Originally <a href='http://www.sportsbookreview.com/forum/showthread.php?p=22276063'>posted</a> on 07/21/2014:

I don't think Denver is making the Super Bowl, and outside of Oakland, I would not be totally surprised to see any of the other AFC teams in the playoffs (including Jacksonville). So yeah, I feel the AFC is wide open. It is Denver's to lose, but the rest of the conference is up for grabs. I'd rate Denver as a pretty clear #1 team in the AFC, but after that you have Colts, Chargers, Pats, Bengals, Steelers, Ravens, Chiefs, and Texans all ranked very close to each other. That's 8 teams right there. And I think Browns, Bills, and Jets are all much improved. Only teams I don't like are Raiders, Jags, and Dolphins. I think 11 teams are fighting for 5 spots, and once you make the playoffs, anything can happen. We've seen 5 and 6 seeds win it all, we see teams that finish last one year, finish first in the division the next. It happens every year. And with a one game playoff format, the best team doesn't always win.

People don't realize how much variance is a factor in the NFL regular season. Its a 16 game season, that's all. 25 out of the 32 NFL teams are a bad call, a bad bounce, and a bad game away from being 6-10 or 10-6. Injuries play such a large factor when it comes to a team's success or failure. 16 games is nothing...