AFC Playoff Picture: Ranking the Conference's Top Title Contenders

Though there will be six teams from the AFC winning postseason berths, just four of those teams have the best chances to win the conference title and a Super Bowl nod.

These teams combine their considerable talent with recent playoff experience, both being necessary components of a successful postseason run.

In the following slides, I detail just why these four squads are going to be hard to beat once they take the field in January.

New England Patriots (11-3)

The faces may change, but one thing remains the same: The New England Patriots are serious playoff contenders once again.

Quarterback Tom Brady is having one of the greatest years of his storied career, and on the strength of his arm and the talents of his myriad receivers, the team is sitting in the AFC's top spot and is just two wins away from securing a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Patriots, however, don't need a home field to win. They just need to continue employing the formula that has led them to their 11 wins: an unmatchable passing offense, a workable run game and just enough defense that keeps opponents in the game but rarely allows them to win it.

Though that defense is the team's sole Achilles' heel and it could harm them in the postseason, their considerable talent on offense combined with the fact that Brady and head coach Bill Belichick have been here before, make them a favorite to reach the Super Bowl this year.

Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3)

With a Baltimore Ravens loss in Week 15, the Pittsburgh Steelers jumped to the No. 2 seed in the AFC. If they win their remaining three games, the Steelers will clinch the overall AFC No. 1 spot, earning themselves both a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

To do that, however, they need to beat the venerable San Francisco 49ers and their top-three defense on Monday night. Should the Steelers manage to do that, then it's looking good for the team to run the table and head into the playoffs as heavy favorites to win it all.

Even if they don't, the Steelers are still a dangerous playoff team. No matter their seeding, the Steelers have managed three Super Bowl appearances and two wins in the last six seasons.

No team has as much postseason experience or success as the Steelers, and they're clearly a force—perhaps the biggest force—to be reckoned with in the AFC as far as the playoffs are concerned.

Baltimore Ravens (10-4)

The Baltimore Ravens dropped to a Wild Card playoff contender thanks to their Week 15 loss to the San Diego Chargers, but they're in little danger of being knocked completely out of contention.

Though the Ravens have had some struggles in the regular season against teams they were favored to beat, their two remaining games against the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals shouldn't trouble them now that their eyes are focused solely on one prize: a Super Bowl championship.

To get that title, though, they'll have to run a gauntlet of some of the toughest teams in the AFC, including the Pittsburgh Steelers. Though the Ravens defeated Pittsburgh in their two regular season meetings, beating the team in the playoffs has been a difficult task but one they are more equipped than ever to accomplish this season.

The Ravens just need to shore up their shaky offense, not allow quarterback Joe Flacco opportunities to make mistakes and lean heavily on both their dominant run game and league-leading defense to get them through January.

It sounds like a tall order, but for a team as talented and just plain scary as the Ravens, it's not too much for them to handle.

New York Jets (8-6)

Because they win the tiebreaker over the Cincinnati Bengals, the New York Jets have a good shot of heading into the playoffs as a Wild Card team. Should they make it, they're going to be a hard team to beat, if their recent track record is any indication.

In the last two seasons, the Jets have reached the AFC championship game twice. Though they've been a less consistent team this season than they have been in the last two, they're still strong enough to yet again contend for the conference's highest honor.

The Jets' up-and-down regular season is a series of streaks—winning streaks broken up by losing streaks, and vice versa—which proves that, when the team can find a formula that works, it really, really works. But when it doesn't, they collapse.

Much of that has to do with the offense. Sometimes efficient, they can struggle when quarterback Mark Sanchez is asked to do too much with his arm, thanks to opposing defenses effectively shutting down their Shonn Greene-led running attack.

They'll need to strengthen in the run, stiffen on defense and limit Sanchez's opportunities to make mistakes if they want to get into and stay in the playoffs this year.

But that's similar to any year, and they've made it work in the past. Should the Jets earn the right to play postseason football, they're going to be tough to beat.