Unlike so many major sports, the NFL makes it possible to go from bottom dweller of the division to king of the mountain in one season. Free agency, the hard salary cap and giving bad teams an easier schedule are just some of the ways that bad teams can rebound after simply one year. This does not mean that this is an easy task but one that is possible in the league. There are 2 AFC teams that I believe have a real shot at going worst to first in 2022.
Baltimore Ravens
It’s not hard to find the reason the Ravens struggled last year. To say the injury bug bit this team is putting it lightly. RB JK Dobbins and CB Marcus Peters never saw the field in 2021. LT Ronnie Staley started Week 1 but sustained another ankle injury and missed the entire season. This was on top of many other players hitting IR or dealing with nagging injuries throughout the season. However, injuries to two key players late in the season spelled doom for the Ravens. CB Marlon Humphrey was holding the defense together until he went down in Week 13. The final nail in the coffin was when QB Lamar Jackson got injured in Week 14 for the season. Baltimore ended the season on a 6 game losing streak.
With everyone back healthy, it is easy to see how this team could win the division in 2022. Lamar Jackson is a perennial MVP candidate and with everyone back on defense, the Raven won’t be relying on 7th and 8th string players. Within the division, the Steelers are going through a change at QB and who knows what is going to happen with the Browns QB situation. The Bengals are the defending AFC champs but if they see some regression this year, the Ravens could jump them.
One final note on this team. Last season, the Ravens lost 2 games because they decided to go for the win on a 2 point conversion rather than kick the extra point and send the game to overtime. That is just simply unlucky. Maybe this season the Ravens get aggressive and it ends up gaining them wins.
Denver Broncos
Denver was hard to watch last year. While the defense played great, the QB play was sub-par and the offense simply could not keep up. Pair this with being in a division with 3 other playoff caliber teams, and the Broncos could not keep pace. The coaching staff got an overhaul and they brought in an offensive minded coach in former Packers OC Nathaniel Hackett. Even with the coaching change it was clear that going into the offseason the QB position was a top priority to fix.
They fixed the problem in a big way trading for QB Russell Wilson. Wilson instantly makes everyone on the offense better and helps alleviate pressure on the defense. Pair him with top WRs Cortland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy plus the running game and this offense now looks dangerous. The Broncos are counting on the QB position being the missing piece.
The Broncos have a more difficult task than the Ravens. Denver in the AFC West which might be the best division in football in NFL history. If you were to tell me right now that any of the teams in the AFC West win the Super Bowl in 2022 I wouldn’t be shocked. 6 games against the Chiefs, Chargers and Raiders is going to make winning this division tough but now the Broncos boast 1 of the 2 QBs that have won a Super Bowl.
There are some bottom dwellers like the Jaguars and Jets that I think will make improvements this year but not enough to win the division. The Ravens and the Broncos are the best bets to take back their division crown and go worst to first.
