After a wild final week of play that saw the Patriots grind out win on a turf so wet that you could probably slide the length of it with one dive on your stomach, the Steelers get 3 out of the 4 decisions they needed to make it into the playoffs all before a botched call on the final play of the Cheifs/Chargers game eliminated them from contention and the Denver Broncos solidify their dominance as a top team via a 34-17 rout of the incompetent Raiders the AFC Playoff Picture has been officially set in stone.
6 teams are in and the rest are out. Below is an individual analysis of those 6 teams listed from lowest to highest seed...
San Diego Chargers (6th seed)
As we look back at what has happened and what has gone right to push the Chargers into the postseason, what stands out is a few wins in particular. First a foremost you have Week 15's triumph over Denver in which Philip Rivers tossed two touchdowns and no interceptions and then you see the duo of wins the Chargers had over the defense oriented Chiefs in Weeks 12 and 17. In those games, the Chargers combined to score 68 points both times riding on top performances by all facets of their game. As the NFL rules dictate the only way the Patriots will get to play the Chargers is if New England win their divisional game while the Chargers beat both the Bengals and Broncos in succession. To simplify, the only possible Patriots Chargers match-up would take place with the AFC title on the line.
Kansas City Chiefs (5th seed)
To state plainly this season for Kansas City, the Chiefs have been a streaky team. They finished the season with a respectable 11-5-0 record especially when you think about where they were last season. They won just 2 games a season ago but after Alex Smith was added during the off-season and a revamped Andy Reid got to know the team, defense became a strong backbone to the team and was a big reason why each of those 11 wins this season turned out the way it did. A Patriots match-up with Kansas City could occur via either a Kansas win in Wild Card Week and a Chargers loss the same week before a Kansas win in Denver added to a New England win in their divisional game or a Chargers win in their game coupled with a Kansas win in their Wild Card Game that would set up a offence vs defense heavyweight bout of a divisional game in Gillette.
Indianapolis Colts (4th seed)
The Colts are a team that have sat slightly under the radar this season. They finished the season with a record of 11-5 while like the Chargers nabbed 2 of those wins against teams ranked far above them. They handed Peyton Manning and the Broncos a humbling 39-33 loss back in Week 7 while they additionally ripped apart that Chiefs defense with 23 Week 16 points to go along with 367 all-purpose yards on the day. The Colts are one of the more likely opponents the Patriots could face especially in the divisional round. As it stands all it would take for such a matchup to become a reality would be wins by the Chargers and Colts in their respective Wild Card Week games pitting the Colts against the Patriots and the Chargers against the Broncos. Additionally, if the Colts win and the Bengals loose then Indy executes an upset of the Broncos and the Patriots win against the Bengals in the same week than the Patriots and Colts would meet in the AFC title game.
Cincinnati Bengals (3rd seed)
Perhaps the Bengals biggest win of 2013 came against our own New England Patriots. They held a still potent Tom Brady offence to just 6 points that week further complimenting an 11-5 for the year. The Bengals have had their runs, they have has their moments of success (namely a miracle tipped hail mary TD against the Ravens) and yet it is no secret that Andy Dalton is a different kind of quarterback in the playoffs...and not in a good way. Having started 2 playoff games in his past 3 seasons, Dalton has never won in the postseason and is yet to even throw a postseason touchdown pass. He has an average postseason QBR of 20.1 and more brutally has hurled 4 interceptions in those 2 games. While they are a decent team during the regular season, the Bengals will still be under question in Wild Card Week as they look to simply win the game. A Patriots vs Bengals meeting might actually be one of the most likely matchups this postseason. All it would take would be a Bengals win in their Wild Card game for the two to meet.
New England Patriots (2nd seed)
Our own New England Patriots have been a team of grinders this season. With Tom Brady will likely still be the difference maker in these playoff games, guys like Julian Edelman, Shane Vereen and Danny Amendola will force their opposing defenses to deal with a rather unconventional but still fearsome first down fixated attack. We have known this all season long but what we have only been shown in these past few weeks is the true power of 6 foot tall 250 pound rusher LeGarret Blount. He will have to be at his best this postseason if the Patriots are going to go far in this postseason.
Denver Broncos (1st seed)
Let’s just say something, the Broncos are not an overlooked team. Peyton Manning was dominant through the air this season hurling an NFL record for passing yardage as well as touchdown passes which he threw 55 of. Manning's offensive line has been one of the best in football this season often providing their QB with the luxury of having time and space with all of his throws. However, like the Patriots, they have all but no defensive backbone. They clenched the number one seed in the AFC this season via their 13-3 record. Additionally, the probability of their meeting the Patriots in the playoffs is high. All it would take would be wins for bot teams in their divisional games to set up a Denver vs New England AFC Title Game showdown in Denver.
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