So perfection stays linked with the ’72 Dolphins for at least another year.

Okay, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s focus on the AFC this week. Things have gotten a bit muddled as home field looks a little less certain, a few more teams make cases as to why they should be included and the NFC makes the AFC look good.

It pained me to have to include the 4-6 teams in, but technically no one is out until they lose 8 games. One of those teams could make it through the last six 5-1, so they’re still in. As a result, there will be no weekly spotlight this week. I know you’re all just broken up about this.
We begin with the same team I’ve been starting this segment with for the last year now….

Perfection, Who Cares- Indianapolis Colts (9-1):

The Colts won’t go 16-0 this year. Boo-hoo. What should be distressing for the rest of the league is that their defense is getting better each week. The Colts near loss last week and loss Sunday were due to things like fumbles and interceptions by Peyton Manning. The first is random and the second just doesn’t happen often. Yet, despite all the turnovers, the Cowboys and Bills really struggled to put up points.

If the Colts defense is actually mediocre rather than just horrible, the AFC is theirs. It would give them the best balance in the conference, whose top teams are all either offense or defense heavy.

Charging From Behind, Again- San Diego Chargers (8-2):

As has been written in quite a few outlets since Sunday, the Chargers became the first team in NFL history to come back from 17 down in two straight games to win both. Even more incredible was that both games were on the road.

And again I say: this shows the greatness of Philip Rivers more than it does LaDanian Tomlinson. To erase the deficits the Bolts have in the last two weeks, you have to pass and pass well. LT helps, but the Chargers erased deficits quickly because they picked apart the Bengals and Broncos secondary. LT makes the Chargers a very good team but Rivers makes them a Super Bowl contender.

Of course that defense isn’t stopping anyone good come January. But with that offense, they might not have to.

Static Shock- Denver Broncos (7-3):

Well Sunday proved once again the Denver defense is an opportunistic bunch that will struggle against the top offensive units in the AFC; namely the Colts and Chargers. Of course this isn’t anything to be ashamed about. In fact all and all, it probably makes the Broncos the third best team in the AFC, which is where I had them pegged coming into this week.

The problem is third best in their case would likely mean three road games, since one of the top two teams would probably be San Diego. I actually think Mike Shanahan is good enough a coach so that the Horsies could go into anywhere and win. Well anywhere except Indy, which is where they’d probably head in round 2. That would be almost certain elimination.

These Birds were Dirtier- Baltimore Ravens (8-2):

A week after being made to look bad against rookie Vince Young with Ray Lewis, the Ravens pretty much put the clamps down on Michael Vick without their star MLB. The offense produced against a beaten, bruised and frankly broken Falcons unit.

Get used to seeing this summation under the Ravens blurb: With the division pretty much in hand and no top teams remaining on the docket, Baltimore figures to be a lock for one of the top three seeds in the AFC. Their true test comes in January when they actually face the top squads in the AFC again. (1-1 so far)

Ruining Aaron Rodgers’ Career- New England Patriots (7-3):

The Patriots rounded into form Sunday by completely destroying the Packers at Lambeau Field. They also potentially finished off the Aaron Rodgers era in Green Bay before it ever began. The second year QB suffered a broken foot after looking miserable, ending his season. Look for the Pack to address their QB situation in the draft, especially since they can afford to have someone sit behind Favre next year.

Oh yeah, the Patriots. Well it was a good win; Brady looked like Brady again as will happen when he doesn’t see a viable pass rush. We’ll see how he looks against the Bears in Soldier Field in what promises to be the game of the week. A win there and they can pretty much lock down the division.

Eli Manning is No David Carr- Jacksonville Jaguars (6-4):

The most talented team competing for this last wild card spot showed it Monday night by completely dominating the top team in the NFC East. The game finished 26-10, but the only thing saving it from a beat down of blowout proportions was a Fred Taylor fumble inside the five yard line and an Eli Manning pick six that was overturned thanks to an illegal hands to the face call.

The bottom line, the Jaguars should win that last spot. They’re the best team. But the problem lies in their inconsistency. David Garrard looked like a very good QB tonight, but what will happen next week? Will their wide outs catch passes?

But on the plus side, Jack Del Rio looks good in a suit. Exchange of the night:

David: “See coaches should wear suits. It makes them look authoritative. Look at Del Rio, then look at Coughlin, who looks like a schmuck.”

Ben: “Well that’s cause Coughlin is a schmuck. It’s why his team hates him.”

Larry Johnson, Save Us- Kansas City Chiefs (6-4):

That’s actually for David and my fantasy team, who unfortunately lost Donovan McNabb for the season yesterday. Jason Campbell, picked up last week in perhaps some sort of psychic foresight by yours truly, is now our guy. So yes, Larry Johnson, please save us!!!

As for the Chiefs, they didn’t make any bones about their game plan Sunday. Trent Green was back but it was the Larry Johnson show, as the back picked up 154 yards and two touchdowns. A 17-13 win over the Raiders at home isn’t impressive. But it sure as hell beats a loss to the Raiders at home, so the Chiefs will take it.

The Chiefs are the middle team talent wise of the three main contenders for the final playoff spot. It well may come down to that last weekend of the season, when they’ll be playing the Jags.

This isn’t Golf- New York Jets (5-5):

Getting a real low score like zero is not going to fly here. Chad Pennington threw brutal picks and short circuited any chances the Jets had for an upset Sunday. But there are two good things coming out of this week.

The first is that the defense has now played well for two straight weeks. The blitzing attack is high risk, high reward, but the Jets were getting no benefit from sitting back before.

Secondly their schedule in the second half is the easiest in the league. The best teams on it are 4-6. The Jets should be better than those squads and win most of those games.

Of course if the offense doesn’t score, none of that will matter. However they won’t be seeing a defense as good as the Bears’ for the rest of the year.

Drew Brees is no Philip Rivers- Cincinnati Bengals (5-5):

Sunday saw some ridiculous offensive performances you’re not likely to see again for some time. First and foremost was Drew Brees throwing for five hundred and ten yards against the Cinci defense. Check that, what defense? Incredibly however, the Saints could only muster 16 points thanks to Brees’ 3 INT. (one of which was returned for six)

So for the second straight week, the Bengals played awful defense. This time they got away with it. We know about the offense and it looks like we now know about the defense too. This team is in serious trouble even with Sunday’s win.

Being nice- Miami Dolphins (4-6):

Since they’re two games back, I decided to include the Dolphins. Hypothetically, they’re a hot streak away from making a run. And that defense seems to have sorted its problems in the secondary out, making it a very formidable unit.

However, their run game is terrible thanks to an awful offensive line and no respect for Joey Harrington. The passing game has been good, for Joey Harrington. In fact the Dolphins chances for the postseason aren’t very good because of two main problems. The first is, duh, Joey Harrington is their QB.

The second is the Jets. The first tiebreak for divisional foes is of course head to head and the second is inter divisional record. The Jets are already 3-1 against the AFC East, with a win over Miami. The worst they can go is 3-3. The Dolphins are 0-3, meaning the best they can do is 3-3. So not only do the Dolphins have to hope they equal everyone else by nearly running the table, the odds are against them beating out their divisional foe even if they do say, go 5-1. (Which being a Jets fan, makes me smile)

Being nice Pt. 2- Pittsburgh Steelers (4-6):

Two straight wins and the Steelers are back? Well not quite. The struggled to beat the Browns after holding on against an okay but highly overrated Saints team.

The Steelers would need a run like they had in 2005 but just aren’t as good. Add in the fact they’ve got the Bengals, Ravens and Ben Roethlisberger playing horrifically, and the Steelers don’t have it in them this year.

Of course, I did say the same thing last year too.

Reeeeeeeeally being nice- Buffalo Bills (4-6):

It’s not fair to leave them out if I’ve included the Steelers and Dolphins right? Well, the Bills are still a bad football team that has too many injuries on its plus unit, the defense, to be a real factor. Willis McGahee hasn’t played in two weeks, which has put added emphasis on JP Losman. It worked for one quarter against the Texans as he and Lee Evans combined to put up 200 yards. Then he won the game in the closing seconds after putting the Bills behind thanks to a pick six.

So if the Dolphins and Steelers are long shots, then odds on the Bills are about the same as the distance between Buffalo and Moscow. I suppose that’s better than being the Cardinals though.