Behind the trusting arm of Brady, the Pats are once again one of the top teams, the Bills at 0-8 can’t buy a win and 
Batman & Robin are sitting at 2-6.
For the NFC rundown go here.
AFC EAST
NY Jets (6-2): Who could have predicted that Sanchize and the Jets would be in first place midway through the season? Oh, that’s right, Rex Ryan did. Go figure. Mr F-Bomb himself seems to be patting his own back these days after his team is off to a great start and sitting pretty atop the AFC East. The real surprise here is that LaDanain Tomlinson is doing the LT Slide all over the field and not sitting on the bench with his sore feet up, as many critics expected. We here at Sports Climax expect some sort of screw up. It’s bound to happen with Sexy Rexy calling the shots.
New England Patriots (6-2): Behind the trusting arm of Brady, the Pats are once again one of the top teams in the league. But, it’s not all cheers and beer in Foxborough; their defense is ranked 29th overall and their pass attack has slowed since the Moss trade. With that being said, the newcomers are really making a difference. Aaron Hernandez has emerged as a premier tight end and Danny Woodhead is like the little engine that could. Besides a stunning beat down by Cleveland, the Pats have only lost to one state this season (New York). So there’s that.
Miami Dolphins (4-4): With the acquisition of Brandon Marshall, the Fins were expected to be a real threat through the air. Unfortunately, Chad Henne is still their quarterback, so they suck, of course. To add some more pain, the Miami running backs (Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams) have combined for a wimpy three rushing touchdowns. Talk about a letdown. The only good news is that Dan Marino played for the Dolphins and you can never take that away from Miami. Never.
Buffalo Bills (0-8): Whomp. Whomp. No one really expected anything miraculous from the Bills this season, but one win would be nice. They’ve actually come close during quite a few games, but just can’t seem to keep it together for all four quarters. The Bills passing game is something to look forward to though. Fitzpatrick is somehow on pace to pass for 30 touchdowns and Steve Johnson is quickly becoming one of the leagues best receivers. Look for Sunday’s match-up against the Lions (who don’t have Stafford) to be a real barn-burner. Heck, they might even win!
AFC NORTH
Baltimore Ravens (6-3): Coming into week 10, the Ravens were considered the best team in the league. But after their loss to the Falcons last night, it’s safe to say that the Ravens are the worst team in the league… if they are playing on a Thursday night. The Ravens are now 0-2 when playing a non-Sunday game (counting the preseason, of course). Thankfully for Ravens fans, Baltimore has no more Thursday night games and the Super Bowl is played on a Sunday, so let’s just say that they got lucky this year.
Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2): Big Ben got suspended, but the Steelers were totally fine without him. With Roethlisberger doing time (on the sidelines), Rashard Mendenhall emerged as the leader of the offense. His quick spins and brutal runs have helped the team stay on top and lets just say that the Steel Curtain has remained… well, steel. Their rush defense is first in the league and they are ranked fourth in total defense. That’s pretty impressive for a team with a weiner-exposer as their quarterback.
Cleveland Browns (3-5): Colt McCoy ma’boy! The former Texas star was thrown to the wolves against the Steelers after a series of injuries caused him to be named the starter. Well it looks like that may have been the best thing to happen to the Browns since the replacement of leather helmets. In his past two games, Colt has defeated the reigning Super Bowl champs and the Patriots. Not bad for a third round, third string quarterback. Do you hear that? It sounds like Brady Quinn crying.
Cincinnati Bengals (2-6): The Bengals were the talk of the town when T.O and Ochocinco teamed up to form the dynamic duo of Batman and Robin. But it turns out that only one of them could play football. Terrell Owens has dominated the stats in the past five games and has left his teammate/partner standing in the dust. Throw in the rookie slot receiver Jordan Shipley, and the Bengals have a pretty solid receiving core. Unfortunately, Carson Palmer still thinks he’s playing in the rec league and continues to throw the ball as hard as he can to no one, aka the Carson Palmball.
AFC SOUTH
Tennessee Titans (5-3): Vince Young started the season pretty slow and was pulled after a lackluster performance in week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Well, like all good 6’5 233lb quarterbacks, he came back. Going into this weekend, the Titans are ranked 10th in overall rushing yards and lead the league, averaging 28 points per game. They have yet to lose a game by more than 8 points, which means that they could have won every single game so far this season… if they just scored one more touchdown and converted an extra point and won in OT, or if they had Randy Moss the whole year.
Indianapolis Colts (5-3): Whaddya know? Peyton Manning is human after all. Let me rephrase that. Peyton Manning is sometimes human. With half the offense on the IR, this dude is still killing it through the air, even on his off-days. His notorious audibles are still intact, but his teams ground game has taken a hit. Ranked 25th overall in rushing yards, the Colts look to keep the ball in Peyton’s hands, but have to get something started in the trenches if they want to get home-field advantage. On a related note, coach Jim Caldwell is bald.
Houston Texans (4-4): As predicted, Matt Schaub has become one of the top passers in the league. Wait, no. That’s wrong. So far this season, Matt Schaub has had only two impressive games and has been bailed out by the breakout star of the season, running back Arian Foster. Foster has quickly become one of the biggest threats on the ground and has had to play spectacular just to keep his team afloat. The Texans have the worst defense in the league, giving up an astounding 399.5 yards per game and let’s just say that their quarterback pressure has been less than spectacular.
Jacksonville Jaguars (4-4): The Jags have, by far, been the most inconsistent team in the NFL. Considered one of the top running backs in the league, Maurice Jones-Drew has had a topsy-turvy start to the season and David Garrard’s performance is basically determine by a coin-flip. The glue holding the team together seems to be the consistent play of tight end Marcedes Lewis, while the defense seems to be pulling the team apart. Don’t ya just love glue analogies?
AFC WEST
Kansas City Chiefs (5-3): The Chiefs success has been fueled by the dominant running of Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones and the sure hands of wide out Dwayne Bowe. The one positive note on a rather average year for Matt Cassel is that he has been consistent. His numbers aren’t record-breaking, but he has been good enough to keep his team within a scores chance of winning. Sidenote: The Chiefs are not good finishers.
Oakland Raiders (5-4): Raider Nation is back! Well, sort of. They’re back to winning form, at least. For the first time in a while, the Raiders finally have an offense to cheer for and a running back worthy of their time. Darren McFadden has missed two games this season, but is still fourth in the NFL with 757 rushing yards. We’re guessing that this makes Al Davis very happy. Let’s just hope that the old man can stay alive long enough to watch his team make a playoff run.
San Diego Chargers (4-5): It’s always sunny in San Diego. Too bad that means diddly squat when it comes to playing football. The Chargers are heading into week 10 with another slow start to a season and a whole bunch of question marks. Their special teams is laughable, the Carrot Top kind of funny- the kind that’s painful to watch, but their pass attack is outstanding. Despite their special team woes, Philip Rivers has been able to show off his cannon and currently leads the league in passing yards. If history tends to repeat itself, then we can expect the Chargers to finish strong and sit atop the AFC West. That is, of course, if their special teams can stay off the field.
Denver Broncos (2-6): Don’t look now, but Tim Tebow is praying… praying for a win, with or without his hazing halo haircut. Even though Kyle Orton is having a fairly successful season so far, the Broncos cannot seem to pull out a victory. They are currently on a four-game losing streak and were recently embarrassed by the Raiders, who put up nearly 60 points on them. Fans can blame the teams rushing attack, which is ranked last in the league, but they should really be pointing their blame fingers at Josh McDaniels. For some reason, the Broncos just can’t seem to play a full season. They collapsed last year, after starting 6-0, and now it simply looks like they’ve quit playing all together. The good news is that Brandon Lloyd is kicking ass and taking names.
NFC midseason team-by-team rundown – Sports Climax
Used with permission of the author.
Logan Rhoades is a Los Angeles-based writer and contributor to Sports Climax. With an extensive knowledge of ESPN topics and celebrity gossip, he is known for mixing sports and pop culture to entertain his readers. Check out his “Skip to My Logan” blog and Follow him on Twitter @loganrhoades.
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