Online NFL Betting Analysis: Projections For AFC Conference Winners

Posted by Peter Brennan on Tuesday,December 6, 2016 4:23, EDT in

Will Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the AFC after narrowly failing to do so a year ago? Will the unflappable Derek Carr and his blossoming Oakland Raiders teammates continue their eye-opening play in the postseason to beat out all AFC Super Bowl hopefuls?

Will the Kansas City Chiefs or Denver Broncos either fail to reach the playoffs – or beat out their fellow AFC West title contenders for both, divisional or conference supremacy? Will the Pittsburgh Steelers or Baltimore Ravens win the AFC North to give themselves a shot at winning Super Bowl 51?

Last but not least, which AFC South title hopeful will win the mostly uninspiring division to earn a long shot at upsetting their conference counterparts? Let’s find out the answers to all of those questions right now.

Online NFL Betting Analysis: Projections For AFC Conference Winners

 

 

AFC East

New England Patriots

Analysis: The New England Patriots (10-2) are sitting in first place in the AFC East (what else is new?) and look like virtual shoo-ins to reach the conference finals at the very least. Still, I’m not going to pencil Tom Brady and company in as my conference winner for a few reasons. First and foremost, the loss of tight end Rob Gronkowski is a huge blow to a Patriots offense that is good this season, but not one that I’d call ‘explosive’ by any stretch of the imagination.

The Patriots also have issues on the defensive side of the ball where they’re a middle-of-the-pack team on against the run and pass, despite keeping their opponents out of the end zone fairly consistently. Last but not least, I think the Pats could be in a spot of trouble should they meet either Oakland or Kansas City in the postseason. I genuinely believe that both AFC west title contenders have the tools to beat any team in the league, New England included.

AFC West

Oakland Raiders
Kansas City Chiefs
Denver Broncos

Analysis: The Raiders (10-2) are absolutely explosive offensively while the Chiefs (9-3) are a bit more balanced with their solid offense and lockdown defense. As far as Denver (8-4) is concerned, I can’t count them out right now, although I think they could be left on the outside looking in come playoff time. Either way, I believe both Oakland and Kansas City are worthy of a wager against their conference championship futures odds.

AFC North

Pittsburgh
Baltimore

Analysis: The Pittsburgh Steelers and Ravens are both sitting at 7-5 heading into Week 14 and I believe both teams have an equal chance of winning the AFC North right now, although Baltimore is my pick because of their better defense. Both teams have their share of issues they need to address if they want to get past some of the aforementioned teams on this list, but in a one-game playoff, I guess anything’s possible. Still, right now, both Baltimore and Pittsburgh both have the look of one-and-done playoff participants.

 

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AFC South

Tennessee
Houston
Indianapolis

Analysis: The Titans and Texans are tied with identical 6-6 records right now, but for me, Tennessee has the bigger upside and is far more dangerous because of their blossoming offense. Marcus Mariota is blossoming before our very eyes and veteran running back DeMarco Murray is an absolute load to bring down. While Tennessee has issues defensively, they can at least score the ball consistently.

The Texans have an elite defense but struggle like hell to score the ball while Indianapolis and quarterback Andrew Luck have been wildly inconsistent all season long. Either way, I don’t see any of these teams winning a single game in the playoffs.

Overall Analysis: I picked the Chiefs to represent the AFC in Super Bowl 51, although I think it’s very possible that it could be Oakland or New England. My top three picks to win the AFC are in that exact order…K.C., Oakland and New England.