Tougher Schedule, Heightened Expectations Will Force Chiefs To Take Step Back In AFC West
The Kansas City Chiefs were the Cinderella story of the AFC in 2013. When the clock struck midnight in their AFC Wild Card collapse against the Indianapolis Colts, the biggest question was whether or not this team had peaked.
Super Bowl Or Bust For Manning, Broncos After Offseason Reload
Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos were punched in the mouth at Super Bowl XLVIII. After being embarrassed by the Seattle Seahawks the Broncos spent the offseason retooling with hopes that this year they can get the job done.
Dominant Defense, Stability On Offense Key To Texans’ Improvement In 2014
That the Houston Texans underachieved in 2013 is a major understatement. The Texans were expected to challenge for a Super Bowl after making improvements to a roster that won 10 games in 2011 and 12 games in 2012, but the bottom fell out after several key players were either hurt or failed to live up to expectations.
Jaguars Still A Year Away Despite Being Headed In Right Direction
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley entered a nightmare situation when he took the job in 2013. Considering what he dealt with, it’s pretty impressive that his team went 4-12.
Expectations Tempered For Titans’ Franchise That Is In Transition
The Tennessee Titans have talked about 2014 as the start of a new era for the franchise. Ken Whisenhunt is the new head coach and Ray Horton is turning the base defense over from a 4-3 to a 3-4, but the Titans have decided to give the starting quarterback from the previous regime another shot with Jake Locker.
Luck, Colts Once Again The Class Of The AFC South
The Indianapolis Colts have opened the Andrew Luck era with back-to-back 11-win seasons and a playoff win over the Kansas City Chiefs a year ago, so it’s easy to understand why expectations of this team are high.
The Indianapolis Colts finished the 2013 season with an 11-5 record. That was good enough for a spot atop the AFC South Division, and it gave them the sixth-best record in the NFL when it was all said and done.
The Houston Texans were surprisingly bad during the 2013 NFL season. Like, “going from a potential contender-to-the bottom of the league” kind of bad.
The Jacksonville Jaguars were not a good football team in 2013. They went just 4-12, but the truth is that this was actually an improvement from their showing the year prior—a year that saw them win just two games en route to a 2-14 record.
Ravens Reload With Eye On Returning To Championship Level
One year after winning the Super Bowl, the Baltimore Ravens took a step back in 2013. However, despite an offense that was far too inconsistent and a defense that transitioned that struggled at times in the transition past the Ray Lewis era, Baltimore managed to win eight games and finish .500.
In all likelihood, the Tennessee Titans are not going to be good in 2014. This is blatantly obvious when looking at their roster, but at least they have one reason to hold their heads high entering the new year: The only team in the NFL with worse odds to win the Super Bowl are in their own division—the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Indianapolis Colts are the odds-on favorites to win the 2014 AFC South, and it’s easy to see why. They went 11-5 this past season—the best record in the division by a relative longshot—and with a guy like Andrew Luck leading the way, it’s tough to picture the Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans or Jacksonville Jaguars taking over as the team to beat.
The Houston Texans entered the 2013 NFL season with high hopes. They were thought to be contenders for a shot at a Super Bowl, but they ultimately flopped their way to an abysmal 2-14 record. Now it’s time to see if the offseason changes can get them back to where they were expected to be a year ago, which is far away from the basement of the league.
The Denver Broncos came one win away from the Vince Lombardi trophy. Their high-powered offense was held in check, but that was not the sole point of their emphasis of improvement this offseason.
The Kansas City Chiefs had a very impressive turnaround season under first year coach Andy Reid. They benefited from a very weak first half of the schedule and used that to get out of the gates rolling to an 11-5 record.
The Oakland Raiders had a very tough year again. The fan base continues to support the players but the patience is beginning to run thin as expectations are for this team to no longer be at the bottom of the AFC.
