Getty Biller
The balance of power in the NFL continues to shift toward the AFC.
Matt Ryan’s trade from Atlanta to Indianapolis is the latest move with a highly talented veteran leaving an NFC team for an AFC team.
Last week Russell Wilson was traded from Seattle to Denver, Davante Adams was sent by the Packers to the Raiders, Amari Cooper’s contract was dumped by the Cowboys to the Browns, Khalil Mack was sent by the Bears to treated the Chargers, and now Ryan goes from the Falcons to the Colts.
In free agency, Brandon Scherff left Washington for Jacksonville, Von Miller migrated from Southern California to Western New York, Chandler Jones took the quick trip from Phoenix to Vegas, and Randy Gregory dropped Dallas to Denver.
Deshaun Watson also secured the NFC for the AFC, with his last two teams (Atlanta and New Orleans) losing to the Browns in the eleventh hour.
It is arguably the biggest imbalance of veteran talent since the merger. It will make it incredibly difficult for the AFC representative to earn a spot in Super Bowl LVII. In turn, it becomes much easier to navigate the NFC field. Then, when it’s time to play the Super Bowl, the AFC team can have nothing left after running a gauntlet of super teams to get there.
Consider the current AFC: Cincinnati, Buffalo, Kansas City, Tennessee, Cleveland, Baltimore, New England, LA, Las Vegas, Denver. Those are nine significant contenders, but only seven playoff spots. Thrown in Miami, Pittsburgh, and Indianapolis, these are 13 extremely viable candidates.
Pity for the Jets, Jaguars, and Texans.
In the NFC, the Buccaneers get the biggest boost. They kept Tom Brady unexpected, and they kept key players elsewhere and grew up elsewhere. The rams should also be in good shape. The 49ers will argue when Trey Lance is ready. And the Packers will be viable, though perhaps not quite as strong without Adams.
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