Knowing who the best three teams are in the National Football Conference is a lot clearer than trying to plot the top three in the American Football Conference.
The defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs have lost two straight games and two more contests this season than they lost in all of their title campaign in 2022. They got beat three times last season and have fallen victim five times already this year.
With those credentials, it is safe to say the Chiefs are not the best team in the AFC. If we are to go strictly by the won and loss records, the Baltimore Ravens top the charts. John Harbaugh’s team is 10-3 this year and own a two game edge over second place Cleveland in the AFC North Division.
Two weeks ago, the Jacksonville Jaguars could have been considered the top team in the conference, and had they won their Monday night home game against the Cincinnati Bengals they would have elevated themselves to the top seed. They lost to Cincinnati, and followed that setback up with another defeat last Sunday against the Browns on the road.
So, based on season records and recent results, scratch the Jags from the top spot.
Okay, how about the Miami Dolphins? They had a shot at a share of the best record in the conference with a home win last Monday night, but they got upset while favored by 14 points in a home loss to the Tennessee Titans.
The Dolphins have something else that taints their excellent record, they have lost to all three teams they played that came into the game with a winning record. They got clobbered by the Buffalo Bills to snap their season opening three game winning streak, and lost in games against top competition to the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.
If the Dolphins don’t have a win against a winning team, they are certainly not the best in the conference.
But, before you anoint the Ravens the best among the 16 AFC teams, know this, everything is not based on past results alone. What if I was to tell you the best team in the AFC is not even currently a division leader, and needed a narrow win on Sunday night to avoid falling to a losing record.
That is the case.
From a handicapping standpoint, I’m much more interested in who is going to do great in the coming weeks than how well a team has played in games that have already exhausted their earning potential.
Who’s the best team in the AFC?
My money is on the Buffalo Bills.
Sure they have suffered surprise losses to the New York Jets and New England Patriots in their AFC East Conference, but they are also capable of beating any team anywhere in any weather.
Don’t yet believe me?
Perhaps a win over the high flying Dallas Cowboys this Sunday will go a long way to convince you that the Bills are the team with the brightest days ahead of them. Perhaps even, I contend, the best team in the AFC.
Qoxhi Picks: Buffalo Bills (-2) over Dallas Cowboys