Believe it or not, Week 14 of the NFL season is already upon us, and the playoff picture has started to take shape.
The NFC is by far the most competitive conference.
In the NFC North and NFC West, three teams each conference are tied or nearly tied at the top of the division, making the playoff race an exciting one to watch.
The AFC tells a slightly different story, with at least one team that can get closer to locking up their division this weekend.
It’s Good to be a Patriot
The New England Patriots are back, and I don’t think anyone expected them to be.
Led by MVP candidate Drake Maye, the Patriots are riding a 10-game winning streak to sit atop the AFC East (and the conference) with an 11-2 record.
The Buffalo Bills aren’t exactly on their heels, sitting at 8-4 with a date versus Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals on deck, but they have not been officially eliminated from the division title contention.
New England has the pleasure of a late-season bye week, sitting out Week 14 to view their competition and scout upcoming matchups, so they cannot add to their 11 wins this weekend.
However, they can hope that things fall their way to make sure the division title dream gets closer to reality.
First, they need Josh Allen and the Bills to lay an egg versus the Bengals, which might not be that tall of a task for Cincinnati now that Joe Burrow is back under center.
The loss for Buffalo would drop them to 8-5, and one loss away from locking up the division for the Patriots.
New England also has their sights set on the number one seed in the conference, and to do that, they need help from the Denver Broncos.
Speaking of Denver…
Galloping to the Top
In Denver, Sean Payton has done a masterful job turning the team, and especially the offense, behind sophomore QB Bo Nix.
Denver is riding a nine-game winning streak, knocking off teams like Dallas, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and Kansas City on their way to a 10-2 record.
Much like the Patriots, the Broncos have their sights set on the top seed in the AFC, but to do so they will need to win their own games, and hope the Patriots drop one in these final weeks.
With New England out on a bye, the Broncos simply need to defeat the 2-10 Raiders in Las Vegas to move up to the top spot this week.
A victory would catapult them to an 11-2 record to match New England, but a better conference record would grant Denver the tiebreaker, launching them into the top seed in the conference with four games to play.
The NFC might have muddy waters when it comes to who is the top dog, but Denver and New England have shown us that the AFC is theirs to lose.
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