As we head into the final stretch of the season, the Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos are riding high. But will the good times keep rolling?
Ahead of Week 12, Yardbarker NFL writers offer a hot take on every AFC team.
AFC East
BUFFALO BILLS (9-2) | Bills don’t lose a game for rest of season |The bye week comes at the perfect time for Buffalo, which won at home 30-21 in Week 11 against the previously undefeated Chiefs despite missing multiple starters, including TE Dalton Kincaid, WR Keon Coleman and RT Spencer Brown. Matchups against San Francisco and Detroit won’t be easy, but expect the Bills to win their remaining six games, especially because they’re getting healthier. Also, expect Buffalo to clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
MIAMI DOLPHINS (4-6) | WR Tyreek Hill doesn’t reach 1,000-yard threshold | Although the eight-time Pro Bowler is hitting his stride now that QB Tua Tagovailoa is back from his concussion, Hill is likely headed for his first season without 1,000 receiving yards since 2019. Hill only has 523 yards in 10 games, so he must average 68.1 yards the remainder of the season to reach the 1,000-yard milestone, which seems unlikely given his current pace.
NEW YORK JETS (3-8) | Lions DC Aaron Glenn will be the team’s next head coach | With the need to create an identity and fix their culture problem this offseason, the Jets will hire Glenn, the team’s first-round pick in the 1994 NFL Draft. Glenn is an ideal choice to help turn New York’s talented but underachieving defense around. Under his leadership, the Lions have allowed the fifth-fewest points per game and boast one of the league’s top run-stopping units despite edge-rusher Aidan Hutchinson (broken tibia, fibula) being sidelined.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (3-8) | QB Drake Maye finishes second among rookies in passing touchdowns | The North Carolina product has made just six starts this season but ranks third among rookie QBs in touchdown passes (nine), trailing Washington’s Jayden Daniels (10) and Denver’s Bo Nix (14). Surpassing Nix is unrealistic, but because he’ll be trailing in most games and throwing frequently, Maye should finish the season with more TD passes than Daniels, who leads a run-heavy offense and is likely still limited by a rib injury. — Colum Dell
AFC West
DENVER BRONCOS (6-5) | Rookie QB Bo Nix will guide Broncos to first playoff appearance since 2015 | Nix is 5-3 over his past eight starts, tossing 14 TD passes and two interceptions during this stretch. His improvement creates a postseason path for Denver, which has the league’s 10th-easiest remaining schedule, per ESPN’s Football Power Index.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (9-1) | Key defensive weakness will prevent Chiefs from winning third straight Super Bowl | K.C.’s inability to stop mobile QBs is a liability that could prove costly if it faces Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs. In a 30-21 Week 11 home win over the Chiefs, Allen rushed for a season-high 55 yards and one TD on 12 carries.
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (2-8) | HC Antonio Pierce will be a one-and-done | With new minority owner Tom Brady in the picture, the rookie HC’s future seems even more uncertain. The Athletic’s Josh Kendall recently suggested the seven-time Super Bowl champion may convince majority owner Mark Davis to fire Pierce, who has lost five games by 14-plus points this season.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (7-3) | RB J.K. Dobbins will be Comeback Player of the Year front-runner | Dobbins — who suffered knee and Achilles injuries in his first four seasons with Baltimore — has stayed healthy this season and become one of the NFL’s more productive RBs. Through 10 games, he ranks 10th in the league in rushing yards (726) and is tied for sixth in rushing TDs (eight). — Clark Dalton
AFC North
PITTSBURGH STEELERS (8-2) | Steelers will have a losing record in their last seven games | The Steelers have won five straight and are 4-0 with Russell Wilson at QB, but they’re due for some regression considering they rank third in the NFL in luck rating and 14th in DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average). Pittsburgh closes the regular season with tough games against the Bengals (twice), Eagles, Ravens and Chiefs.
BALTIMORE RAVENS (7-4) | Ravens won’t win a playoff game |Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry are powering the most unstoppable offense in the AFC, but the Ravens’ fatal flaw — their passing defense — will cost them in the playoffs. Baltimore’s defense ranks last in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game (284.5).
CINCINNATI BENGALS (4-7) | Bengals will fire HC Zac Taylor | If the Bengals can’t make the playoffs this season with Joe Burrow playing at an MVP level, changes must be made in the offseason. In 93 regular-season games as Bengals HC, Taylor is 17-31-1 in one-score games (1-6 this season) and 11-22 in AFC North games, which isn’t going to cut it with this QB.
CLEVELAND BROWNS (2-8) | Browns will finish the season with a win against every AFC North team | The Browns are going to be a pesky spoiler team down the stretch, especially because Jameis Winston has thrown for 964 yards and six touchdowns through three starts. Cleveland has already beaten the Ravens, it gets the Steelers at home on a short week on Thursday and doesn’t play the Bengals until Week 16 when they’ll likely be eliminated from the postseason. — Jack Dougherty
AFC South
HOUSTON TEXANS (7-4) | Team finishes the season with NFL lead in sacks | Through 11 games, Houston ranks fifth among teams in sacks with 34, five shy of the Denver Broncos for the NFL lead, but it is positioned to take over the top spot by season’s end. Over their final six games, the Texans will twice face the Titans (whose offensive line ranks 28th in pass-block win rate), the struggling Jaguars and the Chiefs, who surrendered 10 sacks in the past three games.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (5-6) | QB Anthony Richardson finishes the season with more touchdowns than interceptions | Richardson has five TD passes and seven interceptions this season, but his overall 304-yard, three-TD performance during a Week 11 28-27 road win over the Jets — his first outing following a two-game benching — is encouraging. With games against New England, Jacksonville and the Giants — bottom-five teams in interceptions forced — Richardson should capitalize on his opportunity to end 2024 with more passing touchdowns than INTs, assuming his new-found decision-making skills aren’t an outlier.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (2-9) | Make a coaching change during the bye and win two more games | If NFL Media insider Ian Rapoport’s recent report holds, the Jaguars will soon fire HC Doug Pederson and GM Trent Baalke in the wake of their 46-point loss to Detroit in Week 11. Jacksonville is spiraling, but it has the talent to improve under an interim head coach, and with the NFL’s easiest remaining schedule, the soon-to-be reenergized group should win two more games.
TENNESSEE TITANS (2-8) | QB Will Levis earns 2025 starting job |
Levis has fared well since returning from a shoulder injury, throwing for 470 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in his past two games. If Levis performs at a similar level down the stretch, Tennessee’s schedule is easy enough that he could keep the team out of range of drafting his successor and, by default, secure the starting QB role for 2025. — Colum Dell
