AFC WEST

The Chiefs dealt with early injuries, Chris Jones being unavailable for Week 1, and inconsistencies from the young skills position on offense…including Jawaan Taylor’s issues with lining up properly. Once Travis Kelce returned (with his new boo Taylor Swift) and Chris Jones got the deal done, the Chiefs slowly but surely returned to form, and the young skills positions slowly built more confidence. There’s not much competition as the Jets and Vikings look anything but consistent. Denver could go either way, but the Chargers might be the most challenging?????????????

The Chargers can’t finish games the right way or properly They let the Miami game get away from them (no pun intended). The Tennessee game was on the fence, but they failed to capitalize on it. The win against Minnesota could’ve resulted in a loss because of Brandon Staley’s 4th down call in their own backfield decision (which ended in failure). Luckily LA’s defense came on strong at the end, but there’s so much that could be done with that side. The offense is electric, but it’s also inconsistent. I can’t tell how their next four will go (Raiders, Cowboys, at Chiefs, Bears), but it’s either optimism or pessimism. However, they must not lose to the Bears at all costs or Staley’s on the hot seat for sure!

The Raiders are inconsistent. They start off quick most of the time, but then sputters for the rest of the game whether they lead or not. They have Davante Adams, Hunter Renfrow, Josh Jacobs, and Maxx Crosby, but the rest never seem to play up to their potential with that roster. I would be very wary about Jimmy G. After the loss to the Steelers, there’s a lot of questions for the Raiders going forward. The next five they face will determine where Vegas stand for the rest of the season. They’re all 50-50 games, including Detroit to an extent. What Las Vegas does is up to them.

Sean Payton and the Broncos have a lot of soul searching to do (with 14 games to go) because there’s no consistency and allowing 70 points doesn’t help their cause. Defense was supposed to be Top 5 caliber, but I wonder if their motivation was shot after allowing the Commanders to complete their big comeback win? It’s not like Russell Wilson was bad, but it wasn’t good enough. The Broncos/Bears game will determine who’s in the worst spot in 2023. They also face the Jets, travel to KC, and host Green Bay and KC before the bye. The Bears and Jets could be the worst game to watch, but KC and Green Bay? Let’s see where this goes…

AFC EAST

Miami was in overdrive last season. This season, Mike McDaniel must’ve discovered light speed and implanted his offense with it because they look unstoppable. Scoring 70 points is just bonkers. The talent they have alongside Tua Tagovailoa is just unexplainable, but that’s how Mike runs his offense, so good luck slowing them down. Whoever the next five defensive opponents are, they better possess dark energy because these boys (air and ground) will cut them up like butter.

Buffalo could’ve started 3-0 if it weren’t for Josh Allen’s turnover blunder against the Aaron Rodger-less Jets. Otherwise, the Bills looked solid and competitive to be a playoff team again. Von Miller should eventually return to the field. However, can the run game outside of Josh Allen ever improve? Will everyone stay healthy for the entire season or at least most of the season? Most importantly, can Josh Allen stave off the Madden curse in October??? He faces the Dolphins this weekend before traveling to London as “technically” a road matchup against the Jaguars before facing the Jags, Patriots, and Bucs on Thursday night.

After coming up short twice in games they could’ve won, the Patriots held on against the Aaron Rodgers-less Jets. Whether the Patriots are good or not, they’ve proven to be a hard out thus far. Mac Jones is a solid quarterback and he’s glad to have Bill O’Brien as the legit offensive coordinator. Defense hasn’t lost a beat with Matt Judon running the show. Special teams continue to be the game-changer for New England per usual. However, the offensive line needs more discipline, and the rest of the offense needs more juice for Mac to keep going. This team could be brewing for an upset somewhere on their October schedule.

Well…what’s there to say about the Jets? Without Aaron Rodgers, they’re back to square one after Zach Wilson’s collapse post-bye week. There’s no run game in sight with supposedly two best backs that could’ve been, Zach looks sporadic, and the offensive line is untrustworthy for protection and run blocking. Their defense can do so much, but the fight will eventually be kicked out like the Broncos last year. Offensive coordinator Nat Hackett must adjust to a different situation, or he might have to take the rest of the year off until Aaron Rodgers returns. There’s no reason to not have an offensive game plan for a very talented skills position. If nothing gets resolved soon, they’re burning down east New York and New Jersey before the bye week. The Chiefs, Broncos, and Eagles could lead to the Great East New York and New Jersey fire before the bye. But it could be delayed until their matchup against the Giants at the end of the month.

AFC NORTH

As much as I’m not a fan of the Cleveland Browns because of their front office decisions, they’re looking pretty formidable because of Deshaun Watson and their defense. The loss of Nick Chubb is huge, but they could carry on for a good bit unless something else happens. What was looking like a simpler 4-game stretch in October (except the 49ers), turned into a potentially difficult 4-game stretch. Outside of San Fran, they face the Colts and Seahawks on the road. However, Baltimore is a toss-up due to injuries. Can Cleveland keep their run going?

The Ravens looked good in two games, but don’t forget about the early casualties on the injury report. This is a wary situation when Baltimore’s pursuing the playoffs and more. The backs and secondary are once again the victims of the injury bug, and Ronnie Stanley can’t stay healthy for a whole season once again. The early injuries resulted in the overtime loss to the Colts. Who they can’t lose is Lamar Jackson. That’s something fans will sweat over when they face road matchups at Cleveland and Pittsburgh before traveling overseas to play Tennessee and return home to play Detroit before going to Arizona. Expect a bigger injury report by November.

Pittsburgh rightfully lost to a better team in San Francisco, but they survived against the Browns and Raiders with wins. The offense still has work to do if they want to compete for the playoffs, or at least net another winning season for Mike Tomlin’s streak. Defense has little to no explanation because they’ll always play up to their expectations. I can’t say their October schedule will be simple or challenging. But with how their offense currently performed, it’s simply challenging, even against Houston.

The Bengals can start slow every year all they want, but when Joe Burrow takes the field, the team’s all in with him. It was ugly, sluggish, and inconsistent, but the team found their form eventually. Defense played well and Burrow hogged it out as best as he could with his calf. And shout outs to Burrow’s Super Smash Bros. hoodie during the postgame press! However, they start the season 0-2 against their division foes. Also however, this happened before when they started 0-3 against the AFC North before wringing out 3-0 against them. Nothing to worry about in Cincy. Hopefully they’re ready for a physical October against the Titans, Cardinals, Seahawks, and a post-bye matchup against the 49ers. Their next three of four games are on the road too. Bring plenty of Icy Hots, boys!

AFC SOUTH

The Colts are surprisingly leading the division despite losing Anthony Richardson to an injury. He’ll make his return, but this team’s competing and trying to prove they’re not rebuilding. Whatever the situation was with Jonathan Taylor is the least of their problems now. If he returns, Indy may surprise the NFL more than expected. As for their October schedule, the Rams, Titans, Jaguars, Browns, and Saints could swing either way. What they must avoid is another injury by Anthony Richardson if they want to be the surprise playoff hopefuls.

Houston may not be a playoff team, but they will be a hard out. I like their defense, and their offense will only improve during the season. CJ Stroud’s playing well early and has the run game and young receivers to back him up. Defense is young, but full of potential which led to some impact plays against Jacksonville and Indy at times. If they can get the jump on a couple of teams in a potential 50/50 game in October, it’s possible they can be in the Top 10 AFC playoff standings before November.

Let’s be honest, Jacksonville looked shaky. They defeated the Colts but could’ve lost to them if it weren’t for the Jags’ 4th quarter surge. They rightfully lost to the Chiefs, but they looked really bad against the Texans. Will this be another slow start for the Jaguars before they pick things up later on? That remains to be seen. Right now, their October schedule becomes difficult because the next five will likely be physical. We’re talking the Falcons, Bills, Colts, Saints, and Steelers.

I want to believe that Tennessee’s a good team, but their offense is a problem. Derrick Henry’s showing some wear and opposing defenses are slowly less intimidated by him. The receivers beyond DeAndre Hopkins won’t make the team better. The leash on Ryan Tannehill as a starter is getting shorter each week and the call for Will Levis as a starter will eventually come if they don’t win more games soon. It only gets tougher when they face the Colts, Ravens, and Falcons. I’m unclear about the Bengals because of Joe Burrow’s injury. Maybe that win could boost their confidence going forward.