AFC Review

The Houston Texans still have a one and a half game lead in a bid to be the AFC top seed for the first time in franchise history. A touchdown favorite, the Texans won by two touchdowns vs the franchise, the Tennessee Titans, that played in Houston as the Oilers from (1960-1996).

In the movie, “Cast Away,” Tom Hanks’ character, who had been shipwrecked, is informed that not only does Tennessee have a pro football team but that they came within a yard and subsequent extra point of forcing overtime in a Super Bowl. Mike Lupica, once erroneously said on one of his many radio shows, that the Titans came within a yard of winning the Super Bowl.

Next week, Houston visits New England, one of two AFC teams to clinch a divisional title yesterday, in a game that figures to be important in conference seeding.

Both the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos clinched division titles yesterday. Each team features a quarterback who has had remarkable success in winning the current “one eighth” NFL divisional titles in the past ten seasons. The Patriots won their fourth straight divisional title and ninth in the past ten seasons. In all nine seasons in which New England quarterback Tom Brady played as much as a full game (Brady was injured in the season opener in 2008, the one year New England did not win the division and they did battle until the season’s final day before Miami grabbed the division title) the Pats have won the AFC East title. This is Denver quarterback Peyton Manning’s first year with the team and the Broncos’ second straight “div” title. Manning has now won eight division titles in the nine years he played over the same ten year span (2003-2012). Manning won seven “div” titles with the Colts and has been in the playoffs the last ten seasons he played. He was injured last year and did not play for the Colts, who failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Speaking of the Colts, they and their former city’s team had opposite results yesterday. The Baltimore Ravens (of course the now Indianapolis Colts played in Baltimore from (1953-1983) still lead the AFC North by two games (there is no clear leader in the potential tiebreakers so we will call the lead two games) despite a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. This despite Pittsburgh, more than a touchdown underdog, playing without starting quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger. Meanwhile the Colts led by rookie quarterback Andrew Luck, who of course replaced Peyton Manning, (to this point it has worked out well for both men) pulled out a (35-33) win at (4-8) Detroit (Lions), in a game in which the now (8-4) Colts were a one touchdown underdog. “Indy” has a one game lead over both Cincinnati and Pittsburgh in the wild card race. There are two wild card berths to be determined.

Tom Hanks, Cast Away