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The Patriots have won the AFC East for three straight years, and most of the Cold, Hard Football Facts crew expects them to do so again. They received eight votes for the division, with the remaining two members of our panel (Carlson and Comey) tabbing them for the wild card. Five of our 10 "experts," perhaps encouraged by Tom Brady's 10-1 postseason record and NFL-best .909 winning percentage, think New England will also claim another Super Bowl title.

 

Miami's Nick Saban built on his history of success in college – where he never had a losing season – and his first year as an NFL head coach ended with a six-game winning streak. That has made the Dolphins, 9-7 in 2005, a trendy pick to reach the playoffs. They were the most popular wild card choice, garnering six votes (as well as two for the division).

 

Winning a championship tends to give you respect the following season. Pittsburgh reached the playoffs as a sixth seed and proceeded to become the first team to capture three games on the road en route to winning the Super Bowl (a 21-10 defeat of Seattle in XL). It's no surprise, then, that the Steelers are our consensus pick to win the AFC North in 2006. The biggest key will be the health and performance of Ben Roethlisberger, who has recovered from his motorcycle accident but will miss tomorrow's opener after an emergency appendectomy.

 

Throughout a turbulent offseason, defending division champ Cincinnati has made headlines for all of the wrong reasons. Even with the distractions of multiple arrests and a four-game substance-abuse suspension for middle linebacker Odell Thurman, the Bengals are still a playoff team in the bloodshot eyes of half of our panel. Doherty and Frankie C. give them the division crown, while three others see them as a wild card.

 

The AFC South was clearly a case of the haves and have-nots last season. Two teams, 14-2 Indy and 12-4 Jacksonville, cruised into the playoffs, while the other two, 4-12 Tennessee and 2-14 Houston, were simply dreadful. The Titans and Texans each posted 0-8 records against quality opponents, getting outscored by better than a 2-to-1 margin.

 

Other than Byrne favoring the Jaguars, the Colts were a near-unanimous choice to win the division for a fourth consecutive year. In 2005, they became just the second team in NFL history (joining the 1996-98 49ers) to have three straight seasons of at least 12 wins without reaching the Super Bowl. Despite Peyton Manning's patented playoff implosions, five of our "experts" see Indy advancing to the AFC title game, three think they will finally make the Super Bowl and two (Barra and Troup) pick the Colts to win it all.

The four teams of the AFC West combined for 20 quality wins, easily the most among the eight divisions. (The NFC East was second with just 15.) Denver led the way with seven regular-season victories against quality opponents, two more than any other team.