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No major competition sells equal footing like the NFL: it’s the entire brand. However, after ten games during the current schedule, this isn’t a league featuring uniform distribution among elite teams, poor performers, and average squads. Instead, it's a scenario where the bulk of franchises are merely adequate.

Clear Picture in NFC

Looking at the NFC side, at least, we see clearer definition. Los Angeles and Seattle (both standing at seven wins, two losses) look like the most balanced franchises in the NFL, and secured decisive victories on Sunday. The Eagles with six wins notwithstanding their difficulties still have a deeply skilled squad across the NFL, likewise with the Packers franchise (5-2-1). Even the Lions (six and three), with their fluctuating form in trench play while managing tension on their coaching staff, have proven they're capable of dominating quality opponents. For all five, you can still easily construct a route to the final game.

AFC Playoff Chaos

In the AFC however, championship race is a jumbled mess. The current division frontrunners through ten weeks: the Colts, Patriots, Broncos (each with 8-2 records) and Steelers (5-4 record). Read that again. Not the Chiefs. Buffalo is missing. Not the Ravens or Bengals. The usual contenders, featuring elite NFL signal-callers, have either significant personnel gaps or have been hit by injuries.

Competitive Balance System

To some extent, it’s the league’s ideal. However, witnessing this season's top AFC teams in the American Football Conference continues to seem unusual. Areas of each team suggest title potential, though not comprehensively. If you were asked to commit to your conference championship predictions right now, could you assuredly select any one of the current division frontrunners?

Squad Examinations

Indianapolis Colts

First, examining Indianapolis, Daniel Jones hasn’t quite reached total collapse. Yet the past two games have been worrying. He's reverting to committing turnovers and failing against blitzes. He was sacked seven times against the Falcons during Sunday's contest, and experienced a short sequence where he delivered an interception and fumbled three times. This comes after he turned the ball over on five occasions versus Pittsburgh.

Indianapolis' offensive unit performed well initially since Jones evaded the disaster plays. Jonathan Taylor and the offensive line mean the Colts are capable of overcoming periodic mistakes, like their German performance. However, if Jones reverts to his old blunder-prone days would terminate postseason aspirations.

Patriots Examination

The Patriots feel somewhat similar. A year ago, they were league laughingstocks. Now, they’re football's most unexpected success and the hottest team in the NFL after seven straight wins. If not for committing turnover errors a winnable game facing Pittsburgh, they'd possess at 9–1 with the top standing. Last season, they seemed veteran and plodding. Currently they're young, fast and unafraid. However, we must acknowledge the ease of the Patriots' matchups. They have faced the least challenging lineup throughout football, yet vulnerabilities remain. Their quarterback has taken sacks on 35 occasions – the second-most in football – and some of the shots he absorbed on Sunday proved brutal. Over time, those beatings accumulate.

Denver Broncos

The Broncos hold 8–2 as well, yet it seems as if they’re holding their breath. Their quarterback has been erratic, and the offensive unit laboring, while the defensive unit provides the majority of the work. Without serviceable quarterback play, the Broncos aren’t scaring anyone in the postseason. The Chargers are also hovering in the AFC West at 7-2, but the injuries along their offensive line will present challenges for extended playoff success.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Then we have the Steelers, somehow still leading the AFC North even after suffering 25-10 by the Chargers during prime time. They have a negative point differential, their defensive unit frequently falters, and the QB's current constraints given his veteran status regularly manifest. They’re 5–4 and holding on, yet Baltimore, with their QB returning to health and the schedule softening, have won three consecutive. It shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that Baltimore has closed within a game of the Steelers, though the speed of this shift represents criticism toward the Steelers' uneven performances. That the Ravens started with a 1-5 record and currently seem capable of division victory is telling about the conference as a whole.

Historical Favorites

Baltimore constitutes part within a trio of powerhouses – together with Bills and Chiefs – powered by their MVP quarterbacks, who would still strike the greatest concern for opponents if they made the playoffs. They represent undesirable playoff matchups, but the Chiefs and Bills cannot get out of their own way.

Buffalo Bills

Previously, the Bills were riding high after beating the Chiefs. On Sunday they suffered among the season's worst defeats during the campaign. They didn't simply fail to the Dolphins; they looked terrible, losing 30-13 as visitors. It was Miami’s first win over the Bills in over three years.

If you’re looking for a microcosm of the day, look no further: Josh Allen turning {a quarterback sneak|a short-yardage play|a sneak attempt