm strength has eroded even further In those cold January games at the end of a long season, how is Manning's arm going to hold up when it's 30 degrees & a 20mph wind is blowing? Im a Chargers supporter & they're looking great but have already been hit hard with injuries to key players .Can they sustain quality play with already 3 key players done for the season & couple more (Matthews, Teo) out for extended periods? Bottom line is San Diego can't afford any more major injuries the rest of the way. Even though they look bad through the first 3 weeks,they're still 2-1 & & i have to believe that if they remain relatively healthy the Pats are still the team to beat in the AFC
mushi
Guest
Teams win super bowls not QB's. You look at the total QBR rating - not perfect but decent compared to every other metric - and the last 8 years have been a mix of 2 QBs having sensational seasons, 1 an elite, 2 above average and three at or below average. Dalton is an over all average QB he's a little mistake prone but then Eli has won two super bowls right? there's always 22 guys on the field, sure the QB is the most important but he isn't of sole importance. Look at pittsburgh they won it with rothlisberger having the year from hell, career lows in yards per attempt, touch downs, career high in turn overs and sacks and one completion away from a career low in completion percentage = super bowl winning year If take each position grouping as one player I'd say the O-line is the most important.
Gurudoright
Guest
I am stoked about how well my Bengals are going this year. They had an outstanding last year but fell a few steps short of their first SuperBowl since in decades. My problem is that I, like many Bengals fan are unconvinced about Dalton at QB. I'm hoping for the best but I just don't see how Dalton can take the Bengals to the SuperBowl