NFL standings 2015: Bengals, Broncos pulling away already

The Cincinnati Bengals woke up Sunday morning with an 67 percent chance to win the AFC North this season, according to FiveThirtyEight. That was before climbing out of a 17-point hole for a 27-24 comeback win over the visiting Seahawks. No other team in the division is above .500. Pittsburgh can get there with a win Monday in San Diego, but there’s still some distance between them in the standings.

In reality, their chances of winning the division could be even better than 78 percent, where it moved to after Sunday’s win. Cincinnati has a 3-0 record within the AFC North and only three more division games left to play. The next time they play a division game is Week 8 in Pittsburgh, followed by a home game with the Browns. By Week 10, the Bengals could have the division all sewn up.

Two other 5-0 teams, the Broncos and Packers, have even better odds for winning their divisions: Green Bay is at 90 percent to win the NFC North and the Broncos have an 86 percent chance of winning the AFC West. The Packers are 3-0 in their division already. The Broncos played their second division game this week, beating the Raiders 16-10 on the strength of their defense.

What about the Patriots?

I hear aggrieved Patriots fans typing angry comments because here we are talking about undefeated teams and still haven’t mentioned your team. Bill Belichick’s ruthless football machine stampeded past the Cowboys this week, just like we all knew they would. But they have some tough competition closer to home.

The 3-1 New York Jets were off this week, a chance to cool their heels before easing back into it with what should be a warmup game against Washington in Week 6. They’re in Foxborough to face the Patriots in two weeks. A win there would even the Jets with the Patriots at the top of the standings, keeping things interesting as we go into November.

Woah, look at the NFC South

Robert Alford snagged a Kirk Cousins’ pass in overtime to give the Falcons a win, moving them to 5-0. But there’s another undefeated team in that division, the Panthers. Carolina had a bye this week and have to travel to Seattle in Week 6.

The schedule is on Atlanta’s side here. While the Panther travel to Seattle next week, the Falcons are headed to New Orleans. A road trip to Tennessee follows that, before a return home to play the Buccaneers in Week 8. They’re going to San Francisco after that before a bye.

Over that same span, after their trip to Seattle, the Panthers have a three-game home stand against the Eagles, Colts and Packers. The Falcons will probably have a cushion in the standings when they play the Panthers for the first time this season, in Week 14.

If Carolina can keep it close during that stretch, the NFC South, the top of it anyway, could make December that much more interesting. The NFC South!

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