Believe it or not we are nearly midway through the NFL season and there are teams that are looking forward to the second half of the season knowing their year will probably continue on into January and they will have a chance to play for a Super Bowl title. And there are other NFL teams that while their season isn’t technically over – it in a lot of ways is over and they are more or less onto 2025 and focusing on how to get better for next year. And we knew entering the 2024 season that the AFC was going to be a very fun conference to watch all throughout the year as there is elite quarterback play seemingly everywhere – and a lot of the quarterbacks and team have lived up to the hype. And as we enter the month of November and the later months of the NFL season – if there is anything we are certain about – it’s that the AFC is completely wide open. There is no clear cut favorite in this conference at this point in time. And in today’s video we are going to break down several teams in the AFC and why they could ultimately go to the Super Bowl. And there is a lo to break down for each and every team and without further ado – let’s begin
And we are starting today’s video by discussing the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Pittsburgh Steelers are 5-2 after a 37-15 win over the Jets on Sunday night football in week 7 and as much as the media’s focus was on the Jets and the first game of having Davante Adams back with Aaron Rodgers – I think this was a statement win for the Steelers as much as it was a statement loss by the Jets. I have been very critical of the Steelers in the past and they frustrate me because they are a very solid team – but nobody expects this team to win it all. And I think claiming the Steelers are destined to win a Super Bowl with Russell Wilson after one game would be an extreme over reaction – and Steelers fans would also acknowledge that – but Russ threw for over 260 yards and 2 touchdowns and after a poor start to the year in which I was very critical of Najee Harris – Najee has bounced back too – which was huge.
In the first 5 games of the year Najee had just 270 rushing yards on 82 carries and was averaging 3.3 yards per carry. Whether you are a former first round pick in Najee’s case or a former undrafted free agent – that’s bad – and that’s not going to cut it. But since then – Najee has responded with back to back 100 yard games and ran for a touchdown in each of those games. Now correlation does not equal causation and the Steelers didn’t put up 30+ points in each game directly because of Najee Harris – but it was nice to see him look like a completely different player and play a significant part in the Steelers going from 3-2 with serious questions – to 5-2 with back to back 3 score victories. It was also great to see George Pickens play at the level we know he’s been capable of since he was drafted in his first game with Russell and the Steelers looked like a different team against the Jets.
This was a critical win for Pittsburgh because they would have faced a lot of criticism from the media if they lost to the Jets and Russ played bad. This would have been after a 4-2 start with Justin Fields and with a loss with a new starting quarterback – it wouldn’t have been a good look to say the least. Credit Mike Tomlin for that because that was a very ballsy decision. Now do I think the Steelers are going to go to the Super Bowl and do I think Russell Wilson is going to continue to play at the level he did against the Jets? No. And mainly because Russ played pretty well outside of the first few series. And to be fair to not only Pittsburgh – but any of the teams in today’s video – getting to a singular Super Bowl is incredibly difficult. But what I will positively about the Steelers – is – their pass rush is a Super Bowl caliber pass rush. They have countless players that can get after the quarterback and in countless ways. And as long as they don’t beat themselves – they can win on any given Sunday.
The Texans lost to the Packers in week 7 with a score of 24-22 and it was a very tough game for the offense – outside of Joe Mixon. CJ Stroud finished the game just 10 of 21 for 86 yards and was sacked 4 times and this was one of the worst games of his career. Despite the recent loss – I still think the Texans are a very good team and bad games are going to happen against a Jeff Hafley led defense. The Texans are 4-0 against the AFC in 2024 and are just 1-2 against the NFC and the teams they lost to are the Vikings and Packers – and there’s no shame in losing to those teams – and especially those defenses. Not only that, but not having Nico Collins certainly complicates things for the time being and Nico was on an all pro pace prior to being put on IR. And even through 7 weeks – despite missing two games – Nico Collins was still top 3 in the NFL in receiving yards and that goes to show the type of year he was having. So assuming he is healthy by the time the playoffs roll around – the Texans are going to be a very difficult team to beat and are going to be contending for a Super Bowl. There is one big thing that I think benefits the Texans that other teams certainly don’t have – and that’s a favorable schedule down the stretch.
Yes they play the Chiefs and Ravens in two of their final 3 games – but outside of the Lions game in week 10 – this team doesn’t have many games where you look at and think – man I don’t know how they’re going to win that one. And having a week 14 bye is very advantageous for the Texans to begin with – but being able to play the Chiefs and Ravens as two true measuring sticks before the postseason and maybe even getting to rest their starters in the week 18 game against the Titans is a luxury other teams won’t have. And the Texans aren’t guaranteed to have that luxury – but I do think they’ll win the AFC South and that opportunity may arise for them – to rest their starters that is. The pass rushing duo of Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter is predictably good and both players will probably finish with around 65 to 70 pressures and having two great pass rushers be able to routinely get after quarterbacks in this conference is critical. They’ve also had several younger players step up like Henry To’oTo’o, Calen Bullock, and Kamari Lassiter and when teams win super bowls – they have guys like these 3 step up. There’s always unsung heroes and Calen Bullock is tied with Jaylen McCollough of the Rams in leading all rookies in interceptions with 3. Having a secondary with Derek Stingley, Jalen Pitre, Bullock, and Lassiter in this conference especially is huge. And there’s a reason they’re top 5 in passing yards allowed defensively. And it’s because it’s a no fly zone
The Kansas City Chiefs, the Buffalo Bills, and the Baltimore Ravens are ALL great teams and absolutely have a shot to win the AFC title and go to the super bowl too. All of these teams are discussed within the video below! I hope you enjoy!
