More than halfway through an exciting NFL season, there are surely more twists and turns to come along the way in the AFC.
The playoff picture is far from settled, even if two of the divisions are all but wrapped up. The Patriots and Bengals remain unbeaten atop their divisions, while the Broncos have stayed afloat despite disappointing quarterback play and the Colts have disappointed, but remain on top of the terrible AFC South.
The wild-card picture remains up in the air as the Steelers, Bills, Jets, Chiefs, Raiders and Dolphins are all in the mix. Here are our predictions for the AFC East's playoff seeding:
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1) Patriots (9-0)
The Giants seemed poised to hand the defending Super Bowl champions their first loss of the season, but as has been the case repeatedly this season, Big Blue couldn't seal the deal, and New England won, 27-26. After escaping his four-game Deflategate ban, Tom Brady has been on fire, throwing for a league-leading 24 touchdowns and 3,043 passing yards.
2) Bengals (8-0)
Cincinnati will look to remain unbeaten when it hosts Houston on "Monday Night Football" this week, and it looks to be well on its way toward a bye in the opening round. While Andy Dalton has been getting the job done on offense, the stingy Bengals defense is first in the league by allowing just 142 points this season.
3) Broncos (7-2)
Though Peyton Manning has had a nightmarish season, throwing for a league-high 17 interceptions -- including four picks Sunday against the Chiefs, Denver is still poised for a playoff berth. It was later revealed Manning has a torn plantar fascia in his right foot, but it appears he's set to continue playing. The key to the Broncos' success has been their defense, which is first in the NFL in total defense by allowing just 277.3 yards per game.
4) Colts (4-5)
The NFC South is the worst. The Colts lead the way with a sub-.500 record and are ahead of the Texans (3-5), Jaguars (3-6) and Titans (2-7). The Andrew Luck (lacerated kidney) injury doesn't help, but given the other teams in this division, the 2-6 week absence shouldn't cost Indianapolis its playoff spot. The bye week came at the right time for Indy.
5) Steelers (6-4)
Ben Roethlisberger was dealing with a sprained foot, but still popped off in place of the injured Landry Jones (broken foot) off the bench Sunday. Roethlisberger threw for 379 yards and three touchdowns with one interception to lead Pittsburgh to a 30-9 defeat of Cleveland. With Antonio Brown leading the league with 1,141 receiving yards and Pittsburgh getting healthy, a playoff berth appears to be on the horizon.
6) Jets (5-4)
Gang Green suffered a major blow when it lost to the Rex Ryan-led Bills on "Thursday Night Football" last week, but that doesn't mean New York is set to miss the playoffs. The Jets 'D' has been a strength this season, leading the NFL in rushing defense by holding teams to 88.1 yards per game on the ground. Rookie coach Todd Bowels has made some questionable in-game decisions, but five of their final seven games are against teams that are .500 or below and their regular-season finale against Buffalo could be huge.
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