With two weeks of the season remaining, there is still a lot of
football to be played in the AFC and the North division can play a part in the
outcome of the West this weekend as two inter division clashes involve the top
teams in the West.
The Monday Night feature with the Bengals travelling to Denver
will draw a big audience with Steelers and
Chiefs fans hoping for different
results. A Denver win might help Pittsburgh gain a higher seeding if they make
the playoffs while if Cincinnati triumph, it ensure a tight finish to the West division
race.
Pittsburgh
Steelers (9-5) at Baltimore Ravens (4-10)
No way is this the easy game some fans might suspect when viewing
the teams’ records. Baltimore will not want to allow their biggest rivals an
easy passage and with their dismal season coming to an end what would be
sweeter for them than to knock the Steelers from the playoff track.
Ben
Roethlisberger has the supporting cast of Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant, Markus
Wheaton and DeAngelo Williams to
overcome a Ravens team struggling with injuries. While Baltimore has only
achieved only one win in their last four games – and that was a close one over Cleveland – the Steelers have only lost
a shootout in Seattle in their last four.
Roethlisberger was realistic in his assessment of the game, “It’s
a very hostile place.”
A win for the Steelers combined with a Jets loss would confirm a
wildcard spot in the playoffs for the Steelers.
Cleveland
Browns (3-11) at Kansas City Chiefs (9-5)
The Chiefs momentum might knock Johnny Manziel back, but it will be his supporting cast that
ensures the team’s failure when they travel to Kansas.
After the Browns loss against Seattle, the trip to Kansas will not
inspire any thoughts of a surprise win even with Manziel at the helm. The
Chiefs are just too powerful and now hold unexpected ambitions of winning the
division so they have all to play for while the Browns will be looking ahead to
the draft.
Cincinnati Bengals (11-3) at Denver Broncos (10-4)
Playing in Mile High
Stadium will give the Broncos an edge and if their defense shows the same grit
as it did in the first half against the Steelers last Sunday, they should
dominate the game.
Whether Peyton Manning
returns as Denver’s starting quarterback will be decided by his final practice after
a setback in his recovery from injury although the signs are not positive.
Broncos’ coach Gary Kubiak stated he
is "looking
for more consistency" at that position with Brock Osweiler being subdued in the second half in Pittsburgh after
scoring four touchdowns in the first.
In his first NFL start, AJ
McCarron led the Bengals to a 24-14 win over lowly San Francisco achieving a 115 quarterback rating. He will need to
improve on that if he is to overcome Denver’s number one ranked defense.
This game is important for both teams as they feel the heat from
the teams that sit in second place in their respective divisions. Results from week 16 could change the fortunes
of several teams in the AFC as the season approaches an interesting climax.
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