Looking Around

After Sunday's licking of the Raiders, Bronco fans can breathe easy. They seem to have broken the curse of the mid-season slump. They're playing their best football right now, and they've avoided major injuries to key players. Breathing easy gives Broncos fans a chance look around. No, I'm not talking about taking a look at the existential beauty of fallen leaves or the sale prices encouraging you to "shop early" for Christmas. I'm talking about taking a look around at the football landscape. Now's the time to check out the situation in the AFC, and a quick peak at the NFC can't hurt.

A glance at the AFC standings tells us that the AFC is ridiculously competitive. The Colts are undefeated and there are three teams with a 7-2 record (including the Broncos). Two of those teams - Cincinatti and Pittsburgh - are in the same division, and it's likely that the team that doesn't win the division is going to get one of the wildcard spots. Indianapolis is going to win the AFC South barring a major meltdown (which could happen five of their next seven games are against elite teams). But Jacksonville (6-3), also in the AFC South, is playing great football. They probably won't catch the Colts but they'll be in the wildcard chase all the way. Then of course there's the AFC East. New England will probably win that division again, but Buffalo is only one game back. The Broncos have a solid lock on the AFC West for the moment, but KC and San Diego are both two games back and the Broncos have to play both of them before the end of the season. While the Chiefs look broken, the Chargers are about to hit their stride. The Chargers might push the Broncos to the brink. The AFC is full of great teams this season. The AFC will win definitely win the Super Bowl this year, but it's hard to say which team since so many are in the hunt. Right now it's hard to go against the Colts.

The NFC looks just as competitive, but none of the teams, except Carolina, look as dominating as in the AFC. Carolina and Seattle have the best records at 7-2. Carolina is playing great on both sides of the ball and are looking to get back to the Super Bowl. Seattle has the same record, but their division is the weakest in the NFL with both San Francisco and Arizona - embarrasments yet again. Aside from Carolina and Seattle, there's a handful of 6-3 teams - Dallas, NYG, Chicago, Atlanta, and Tampa Bay - but none really stand out. At least one of those teams will falter down the stretch, and there's a good chance that one or two of the lesser teams will make a run for the playoffs. The Redskins and the Rams have the best chances. Watching NFC games to see who makes the playoffs will be exciting this winter, but Carolina will come out on top.

In all this mess, there's two important things for the Broncos and their fans. Number one - Clinch the AFC West. Number two - Have the best or second-best record in the AFC. If the Broncos can accomplish goal number one, then they'll be guaranteed a play-off spot. Plus, there's little chance they'll have to face the Colts in the first round. If they can accomplish number two, even better, they're all but guaranteed a spot in the AFC Championship game. A top two finish gets the Broncos a first-round bye and home-field advantage. Plus, a first-round playoff bye means that Pittsburgh and Cincinatti will have to slug it out with another top team, maybe even each other, before facing the Broncos at Mile-Hi. Either way, the Colts are still guarding the door to Bronco success.

Basically I'm calling it like this: Carolina and Indy are the two best teams in their respective conferences. More simply, they're the two best teams in the NFL. In a perfect world, they'd meet up in the Super Bowl. But the NFL is full of bizarre events and cruel twists of fate. The Broncos are playing awesome right now and might be able to slip in and shake things up. In other words, they definitely have a shot. Hopes are high this year. Anything less than an AFC Championship showdown with the Colts will be counted a disappointment. And if they can get past the Colts the Broncos will go all the way.