Now it just feels like half the league no longer really wants it enough to put forth consistent effort to make it to the Super Bowl.
To a degree the same can be said about the NFC, because this whole season has been bizarre — but it’s not quite as pronounced.
The Colts have been flying way under the radar for a 6-5 team, largely because there isn’t a single remarkable thing about Indianapolis outside of Jonathan Taylor, and we’ve become conditioned to ignore running backs.
As remarkable as getting beat down 41-15 is, somehow it still wasn’t the most embarrassing loss in the conference on Sunday.
Sure, the Titans lost because Ryan Tannehill forgot which team to throw the football to, but it’s still a mess.
I cannot have any faith in two teams who collectively have lost to the Texans, Jets, and Jaguars.
New England now leads the AFC East thanks to Buffalo’s bungle, while Kansas City — a team that was 3-4 a month ago, has now won four straight and is atop the AFC West.
It shouldn’t be too surprising considering the respective coaching brilliance of Bill Belichick and Andy Reid — but still, it sure is starting to feel as we reach the end of the season that we’re destined for another year where a Reid or Belichick team is representing the AFC in the Super Bowl.
There’s a lot of praise to go around when it comes to Washington this week, but there Ron Rivera had a little more oomph behind his performance.
All afternoon it felt like the coaching decisions Rivera made had an understanding of how best to attack the Panthers, especially when it came to challenging the Carolina defense.
Don’s get it twisted: Newton was a beast on Sunday, and the only reason the Panthers had a shot at winning.
Jefferson finished with 169 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the big win over the Packers, and now we can watch Minnesota’s march for a playoff spot.