After a wild week of games in the AFC, only two teams have clinched a spot in the playoffs. Indianapolis at 14-0 locked up the AFC South and home field advantage throughout the playoffs two weeks ago and San Diego, by virtue of their 27-24 win over Cincinnati locked up the AFC West. With one more win they can secure a first round bye. The rest of the picture is still anybody’s guess as there are ten teams that still have a shot at the remaining four spots. New England, who squeezed out a 17-10 win over Buffalo, is in the best shape as they can win the AFC East with one more win or a Miami loss. The Bengals situation is getting a bit sticky as their lead in the AFC North is down to one game, but they can clinch the division with a win or a Baltimore loss. The wildcard race is where things get really interesting. Right now Denver and the Ravens hold the two spots with an 8-6 record and still control their destiny as long as they keep winning. There are six teams; Jacksonville, Miami, N.Y. Jets, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, and Houston at 7-7 with a chance to sneak in should they falter. Out of these six, the Jaguars are in the best shape by virtue of their conference record while the Titans and Texans need more than a few miracles to keep their hopes alive. One thing that is for sure, nobody is going to back into the playoffs this year as a loss by any of these teams this week will pretty much end their chances as you can rest assured there will be another team ready to take their place.
Moving onto week 16 in the AFC the key match ups we will be reviewing are; Houston Texans @ Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars @ New England Patriots, and Baltimore Ravens @ Pittsburgh Steelers.
Houston Texans @ Miami Dolphins (-2.5) Current Over/Under 45
Both these teams will look back on this season only to reflect upon the many squandered opportunities and chances. The 7-7 Texans at one time were 5-2 and seemed poised to finally have that break out season. That all came unraveled after a 20-17 loss to the Colts in week nine in a game they should have won. QB Matt Schaub seems to throw for 300 yards every week and they have not lost by more than eight points since the first game of the season, yet they do not know how to win. Miami has also played everybody tough this year, but last week’s loss to Tennessee summed up their whole year; good but not good enough. Somebody has to win this one and looking at the match-up I like Miami’s 4th ranked rushing offense to be the difference. I’m going with the Dolphins and the UNDER.
Jacksonville Jaguars @ New England Patriots (-7.5) Current Over/Under 41
With their 35-31 loss to Indianapolis, Jacksonville blew a golden opportunity to not only end the Colt’s 22 game winning streak, but to cement their place in post season. Despite this setback, they still have a good chance to make it in with a win over New England, given the fact that Denver has to head to Philly to play the red hot Eagles. They have shown they can stand toe to toe with the best teams in the conference and this Sunday should be no different. This is not the New England team that went undefeated in the regular season or the one that won all those Super Bowls a few years back. This year’s version will be lucky to advance past the first round of the playoffs as they have been inconsistent on both offense and defense. Jacksonville needs to come out with same offensive attack they used last week against the Colts. If they can get an early lead, they should be able to keep this one close. I’m going out on a limb with the Jaguars and the UNDER in a shocker.
Baltimore Ravens @ Pittsburgh Steelers (-2.5) Current Over/Under 41
Oh what a difference a year makes. Last season at this time Pittsburgh was busy beating Baltimore for the second time of the year en route to a division title. This year it’s the Ravens chance to sweep the Steelers and officially knock them out of the playoffs. After two back to back blowouts over Detroit and Chicago, the Ravens offense seems to be back to their form from early in the season when they were putting up almost 30 points every game. QB Joe Flacco is playing with confidence and the defense is back flying around and creating opportunities through turnovers. Pittsburgh needed a last second miracle TD to get a win against Green Bay just to have a chance for this game mean anything. That win was more about a Packer’s letdown than it was about the Steelers playing like their old selves. There is a reason why Pittsburgh lost five games in a row and this one win will not make it all go away. I’m going with the Ravens and the OVER.
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