home against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. They got a great win and put themselves back atop the AFC South with a chance to go into Houston and cement it further. With the playoff picture slowing beginning to come into focus https://www.coltsfanshop.com/Henry-Anderson-Jersey , let’s take a look at how things stand around the AFC.Playoff Teams1st Seed – New England Patriots (9-1)The road to the Super Bowl seems as if it is primed to go through Foxboro yet again. The Patriots boast a very good defense that has showcased its ability against lesser offenses throughout the season. The back stretch of their schedule should be telling about how good this team really is, but it would be surprising to see them fall out of a first-round bye situation given the schedule they face. Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports2nd Seed – Baltimore Ravens (8-2)Perhaps the most exciting team in football right now, the Ravens have been electric this season and Lamar Jackson has shut up all but the most stubborn and illogical critics. He is making a strong bid for MVP, and made a very good Patriots defense look inept and slow. This team is playing a different style of football, and have put themselves in a good spot to secure a first-round bye.3rd Seed – Indianapolis Colts (6-4)After Sunday’s win over Jacksonville and the Texans’ crushing loss to Baltimore, the Colts hold the lead in the division. If they can beat the Texans on Thursday Night Football, they’ll be in great shape, and they’ll host the Titans the following week in a game that could really lock down the division lead. With their receivers getting healthier and their rookies beginning to emerge as contributors, this could be a team that hits its stride at the right time to make some noise.Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports4th Seed – Kansas City Chiefs (6-4)The Chiefs managed to weather the storm that was the injury to Patrick Mahomes, and came through on the other side still atop their division. That’s a place that is far from secure, with the Oakland Raiders hot on their heels, but they’ll have a winnable schedule to close out the season and will face the Raiders in two weeks in a game that could decide the division winner. With such a high-powered offense, it is tough to see this Chiefs team not playing meaningful football in January.5th Seed - Buffalo Bills (7-3)Are the Bills as good as their record? That depends on who you ask. What we’ll get to see though, is how they hold up against top teams down the stretch. They’ll face the Ravens at home as well as the Patriots in Foxboro before this season is through, and the results will tell if they really belong. Given the teams they face apart from those two, however, it seems unlikely they will fall completely flat and miss out on the playoffs. This is a team that seems like a lock for a wildcard spot.6th Seed – Houston Texans (6-4)The Texans might be the team whose flaws finally become too great to overcome. They have struggled on defense in 2019, and the loss of J.J. Watt is one that will undoubtedly catch up to them late in the season. They were absolutely demolished by the Ravens, and have very little room for error with a tough slate of games ahead. They’ll host the Colts on Thursday night and if they lose that game, they are in real trouble as they’ll follow it up with the Patriots. The pressure is on, and teams like the Raiders and Titans are hanging out on the fringe, hoping for a chance to bump them off. Since both games against the Titans are still in front of them, that makes keeping their one game lead even more critical.Outside Looking InKirby Lee-USA TODAY SportsRaiders (6-4)The Raiders have been a bit of a surprise this season. Jon Gruden despite his cartoonish and awful mannerisms on Hard Knocks, has demonstrated himself to be a solid coach and has led a relatively rough group to a disciplined and successful season. They are scrappy Joe Haeg Jersey , tough, and aren’t going anywhere soon. With a win over the Colts and a relatively easy schedule ahead, the Raiders are very much alive in the playoff picture.Steelers (5-5)Another team with a win over the Colts that could bite them, the Steelers have managed to crank up their turnover factory of a defense and have themselves on the precipice of the playoffs. If the Colts falter Thursday, it opens the door for both the Raiders and the Steelers to secure a better chance at the playoffs. The issue for the Steelers is that they simply don’t have a good offense. They’ll face a few tough teams over the remainder of the season, and it seems unlikely they can keep producing on defense at the rate they have been. If they can, the Colts may end up regretting that loss even more.Titans (5-5) A long shot to make the playoffs, the Titans are by no means out of it. They won in a surprising upset over the Chiefs, and face a winnable schedule down the stretch. They have 4 division games ahead still, and winning all those would put them in a strong position. There isn’t much wiggle room for them to be less than excellent in December, but they should not be overlooked.For the NFL’s tiebreaking procedures, head here. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard reverted to his old free-agent playbook.He re-signed his own players first.Instead of making a big first-day splash, he barely made a ripple on the second day. And he’s probably not finished yet.As the first big wave of free-agency signings were announced Wednesday, Ballard made two under-the-radar moves — re-signing backup cornerback Chris Milton a one-year deal and bringing back starting cornerback Pierre Desir with a three-year deal — before signing former Carolina receiver Devin Funchess to a one-year deal Thursday.It’s all part of the grand plan.“We have a very strict criterion of what we want to bring in,” Ballard said recently. “We want players that want to get better, want to be great, want to be a part of the team, that are willing to sacrifice sometimes their individual stats for the betterment of winning and being a good teammate. If they fit into that criterion, absolutely they’ll fit in.”After taking some risks last season, Ballard is betting on Funchess, Carolina’s second-round pick in 2015. At 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, he gives Andrew Luck a bigger receiver than he’s worked with in the past.And if Funchess replicates what he did in 2017, when he caught 63 passes for 840 yards and eight touchdowns John Simon Color Rush Jersey , he could emerge as the perfect complement to three Pro Bowl pass-catchers already on the roster: receiver T.Y. Hilton and tight ends Eric Ebron and Jack Doyle.Last year, though, Funchess regressed. He had 44 receptions for 549 yards and four TDs and reinforced his reputation for drops. So Ballard reportedly gave Funchess a $10 million deal that could go up to as much as $13 million.“I think the Colts are a great fit and I think they’re ready to take that next step,” Funchess said Thursday during a conference call. “I think if we win the Super Bowl, everything will take care of itself.”Ballard has made this journey before.A year ago, he gambled on Ebron, the Detroit Lions’ underachieving first-round pick from 2014. Ebron wound up catching more touchdown passes in 2018 than any tight end in the league and made his first Pro Bowl appearance.Every move doesn’t pay off, though. Ballard also signed Ryan Grant, the Washington Redskins’ 2014 fifth-round pick, last year. Indy expected Grant would emerge as the No. 2 receiver. Instead, Grant’s playing time steadily dwindled.Now, Ballard is at it again, this time with Funchess, Carolina’s second-round pick in 2015 — though it’s not a terribly risky move.The Colts went into free agency with the most cap space in the league and if Funchess doesn’t work out, the Colts could let him walk away next year and recoup all of their cap room — just like they did with Grant.But the Colts’ more important moves might have come before free agency opened Wednesday.Kicker Adam Vinatieri, the league’s career scoring leader, signed a one-year deal worth $3.875 million in January. Right guard Mark Glowinski agreed to a three-year, $16.2 million deal in February — a move that keeps Indy’s offensive line intact after allowing a league-low 18 sacks in 2018.Last week, versatile defensive tackle Margus Hunt decided to stay in Indy after the best season of his career. His two-year deal is worth $9 million. On Wednesday, Ballard brought back Desir back for three years at $25 million and Milton, a key backup and special teams player. Desir recorded 79 tackles in 12 starts last season.And Ballard has said he would like to keep oft-injured Clayton Geathers — if he can.“We are going to make some tweaks to our program internally, but our mission will never change,” Ballard said. “Everything we do matters. Our building understands that.”