Ahh…Welcome to the 2023-24 NFL Postseason, the road to Las Vegas is here as AFC teams look to gain traction and book their flights. In what’s been a crazy, up and down season with plenty of surprises. Join me as I give you the most khaotik AFC playoff preview.
1: Baltimore Ravens
Lamar “Light, Camera, Action” Jackson led the Ravens to the AFC North Division title. Their first since 2019 and will have home field advantage as well. In a season which included blowout wins over top contending teams in both AFC and NFC, the Ravens didn’t flinch or fold their wings. A very underrated defense has played very well and deserves some shine in this season of dominance as well. Two weeks off to get healthy and keep the flock fresh for a deep playoff run.
(2) Buffalo vs (7) Pittsburgh
Buffalo has seen their season be flipped upside down and need to beat lower tier teams to get back into the playoff picture. A point in the season as if they were still title contenders. Firing offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, head coach Sean McDermott’s classless motivational tactics using 9/11 references and all the bits to buff them into the number two seed and winning their fourth straight AFC East title. None of this would be possible without franchise quarterback Josh Allen. You can say he’s seen his best days be great and others… Well, little to be desired. He can win you a lot of games and lose them in a split second. Overall, the Bills will have their journey battle tested and try to make a deep playoff run.
As for Pittsburgh, what a crazy, brutal season filled with the unknowns on offense. Head coach Mike Tomlin completed and kept his streak alive without a losing season. Talk about a moral accomplishment in general. Starting with the firing of offensive coordinator Matt Canada, the Steelers were able to right the ship and stay in the playoff race with some help along the way. Quarterbacks were going in and out of the lineup and still managed to win 10 games. Thanks to losses by Jacksonville and Indianapolis, the Steelers will face a daunting challenge in Buffalo. Sub-zero temperatures and cold grass will play a role. The biggest question moving forward: “What is the standard in Pittsburgh?” We shall find out, wild card weekend.
(3) Kansas City vs (6) Miami
Will the real Kansas City Chiefs stand up? A team whose potent offense has seen more drops from receivers than the great DJ Khaled saying “anotha one.” For the first time in the Andy Reid-Patrick Mahomes era, they’ll have to travel in the second round if they make it out the first round. A season filled with Taylor Swift gaining headlines with the courtship of star tight end Travis Kelce, Kansas City finds themselves slowly riding into the postseason with more to prove despite being the defending Super Bowl champion. Chiefs defense has been arguably strong this year and carried the offense. It will take more than Mahomes Magic, Kelce and Andy Reid to propel Kansas City passed round one.
The Miami Dolphins were the surprise team to start the season; cooled off and somehow scored a record 70 points on the Denver Broncos. Led by Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill, the Dolphins looked the part but couldn’t win big games on the road in the middle of the season. Defense was solid, but the loss of linebacker Bradley Chubb will hurt this team tremendously. With everything to prove and then some, Tua will have to overcome road woes and sub-zero temperatures to lead Miami in an upset victory. The fastest show on grass will lean heavily on their run game to have footing against Kansas City. This game in general will tell the Dolphins front office if Tua is their guy moving forward in a contract year.
(4) Houston vs (5) Cleveland
Houston, prepare for takeoff as the Texans are back in the playoffs in 2019. Winning the AFC South Division with a rookie head coach and franchise quarterback. DeMeco Ryans and CJ Stroud have put the Texans back in Houston and surprised all the NFL. In what was supposed to be a “rebuild,” Houston got off to a slow start and paced themselves to a winner take all game against Indianapolis, the emotions were on display with CJ. A young man who flew under the radar and critiqued if he could break the mold of Ohio State quarterbacks to NFL success, CJ quieted the noise and put the Texans on his back. In the end, Houston hit a homerun and didn’t think twice. Can the Texans keep their season going into late January?
As LeBron James said upon winning the NBA Finals in 2016: “Cleveland, this is for you!” indeed, and now the Browns are back in the postseason since 2020 as one of the hottest teams nobody wanted to face. Despite quarterback turmoil with the injury to Deshaun Watson, and running back Nick Chubb, the Browns barked their way into the playoffs with veteran quarterback Joe Flacco. With a historically great defense led by Myles Garrett, Cleveland will look to bark even louder against Houston. In a season where head coach Kevin Stefanski was in jeopardy, the Browns stayed the course and didn’t let the outside noise creep in. Cleveland will have to write whatever check possible to keep Stefanski in-house after a turnaround season. It will be a tall order for Houston to keep this Browns defense in check for sixty-minutes.
This wraps up the annual NFL Playoff khaos for the AFC! Be sure to check out my preview for the NFC bracket. Good luck to your teams and hope for the best!
Stai tuned…
