AFC: Four 7-6 Teams, One Wildcard Spot

We all know the situation. With three weeks left in the NFL regular season, there are now four teams in the AFC for the final wild card spot. With the divisions looking wrapped up and the Denver Broncos looking to be in a great position to clinch the first wild card, there is only one spot is still realistically up for grabs.

The Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Baltimore Ravens, and Jacksonville Jaguars all sit at 7-6 and are all tied for the final spot. For these four teams, the playoffs are already here.

Any more slip ups, could and probably will result in any of these teams missing out. If more than one of these teams run the table, another could be left out due to any tiebreakers.

It is hard to predict who will prevail in this race. The best thing to do is look at each team and their road ahead to see who has the best chance on paper.

Miami Dolphins

After winning the AFC East in 2008, the Dolphins got off to a bit of a slow start in 2009. Then when Chad Pennington got hurt after the 0-3 start, things looked bleak for this team with high hope.

Little did fans know that the team would rally around Chad Henne the way they did. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams helped a lot with the wildcat. Then Brown went down and Henne was asked to do more. He has not disappointed.

The Dolphins are fresh off a win against Jacksonville which would give them a tie-breaker if those two ended up tied.

The road ahead for the Dolphins is a tough one. They travel this week to Tennessee to play the Titans. That is a team who is still mathematically alive but barely. They have been a different team since Vince Young came in.

Then the Dolphins play two home games against the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers. In all likelihood, both of these teams will be eliminated by the time the Dolphins play them. However, both of these teams would love to spoil the plans of another since both of these teams had disappointing seasons after high hopes.

The Dolphins can still win the division by overtaking the New England Patriots. However, it is not wise to bet against Bill Belichick in December.

New York Jets

After a 3-0 start, the Jets were flying high. Mark Sanchez was not looking like a rookie at all. Rex Ryan was an early candidate for coach of the year. With the mid-season acquisition of Braylon Edwards, this team looked primed to make a serious run.

Then reality set in. Sanchez started looking like a rookie. He now has 17 interceptions to only 11 touchdowns. He was out last week with an injury and Kellen Clemens game in against Tampa Bay. Clemens wasn't spectacular but did manage the game by not making mistakes.

The Jets have enough talent to win without great quarterback play as long as the quarterback doesn't hurt them. For that reason they should consider staying with Clemens regardless of the health of Sanchez the rest of the way until next season.

The road ahead for the Jets is just brutal. They start with a game against the Atlanta Falcons this week who are fighting for their playoff lives in the NFC. Then the Jets travel to Indianapolis. Their chances of winning that game does depend on who the Colts rest and who they play.

Then they come home to play the Cincinnati Bengals who will likely have their division wrapped up but be fighting for the second seed.

The Jets like the Dolphins have an outside shot at winning the division, but lose the tiebreaker to the Dolphins because of two losses to them.

Jacksonville Jaguars

This is a franchise I feel bad for. The city has apparently lost it's appeal of having an NFL team. About 30,000 empty seats when the team is playing good football and still contending for the playoffs is just terrible. This team could eventually be the Los Angeles Jaguars.

The road ahead is not easy. After a close loss to the Dolphins, they have to face the Colts on a short week. The good thing is that the Colts may not play all their guys the whole game. Curtis Painter is no Peyton Manning.

After that the Jaguars must leave the sunshine state and head to frigid New England. The Patriots will likely need to win to clinch the division.

The Jaguars was then go to play in another cold climate in Cleveland. While the Browns are not a good team, they have shown improvement in recent weeks. Just ask the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Baltimore Ravens

After going all the the way to the AFC title game last year, the mighty Raven defense does appear to finally be aging. The offense has stepped it up though led by second year sensations Joe Flacco and Ray Rice.

The Ravens also have added rookie left tackle Michael Oher who may be the feel good story of the year based on what he had to overcome to make it to the NFL.

At 7-6 the Ravens could still win the North. However, two losses to the Bengals make it unlikely. They need the Bengals to lose two of three. Their best bet is the wild card.

They possibly have the least difficult road ahead to get to the playoffs. Fresh off dismantling the hopeless Detroit Lions, the Ravens now have to play the disappointing Chicago Bears. That team had had high hopes after acquiring Jay Cutler. With all the interceptions he has thrown, this looks like the worst trade since Hercshel Walker.

Then the Ravens go on the road to face the Steelers which would ordinarily be a tough game but not this year. Then they end with a trip to Oakland to play the struggling Raiders.

With that schedule it does appear that the Ravens have the best chance. However, this is when the NFL really gets exciting and anything can happen.