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Earlier I gave you my rootability ranking for NFC Playoff teams. Now let’s look at the AFC.
I doubt I need to explain this one, but I will on the off chance you require an explanation. This team always wins. A generous appraisal would be that they push the envelope with the rules. Bill Belichick scored the Jets eighteen years ago to bolt to a division rival and build a dynasty. They have Tom Brady. Would anybody outside of the New England states feel good about this team winning aside from fans who jumped onto the bandwagon in the last 17 years?
Naturally, the two more difficult teams to root for are the two overwhelming favorites in the conference. They rate ahead of New England because they are less prone to bending the rules and lack Brady and Belichick. They’re another team that always wins, though. Why do we need another Steelers championship?
I don’t have anything against the Titans, but his team also doesn’t offer anything exciting or a compelling reason to root for them.
Jaguars fans have had it rough for a long time. They had around a decade’s worth of lousy teams. They’ve seen one home game each year shipped to London. They constantly have to deal with talk of their team moving. And they get a bad rap. For years people have talked about attendance issues with this team. It isn’t because the Jaguars have bad fans. It is because the franchise has been in such a malaise that nobody could get excited. In all of the time I’ve been running this site, my favorite opposing fan base to deal with has been Jaguars fans bar none. They’re passionate. They’re knowledgeable. They deserve to see their team win.
Not only that, their defense is really fun to watch if you like great defense.
Why don’t they rate higher? I just have trouble with in a world where Blake Bortles is a Super Bowl Champion quarterback. I envision a party with all of the Super Bowl winning quarterbacks. It is full of immortals. Then those guys must wonder how Trent Dilfer crashed their party. Do we need another Dilfer in there? Should Bortles have a ring before guys like Philip Rivers, Andrew Luck, Matt Ryan, and Cam Newton?
I know the Bills are a division rival to the Jets, but I just don’t get worked up about them the way I do about the Patriots and the Dolphins. The teams have never been good at the same time. The two Rex Ryan seasons in Buffalo there was some juice to the rivalry, but Rex is gone. So is most of my venom for Buffalo.
Bills fans have been tortured like few others. Their team is synonymous with losing in critical spots. Anybody who repeatedly fails in his or her field at the most important juncture is called “the Buffalo Bills of _________.” They haven’t even seen the Playoffs in close to two decades, which was one of the most famous losses in football history. It was also aided by their head coach making an illogical quarterback switch before the game. Heck, the most player in franchise history is totally disgraced.
Winters in Buffalo aren’t pleasant. It would be nice to see the Bills give the fans some happiness.
Jets fans are famously frustrated that the team has only one Super Bowl win, which came close to 50 years ago. The Chiefs only have one Super Bowl win, and it came just one year later so it fair to say their fans have suffered quite a bit. The Chiefs have a great fanbase, which provides one of the great homefield advantages in the sport. Arrowhead Stadium is a really cool venue.
Their head coach, Andy Reid, is also a sentimental favorite. He has been a really good coach over the last two decades and just hasn’t been able to break through in the big games. I’m hoping this is his year.