AFC: Conference Rankings

Austin Reinsch by Contributor Written on July 24, 2009
TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 28:  The 'FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Year' trophies being awarded to Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints and Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings during a press conference at the Convention Center on January 28, 2009 in Tampa, Florida.  (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

The ranking of each division to find playoff teams has reached its conclusion, but it doesn't end there.

Now that playoff teams have been decided, who will win the conference?

All teams that make the playoffs are talented, and so it gets harder to predict. Also, schedules become unclear, but it is not impossible.

To make it easier, I am not going to try to compare individual games. Instead, I will go round by round, determining who drops out and who moves on.

I have not picked the two wild card teams yet, but have decided that the Baltimore Ravens and Miami Dolphins will become the remaining two teams. This brings the team count to six.

So in the first round it will most likely be Miami, Baltimore, New England, and Denver. Miami is a solid team so makes the wild card. Baltimore is denied a pass only because the Steelers are great. New England might not get a bye because of Brady's injury and questionable comeback.

The AFC West is weak, so a bye is foolish to even think of.

I believe the two wildcard teams will move on. Denver (or as so many angry people have told me, San Diego) is not strong enough to defeat a team like Miami. New England, questionable enough from Brady, could struggle against a defense like Baltimore, and will lose a close game.

So the second one will be either Miami, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, or Tennessee. Since it is questionable who plays who, I will just declare the winner. I believe that the strongest team in the division will be Tennessee.

Pittsburgh may have won it all last year, but it is very hard to repeat. Tennessee has a solid defense and has improved the offense enough that they should become the winner of the Conference.

So the Tennessee Titans are going to the Super Bowl.

Can they win it? Is this their year?

Tell me what you think. I am sure many of you disagree or have opinions. So let me hear them.

My next article will be about the NFC. Watch for it to see who the NFC representative will be in the Super Bowl.

Vote Now! - Author Poll

Who do you think will win the conference?

  • Tennessee Titans
  • Pittsburgh Steelers
  • Miami Dolphins
  • Baltimore Ravens
  • New England Patriots
  • Denver Broncos
  • None of the above
vote to see results
Results - Author Poll

Who do you think will win the conference?

  • Tennessee Titans

    5.4%
  • Pittsburgh Steelers

    19.6%
  • Miami Dolphins

    14.3%
  • Baltimore Ravens

    12.5%
  • New England Patriots

    14.3%
  • Denver Broncos

    14.3%
  • None of the above

    19.6%
  • Total votes: 56
(0)
...
Share This  
Crop_45x45
or to post this comment

2 Comments

There are no comments yet. Get the conversation started by leaving the first comment

Loading more comments...
posted just now
  • Loading...
  • Nobody has liked this comment yet
Cancel

This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete

157
reads

2
comments

written on July 24, 2009 Preview/Prediction

The best newsletter on the web

Subscribe Now

We will never share your email address


CBS Sports Official Partner
Certain photos copyright © 2009 by Getty Images.
Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Getty Images is strictly prohibited.