So much for the AFC falling off this season.
That was the general sentiment heading into 2014 with the majority of pre-season Super Bowl picks such as the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers coming from the NFC.
Well, that’s hardly been the case. Entering Week 10, the AFC has been the far superior conference. The AFC has 11 teams with a record above .500 while the NFC has just six. There may not be a dominant team this year, but the majority of Super Bowl contenders — the Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts and even the Pittsburgh Steelers — hail in the AFC. Outside of Arizona, who is the great team in the NFC?
Even Kansas City has been sneaky good of late with nice wins over Miami, New England and San Diego. Who saw that coming?
In the NFC, the drop-off has been obvious. Seattle and San Francisco aren’t as potent as they were the last two years, Philadelphia and Dallas have injured quarterbacks, while New Orleans just hit the .500 mark in a terrible division.
It’s still only at the halfway point, but it’s clear the strength of the league comes in the AFC.
Here’s what else we learned in Week 9:
Eagles should be fine without Foles: It is unfortunate to see the Eagles lose their starting quarterback, but Philadelphia invested in a good backup in Mark Sanchez. Don’t laugh. Sanchez drew positive reports from Chip Kelly all summer long and it was clear in his play in relief work on Sunday that he feels comfortable in the offence. Against Houston, Sanchez went 15-of-22 for over 200 yards and two touchdowns, which is pretty impressive considering his lack of reps in practice. Sanchez’s reputation went in the tank because of his performance with the New York Jets, but this is a far better situation. He has a running game to lean on, he has a group of legitimate NFL receivers, and Kelly runs a quarterback-friendly offence that isn’t too demanding on its pivots. Sanchez should be just fine.
Is this the end for Tom Coughlin? It’s hardly fair to blame the New York Giants’ struggles on their veteran head coach, but he will be ultimately held responsible. The Giants just aren’t what they used to be. It was obvious in their ugly loss on Monday night. Coughlin’s teams won two Super Bowls because of dominant play in the trenches. That’s no longer happening. They don’t have a consistent pass rush and their offensive line has transitioned to a young group that’s going to take its lumps. The Giants saw the defensive line’s talent fading and invested heavily in the secondary. But they haven’t seen the payoff. Walter Thurmond III is out for the year and their top cover corner Prince Amukamara suffered a season-ending injury Monday night. It’s not just on defence, either. Without Victor Cruz, there has been a lack of a consistent pass catcher. Other than Odell Beckham, Jr., did anyone catch the ball on Monday? It’s clear why the Giants are declining, so don’t be surprised if they make the coach the scapegoat. That’s how this business works.
The new weapon in Pittsburgh? Has anyone been better than the Pittsburgh Steelers at drafting receivers? Green Bay is up there but the Steelers have been able to add a ridiculous amount of talent at the receiver position — and at a fair cost. The Steelers haven’t used a first round pick on a receiver since drafting Santonio Holmes in 2005. Even without the high picks, the Steelers have still managed to accumulate Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders, Antonio Brown, Markus Wheaton and Martavis Bryant in the last decade. That’s an impressive group! And Bryant, the 2014 rookie, has played a huge role in Pittsburgh’s recent resurgence on offence. Since Todd Haley starting giving him consistent playing time, he has provided Ben Roethlisberger with his best big weapon since the days of Plaxico Burress. The six-foot-four rookie from Clemson has five touchdowns in the last three weeks and is a huge reason why Big Ben has opened up the passing game. Watch out for the Steelers down the stretch.
Cowboys have to go back to Romo: You could see the anger and frustration coming from the Dallas sideline after every offensive possession. Brandon Weeden simply can’t cut it at this level. The Cardinals deserve some credit for their defensive play, but Weeden was that bad against Arizona. He had no command of the offence and his accuracy was far below what should be expected out of a backup quarterback — especially a former first-round pick. Weeden wasn’t able to complete a pass to receiver Dez Bryant — one of the biggest and best targets in the game — until garbage time. His throws sailed all day. If the Cowboys want to stay in the NFC race, they have to go back to Tony Romo, who claims his back will be healthy enough to play. With Weeden in there, Dallas is unable function on offence.
Dolphins starting to peak: Ryan Tannehill has been getting a lot of attention for his recent play, but the biggest reason Miami has been succeeding is because of its play up front. The Dolphins have gotten outstanding play from their defensive line, who harassed Philip Rivers in the 37-0 blowout win over San Diego. Cameron Wake is playing at an All-Pro level and has led a deep group that features multiple pass rushers. But more surprising has been the play of the offensive line. Especially considering it has been just one year since the Richie Incognito/Jonathan Martin bullying scandal. The Dolphins acted quickly and new GM Dennis Hickey overhauled the group in the off-season, adding two new offensive tackles, and the dividends are obvious. The improved line has helped Tannehill and has really stabilized the offence. Winning in the trenches is a proven formula in the NFL and if it keeps up, Joe Philbin’s team will be very much in the playoff race.