AFC South

1st - Colts

The Colts took down some of the best teams in 2013, including the Super Bowl Champion Seahawks. They will look to build on their success in the 3rd year of Andrew Luck and have the benefit of playing in a very weak AFC South. Anyone will tell you that Trent Richardson needs to step his game up, but the offensive line is the true weakness of the team.

Adding Hakeem Nicks to the WR corps give Luck plenty of weapons to throw to, but the lineman need to improve drastically now that Jadeveon Clowney and JJ Watt will be lining up against them twice a year.

2nd - Titans

The Titans are going to be one of the surprise teams in the NFL in 2014. They have been the forgotten stepchild of the AFC South since moving on from Vince Young when he lost his mind; not this year. Jake Locker will stay healthy all season (#BoldPrediction) and the running game will be drastically more effective behind one of the best offensive lines in the NFL.

The defense is going through a transition of schemes and could be the Achilles heel in the Titans improving in 2014.

3rd - Texans

The Texans went from trendy Super Bowl pick to #1 overall pick in 2013. They have moved on from Matt Schaub at QB, but failed to replace him with a starting caliber player. Ryan Fitzpatrick will hold down the fort until Bill O’Brien finds his franchise QB. Until then, the Texans offense should be average, at best, while the defense will be one of the most feared in the NFL with Watt and Clowney harassing QBs.

4th - Jaguars

The Jaguars have nowhere to go but up and it appears that they have found the right guys for the job. Gus Bradley and Blake Bortles will be the face of the Jaguars turnaround, although it won’t be in 2014. The Jags are aware that they are a year away from contending, but have done a great job in filling the roster with depth on both sides of the ball.

AFC West

1st - Broncos

The class of the AFC got stronger for another run at the Super Bowl, with an emphasis on a tougher defense after getting pushed around by the Seahawks. The offense could be just as effective if Wes Welker doesn’t have lingering concussion symptoms. Emmanuel Sanders looks like he could be an upgrade over Eric Decker and could fill in if Welker needs to take a few weeks off at some point to get healthy for a playoff run.

2nd - Chargers

Philip Rivers is coming off one of his best seasons as a pro and hopes to build on that momentum with a range of weapons at his disposal. Rivers’ play in 2014 will need to be maintained without OC Ken Whisenhunt if the Chargers want to challenge the Broncos in the AFC West. The defense will need to gel quickly after spending a lot of resources in an attempt to try and slow down the Broncos and Chiefs explosive offenses.

3rd - Chiefs

The Chiefs defense was the best in the NFL for the first half of 2013, but production dropped off significantly once they were figured out. The dissection of the defense by Andrew Luck in the playoffs was of epic proportion. Andy Reid will keep the Chiefs competitive, but the conservative approach in free agency leaves them with some holes along the offensive line and Jamaal Charles will not have the same holes open up as he did in 2013.

4th - Raiders

The Raiders tried to recapture that old Raider magic this offseason with their signings of old veterans. Matt Schaub and his elbow weren’t up to the challenge and the Raiders are going to end up starting rookie QB Derek Carr in Week 1 of the season.

Carr was impressive in the preseason, but there’s no way the Raiders are going to be ready to take on the heavyweights in the AFC West with a rookie QB.

Up Next: NFC East & NFC North

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3 Comments

1. 

   Ocean

   September 1, 2014 at 8:45 pm

   Funny joke about the patriots finishing fourh and missing the afc championship game. Did you forget that the colts lack talent around luck on offense and defense?

   Reply
   • 

     Tim

     September 2, 2014 at 5:55 pm

     Did you forget that Tom Brady has no one to throw the football to

     Reply
2. 

   John Boyd

   September 1, 2014 at 9:10 pm

   If the packers and niners are the two and three seeds it is impossible they would meet in the NFC championship game.

   Reply