1 realistic goal for each AFC team in 2022
It can't be "Super Bowl or bust" for every team.
Every season, all 32 NFL teams have the same goal: to win the Super Bowl. Even if the front office is trying to tank, the players and coaches are striving to win each week. Still, only about a dozen, at most, franchises have a realistic shot at a championship in any given year.
On that note, I decided to pick out one attainable goal, outside of a Super Bowl title, that each team should aim for in 2022. And because this newsletter would be too long otherwise, I’m breaking this up into two separate newsletters. Below, I’ve covered the AFC and on Tuesday, I’ll tackle (football term!) the NFC. I’m also giving myself the (hopefully) attainable goal of keeping each blurb short and sweet.
Now let’s get to the AFC.
Baltimore Ravens
2022 goal: Stay healthy
Last season, the Ravens lost more players to injury than every team except the Giants. However, the Ravens lost more quality players to injury than every other team.
Lamar Jackson and Marlon Humphrey are healthy again, Marcus Peters has returned to practice, Ronnie Stanley is off the PUP, and J.K. Dobbins miiiight be ready for Week 1. Maybe their injury luck has turned around!
Oh no:
Poe is now out for the season :(
Buffalo Bills
2022 goal: Win close games
Despite boasting the best point differential in the league last year, the Bills were 0-5 in one-score contests during the regular season. That dismal record fell to 0-6 when you include their devastating OT loss to the Chiefs in the playoffs — a game that Buffalo could’ve hosted had it flipped just one of those five narrow losses.
The Bills could very well blow out a lot of their opponents again this year, but with legit Super Bowl aspirations, they have to find ways to win nail-biters too.
Cincinnati Bengals
2022 goal: Protect Joe Burrow better, my god
As a reminder, Joe Burrow was sacked SEVENTY times last year, playoffs included. In the past year and a half, he’s torn his ACL and gotten his appendix removed. A plea to the new and improved Bengals OL: please treat him like your grandma’s Hummel figurine collection and don’t let ANYONE touch him.
At the very least, La’el Collins understands the assignment:
Cleveland Browns
2022 goal: Stop being your own worst enemy
Through most of their existence, the Browns can’t seem to get out of their own way, whether it’s The Fumble, whiffing on every QB they’ve drafted in the first round, losing six games by six points or fewer to miss the playoffs in 2021, or signing a quarterback who faced more than two dozen sexual misconduct allegations (to a record contract no less).
They won’t be a feel-good story in 2022, but from a purely football standpoint, they should try to keep focused on what’s ahead and minimize distractions.
Denver Broncos
2022 goal: Beat the Chiefs
The Broncos, now led by Russell Wilson, have greater ambitions than to defeat a certain nemesis. But when Week 14 rolls around — aka, crunch time for contenders vs. pretenders — two of Denver’s remaining games will come against the Chiefs, who have won 13 straight matchups in this rivalry.
The Broncos may or may not need to beat KC to make the playoffs, but they could certainly use the confidence boost from finally vanquishing Patrick Mahomes.
Houston Texans
2022 goal: Decide if Davis Mills is the QB of the future
Once again, the Texans are projected to be one of the worst teams in the league. The upside is that the 2023 NFL Draft is looking a lot more loaded at quarterback than this year’s was, which means they could be in prime position to have their pick of promising passers (say that five times fast).
Davis Mills, a third-round pick in 2021, returns as the starter. His rookie year wasn’t bad, but Houston will need to see more progress from him in his second season to commit to him as the franchise QB. Otherwise, the front office’s plan should be to “suck out loud for C.J. Stroud” or “play like dung for Bryce Young.”
Indianapolis Colts
2022 goal: Win the division
The other three teams in the AFC South have all claimed a title more recently than the Colts. Yes, even the Jaguars! The last time Indy took home the division crown was in 2014. Eight years and several starting QBs later, the Colts have the perfect opportunity to end their drought.
Last season, the biggest obstacle to their success was QB play. Matt Ryan is a significant upgrade over Carson Wentz, and that move alone could be the difference between missing the playoffs and winning the division.
Jacksonville Jaguars
2022 goal: Aim not just for improvement but stability
The Jaguars, a franchise already intimately familiar with dysfunction, are coming off their most tumultuous season yet. They were an awful football product, landing the No. 1 pick for the second straight year. Even worse, though, they were also a mess in the locker room under Urban Meyer’s reign of terror.
Things should improve under an experienced NFL coach like Doug Pederson. The Jags probably won’t be a great team this season, but they just need to get back on the right track, on and off the field, and give quarterback Trevor Lawrence a real chance to develop.
Kansas City Chiefs
2022 goal: Figure out a more efficient pass rush
The Chiefs could’ve made their third consecutive Super Bowl appearance had they held on against the Bengals in the AFC Championship. Alas, Kansas City’s defense couldn’t do what pretty much every other defense in the league could: get to Joe Burrow, who was sacked just once in that game.
The Chiefs’ defensive line ranked near the bottom of the league last year in sacks and adjusted sack rate, and they didn’t make many moves to remedy that, other than draft George Karlaftis and sign veteran Carlos Dunlap. The good news is that with a deeper rotation and Chris Jones back to the interior on a full-time basis, KC’s pass rush should be more effective this year.
Las Vegas Raiders
2022 goal: Don’t dwell on past mistakes
There’s new leadership in Vegas — fortunately, considering the Raiders’ last regime made quite a few blunders:
Josh McDaniels, a head coach for the first time since he flamed out with the Broncos more than a decade ago, has his own spotty history. But the past doesn’t need to define the current team. The Raiders need to learn from their (or others’) mistakes and move forward because they can’t afford to look back in a division as stacked as the AFC West.
Los Angeles Chargers
2022 goal: Break your curse
The Chargers are arguably the NFL’s most cursed franchise. Losing one-score games? Yup, they do that frequently. Injuries? Yup, have a lot of those. Missing a playoff bid because your defense couldn’t stop a run? Yup, that happened (and deprived us of a tie!).
This offseason, the Chargers bolstered their 26th-ranked defense (in DVOA) by adding the likes of Khalil Mack, J.C. Jackson, and Sebastian Joseph-Day. Their productive offense didn’t change much but didn’t need to, either. Right now, LAC has the right pieces to contend, if the bad juju doesn’t come for the team yet again … unless it already has:
Miami Dolphins
2022 goal: Be fun on offense
For the last two seasons, the Dolphins have finished with a winning record and still missed the playoffs. The defense, which finished in the top 11 in DVOA both seasons, did its part. The offense, less so.
The expectation is that will change this year, with an exciting offensive guru as head coach (Mike McDaniel), a couple of dynamic receivers (Jaylen Waddle, Tyreek Hill), a versatile running back room, and an improved OL. Most of all, the hope is that Tua Tagovailoa will prove that he’s the franchise quarterback the Dolphins have been looking for — and the one that can help turn them into a must-watch offense for the first time since, quite possibly, the Dan Marino era.
New England Patriots
2022 goal: Find a cohesive offensive strategy
The Patriots lost their longstanding offensive mastermind when Josh McDaniels left New England for Las Vegas. While Bill Belichick didn’t technically hire a replacement at OC, he did bring back two of his former assistants to handle playcalling duties: Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, who were lousy head coaches and who have little experience on the offensive side of the ball.
I don’t think anyone on the outside understands what Belichick’s plan is, especially after an ominously awful preseason where Mac Jones looked like he’s regressing:
But maybe six-time Super Bowl winner Belichick knows what he’s doing and the offensive will come together???
New York Jets
2022 goal: Don’t implode
Most of us don’t anticipate the Jets being a good team this season, but they have the talent to be a better team than they’ve been in a few years. The problem, as it usually is with the Jets, is trying to keep the drama at bay.
So far, it hasn’t worked. Second-year QB Zach Wilson is dealing with an injury and might not be ready for Week 1, tackle Mekhi Becton is out for the season, and receiver Denzel Mims is frustrated with his role and wants to be traded.
Fortunes can change once the season starts, and perhaps for once, in a positive way for the Jets — particularly if Wilson, when he returns, lives us to Robert Saleh’s expectations.
Pittsburgh Steelers
2022 goal: Keep the non-losing record streak alive
The Steelers have never had a losing season under Mike Tomlin, the second-longest-tenured NFL head coach after Bill Belichick. They enter a new era of sorts this season now that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has retired. Mitchell Trubisky, who did play well this preseason, will ostensibly be the Week 1 starter, with rookie Kenny Pickett waiting in the wings:
So could this be the year the streak ends? Possibly: The Steelers are in a tough division and have a little more uncertainty than usual. Then again, Big Ben was hot garbage the last few seasons and they still managed not to fall below .500 (and somehow made the playoffs last year). Tomlin has cultivated an excellent culture in Pittsburgh and has established himself as a winner (or at least a non-loser) year after year.
Tennessee Titans
2022 goal: Keep proving the doubters wrong
In 2019, Ryan Tannehill usurped Marcus Mariota as starting quarterback and led the Titans to a surprise playoff appearance — and even more shockingly, an AFC title game appearance. It was easy to believe that performance, from both Tannehill and the team itself, was a fluke. But since then, Tennessee has won back-to-back division titles.
Based on a number of factors — a lackluster showing last postseason, Derrick Henry coming off a major foot injury, trading A.J. Brown, losing Harold Landry to an ACL tear — it’s easy to believe they won’t pull it off again. But as Henry himself said to the doubters, “We gonna see.”