The AFC Race For The 1 Seed Is High Drama And I'm Here For All Of It

Charles Baus. Shutterstock Images.

Touched on this on Picks Central today and I think the headline speaks for itself. The AFC is a wild ride right now, specifically the battle for the #1 seed. After Monday's debacle by the Miami Dolphins in the final 5 minutes the top spot is WIDE OPEN. I also think absolutely no one knows which way it's going to shake out. 

To break it down, there's actually 5 teams in the mix by their records. Ravens, Dolphins, Chiefs, Browns, and Jags. I actually think the Browns and Jags are a distant 4th and 5th, but when you look at their schedules which are both fairly weak, they sure can muck things up. (It's also worth noting the Jags play the Ravens this week). The Browns and Jags need breaks but they sure do have managable schedules down the stretch. Browns- vs Bears, @Texans, Jets, @Bengals ….. Jags - Ravens, @Bucs, Panthers, @ Titans. 

The big 3 who seem to have been jostling for the top spot all year are The Ravens, The Dolphins and The Chiefs. Ravens 10-3, Miami 9-4, Chiefs 8-5. All have times where they look like the best team on the planet (The Chiefs not nearly as much as they used to), but each team has flaws. The Ravens seem to let teams back in games or never be able to put them away, The Dolphins offense is super hit or miss, and The Chiefs are clearly struggling with this receiving core. Anyone saying they know which way this is going to shake out is crazy. These teams have a ton of Jekyll and Hyde in them. Things get even more complicated when you look at the remaining schedules. 

Baltimore 

@ Jax , @ San Fran , Miami , Pitt 

- Gauntlet if you ask me. Jacksonville is in the mix for the 1 seed themselves, and this is the start of that path. They will be AMPED at home for Sunday Night Football. Then to head out to San Fran , and get Miami , and Pittsburgh who will be fighting for their lives for a playoff spot ? Brutal. The Ravens are in for a war here.

Miami

Jets, Cowboys, @Ravens, Bills 

- Another absolute GAUNTLET. The Jets want nothing more than to spoil the party after that horrific Black Friday showing. The Cowboys look like the greatest show on Turf. Heading to Baltimore in a deciding game is as hostile an environment as it gets, and my favorite wrinkle in all of this, the game against the Bills may not be for the top seed, it could be for the division if the Dolphins free fall here in December like they have been known to do. 

* - The statistician for this tweet has been known to exaggerate things -* 

Kansas City 

@ Pats , Las Vegas, Bengals, @ Chargers 

- This is the one that's the most interesting to me, because on paper the Chiefs win all four of these games, but the Chiefs have been a mess of late. Also in all four of these games they will be playing backup (or 3rd string) Quarterbacks. This is a no brainer that the Chiefs take this 1 seed and then go right into another Super Bowl run, but again … this ain't the same Chiefs team. 

Maybe I'm a dummy, or maybe I'm naive, but if you ask me it's going to be The Chiefs when it all shakes out, but again as I type this I know I am going to be wrong. Either way, I'm all in for watching this drama unfold the rest of the way. My pitch to Youtube TV would be having the big 3 in a multi view at all times. And again, the Browns and Jags are lurking in the weeds. This is high drama, and why we watch all the games all year to get a payout of a race like this. 

Let's play some football.