Eight weeks of Premier Madden League football have come and gone. We are officially onto week 9 of the season and we are here to check whether the same teams are still leading their divisions as well as if any team has dug themselves out of the bottom.
AFC East:
Leader: Buffalo Bills (6-2) – The Bills have a game lead on Dolphins, and have looked good for most of the season. They have beaten the Dolphins twice, and hold the tiebreaker over them. Besides the 10-0 Colts, the Bills face all under .500 teams to end the season. As long as they win the games they are supposed to win, they will be the AFC East champs at season’s end.
Bottom: New England Patriots (3-6) – From 1-6 to 3-6 with a simple move of coaches. Coach Problem has doubled the Patriots win total in his first two games and is looking to make a run at the playoffs. With two games against the Bills, as well as, the Titans, Colts, and Dolphins, it will be a tough road ahead. If the Patriots are in the playoffs, they will be battle tested.
AFC West:
(Previous Leader: Los Vegas Raiders)
Leader: Kansas City Chiefs (6-2) – The Chiefs have been impressive this season so far. They have used their talented offense to take control of a talented division. With games against the entire AFC West left to go, the big question is can Kansas City keep their lead?
Bottom: Los Angeles Chargers (2-5) – A surprise of the season so far is the Chargers at the bottom of this division. All four owners are all talented in their own way, however, many expected a different result for this Charger team. At 2-5 they have no room for error, and with at least 6 games against over .500 opponents, it will be a tough challenge for them to claw their way back.
AFC North:
(Previous Leader: Cincinnati Bengals)
Leader: Cleveland Browns (4-5) – The Browns are as inconsistent as any team can be. They can compete with the best in the league one week, then lose to a bottom tier team the next. At the moment they lead possibly the worst division in the league and I can see them never losing control.
Bottom: Pittsburgh Steelers (1-7) – We no longer have a defeated team in the Premier Madden League. The Steelers have competed in all their games, however, that win kept eluding them until they defeated the Bears in a big way. Currently, the Steelers are the worst team in the league, however, they are only three games out of first place in their division. Ironically, we could see 11-6 teams out of the playoffs while the Steelers could get in at 5-12.
AFC South:
Leader: Indianapolis Colts (9-0) – The Colts have demolished everyone they have faced this season. They’re a team that doesn’t look like they can be defeated. Owner Mole has had undefeated seasons in previous years, however, going undefeated in this season’s AFC would be a great accomplishment given the talent of the other owners.
(Previous Bottom: Houston Texans)
Bottom: Jacksonville Jaguars (4-4) – At 4-4 in other divisions, a team would be leading, however, in the ultra competitive AFC South it is good for last in the division. 4-4 isn’t a death sentence to a season, however, a few more losses will be. They have at least 5 games left against over .500 opponents. If the Jaguars want to at least be in the playoffs at season end, then they will need to win all of their remaining games with maybe the exception of three.
The Colts and Bills are the only teams that have a good stranglehold on their division. By season’s end I predict that they both will win their divisions and be the 1,2 seed from the AFC. The Chiefs and Browns both have good shots at keeping their lead, however, the Ravens, Raiders, and Broncos can take over. The entire AFC Wildcard race is up for grabs, but I predict that the Broncos, Raiders, and Titans will take these spots. Anything can happen, however, we will take another look at these standings near season’s end.
