If you were told before this season’s opening kickoff that only one AFC division would sport at least a .500 total record amongst its four teams going into the Sunday afternoon of Week 6, wouldn’t you assume in an almost reflexive manner that it would most certainly have to be either the AFC North or AFC East?

No one would blame you for thinking that. Unfortunately, however, you’d be sadly mistaken.

The AFC North, boasting mainstays such as the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, actually have just a 9-11 combined mark at this point in the season. The AFC East, with the defending conference champion New England Patriots and three other tough-nosed teams right behind them in the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins, also have a total of nine wins and eleven losses on the year.

Then there is the AFC West, which, at 7-12, finds itself underachieving yet again, meaning that the only AFC division that currently is not under the .500 plateau – and also has the best record in the conference – is the AFC South at 10-10.

A late win by the Tennessee Titans over the Steelers on Thursday night is the only reason that the AFC South sits in this current position, as opposed to the AFC North, but they’ll take the recognition nonetheless.

If you’re going to talk AFC South and success, the Houston Texans have to be mentioned immediately. Better yet, the Texans should always be mentioned when discussing successful teams in general. After all, they are only one of two teams – the Atlanta Falcons being the other – who is still undefeated at 5-0.

Responsible for half of their division’s overall wins, the Texans are not surprised at all by what they’ve accomplished thus far. They did receive a scare from the New York Jets last Monday night when they were able to hold them off late for a 23-17 victory, but that and the 31-25 Week 3 win in Denver against Peyton Manning and the Broncos have been the only two matchups to have caused the Texans to break a true sweat.

With Arian Foster maintaining his status as one of the top running backs in the league, a defensive unit that ranks fourth overall with only 73 total points surrendered and the third-best scoring offense at 29.8 points per game, the Texans’ Super Bowl aspirations are, and will continue to be, more than realistic.

Then there are the Indianapolis Colts, who, conversely to the Texans, actually have surprised many, including their own fans, with a 2-2 record going into Week 6. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Indianapolis with changes at general manager, head coach, and quarterback in Ryan Grigson, Chuck Pagano and rookie Andrew Luck, respectively.

Pagano will not coach for the rest of the season after being diagnosed with a form of adult leukemia during the team’s Week 4 bye, but expect the Colts every week to fight as hard as they can just for him. That never-say-die attitude manifested itself into the ultimate storybook come-from-behind win last Sunday over the Green Bay Packers, which owner Jim Irsay guaranteed after initially announcing Pagano’s illness to the media.

Luck has shown fantastic poise late in games, and the Colts could actually be sitting pretty at 3-1 had it not been for an 80 yard game-winning touchdown pass by Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert towards the end of the teams’ Week 3 showdown. If Indianapolis continues to play the way that they have demonstrated they’re capable of, they could definitely find themselves competing for one of the conference’s two Wild Card slots.

Finally, there are the Titans and Jaguars, who are struggling just as much as they were expected to. Despite pulling off a very inspirational victory over the Steelers this past Thursday, the Titans find themselves at just 2-4 and in next-to-last place in the AFC South. Second year quarterback Jake Locker is set to return next week after injuring his shoulder in a Week 4 loss to the Texans and sitting out the last game. Locker has only thrown for less than 800 yards in four starts this season.

The Jaguars (1-4) aren’t giving the people of Jacksonville any reason to pray that their team won’t pick up and leave for Los Angeles within the next few years, as has been rumored. Jacksonville ranks dead last in scoring and 24^th in points allowed. There have been those occurrences where Gabbert shows flashes of brilliance, but more often than not he looks overmatches out there.

Neither the Jaguars nor the Titans should be .500 teams at season’s conclusion, but make sure to keep a close eye on what the Texans and Colts are up to. Those two make the AFC South worth watching.

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Remember everything that happened in the AFC East last week? Well forget it all and flip the script! Week 2 of the 2012 NFL season saw some serious surprises, highlighted by the defeat of defending AFC champions New England Patriots to the lowly Arizona Cardinals after a missed game-winning field goal by all-pro Stephen Gostkowski. If things couldn’t get any worse, it appears as if star tight end Aaron Hernandez could be out up to six weeks after injuring his ankle.

The New York Jets, who looked like a well-oiled machine last week against Buffalo, struggled to find any type of offensive or defensive consistency and were severely overmatched in a 27-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mark Sanchez struggled to find any type of flow, and the team’s wildcat offense proved effective but ultimately too late. Tim Tebow only saw the field for three offensive snaps, a decision that left Jets fans scratching their heads when it was apparent that the proto-typical offensive strategy wasn’t getting it done.

However, it wasn’t all gloom and doom for the AFC East. The Miami Dolphins won their first game of the season by besting Carson Palmer’s Oakland Raiders 35-13. Running back Reggie Bush had arguably his best game as a pro, rushing for 172 yards and two touchdowns. Rookie Ryan Tannehill stayed virtually mistake-free, throwing for one touchdown and rushing for another while successfully notching a zero in the turnover column. If the Dolphins continue to cut down on mistakes and Tannehill continues to progress, this season could be far more promising than previously anticipated.

After a debilitating week one defeat of divisional rival New York that saw starting running back Fred Jackson sidelined for at least a month, the Buffalo Bills bounced back with a decisive 35-17 victory at home against the Kansas City Chiefs. Running back C.J. Spiller filled in admirably for Fred Jackson, accumulating 170 total yards and two touchdowns. Ryan Fitzpatrick’s effort of two touchdowns to zero turnovers provided a catalyst for this sudden turnaround in Buffalo.

After two weeks of this NFL season, each team in the division is 1-1. With everything still up for grabs and teams still out to prove themselves, the AFC East looks to stay competitive for the foreseeable future. Next week, the New England Patriots travel to Baltimore to take on the Ravens in a Sunday Night Showdown. Buffalo travels to Cleveland, Ohio, while the Jets travel to Miami for an early season divisional showdown.

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Yes, it is a little unfortunate to be the Miami Dolphins or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. These teams belong to a pretty strong division, AFC East and NFC South.

The Bucs, who were 10-6 last season didn’t even make the playoff while the NFC West’s winner, the Seattle Seahawks, cruised through the elimination round with a losing record of 7-9.

“I mean the rules are the rules but it’s just a little unfair for the teams that play well to have missed the playoff, just because there are better teams in their field.

We got to admit it: if they play so well this year, they likely will again next season. Barely, we see a team that goes from 13-3 to 4-12 next season and some teams are just so consistent” said a Bucs fan.

After watching the first two preseason games, it’s pretty safe to say that the Fins have improved offensively, the area they needed to made adjustments. During last season, QB Chad Henne really didn’t do much; often throwing interceptions and were unable to get past the third and fourth down.

It was bad to the point where the team’s most valuable player seemed to be Kicker Dan Carpenter, who scored countless field goals for them. “Chad cleaned up well and we hope he’ll continue with his good work through the season. He now gets the ball moving and keeps on getting first downs. ” said a sport analyze.

From the way the last game look, acquiring running back Reggie Bush was certainly a great move.  He, too, made improvement and played well during the second preseason game against the Carolina Panthers.

Now, with better offense and the already strong defense, it looks like there’s a good chance the Fins can make it far this season. Although, they might have to hope that the Pats or the Jets will choke.

The New England Patriots, so far, looks unbeatable. A Buccaneer player whom they prevailed 31-14 last Thursday said “They treated the preseason game like it counts and that’s why they are who they are”. Tom Brady, who is still looking sharp, threw two touchdowns in the first quarter alone. But the end of first half, they were 28-0.

Patriot’s offense has always been in good form but the addition of improved defense will push them even further to catch up with.

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