The path to get here was difficult, but this is what we expected the 2016 AFC to come down to all along. In our projections for Football Outsiders Almanac 2016, we had New England and Pittsburgh as the top teams in the AFC, refusing to bat an eye at season-opening suspensions for superstars Tom Brady and Le'veon Bell. Nor were we concerned that Sebastian Vollmer (surgery) and Martavis Bryant (also suspended) were expected to miss the entire season, or that neither Dion Lewis nor Bud Dupree would make their season debuts until Week 11 due to injuries.
AFC Championship Preview 2017
