Fan Article of the Week: Who’s the Best Team in the AFC

This next Fan Article of the Week focuses on an underwhelming AFC. With the majority of the Super Bowl favorites coming from the NFC, the AFC only has a few teams to show. In this article, I will break down the clear two way race between the Steelers and the Patriots for who is the best team in the AFC. Thanks to the fans of Tailgate Sports for voting on this article and make sure to check out our Instagram page (@tailgate_sports) to vote on the next Fan Article of the Week.

New England Patriots

Let’s start with the team that everybody always wants to pick when someone says “who is the best team in the AFC”. Coming off their Super Bowl win, this team only got better. They made several offseason acquisitions for players like Brandon Cooks and Stephon Gilmore. This team came into the season as the real favorite to win it all. After starting off 2-2 everybody was questioning if these moves actually hurt them and if the loss of Julian Edelman was enough to completely throw them off their wheels. However, the team silenced everybody by winning 8 straight and still going. What everybody seemed to forget is this team has Tom Brady and Bill Belichick and that’s all they really need. Season after season these two have shown to be enough to carry this team deep into the playoffs. With a healthy Gronk too this team seems to be rolling, even though he will miss the next game under suspension. Let’s break down the stats to see how good this team really is. They lead the league in yards per game with 413.2 and passing yards per game with 292.6. The Patriots are 9th in rushing yards per game with 120.6, they are 4th in points per game at 29 and have the third most offensive touchdowns in the league at 37. It is clear this team has one of the most dominant offenses in the league, but lets see how their defensive stats compare. This is where this team struggles, as they give up the 5th most yards per game at 375.7, and 254.9 of that comes in the air giving them the 4th worst in that stat. However, when it comes to scoring this defense seems to have held its own giving up the 9th least points per game at 18.6 and the 22nd least touchdowns with 26 on the season. The offensive stats for this team are elite and the defensive stats are not the best, but the team plays well when it matters and that is in the redzone. It is tough to make an argument against this team, as they are very talented on paper and they have the stats to back them up too.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Like the Patriots, the Steelers are also 10-2, which is tied for the best record in the NFL. While not as hyped up coming into the season, this Steelers team has talent. NFL films ranked the top 100 NFL players of 2017 and three Steelers made it into the top 22, and two made it into the top 9. Big Ben, Le’Veon Bell, and Antonio Brown are the big three on this offense and have shown year after year how talented they all are together. Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell are both in the argument to be the best player in their respected positions. Now let’s break down the same statistics for the Steelers as we did with the Pats. The Steelers are in 7th for total yards per game at 367.6, they are 4th in passing yards per game at 264.5, and are 20th in rushing yards per game at 103.1. The Steelers are 12th in points per game at 23.4 and 20th in the league for total offensive touchdowns at 28. This team has a pretty dominant offense, but the stats lean towards the Patriots. Now let’s break down the Steelers’ defensive stats. They give up the 4th least yards per game at 294.7 and the 2nd least passing yards per game at 195.8. Looking at scoring the Steelers give up the 5th least points per game at 17.8 and the 7th least total touchdowns on the season at 24. This team has a dominant defense and definitely beat the Patriots when it comes down to that category. Now we can break down this whole analysis to break down the best team in the league

So Who Is The Best Team?

So looking at the breakdown, each team is better than the other in one area of stats. The Patriots have had better offensive production, where the Steelers have had better defensive production. Overall, the Steelers seem like the better all around team, however this does not make them the better team. Yes, it hurts me to say it, but I am picking the New England Patriots as the best team in the AFC due to their pure dominance of their offense and their winning mentality. This team always wins, no matter who is on their roster. As long as Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are together, you can put this team down for 11 or 12 wins every year. These two teams could very well meet up in an exciting AFC Championship game in the playoffs, which will truly decide who the best team in the AFC really is.

Written by Casey Spilka