#1 New England Patriots (14-2)

No matter how many people doubt this team year in and year out about their ability to stay amongst the elite in the NFL, head coach Bill Belichick and his golden boy quarterback Tom Brady continue to prove that they have no intention of laying down for anyone in the AFC Conference.

Coming into this NFL regular season, the New England Patriots had a lot of doubts about how well their young defense would hold up against some of the most potent offenses in the league, but even though it was rough in the first couple weeks of the season, the Patriots secondary were able to hold their own.

Not only has the defense been able to hold their own, but Tom Brady is having another MVP caliber season with big numbers that could ultimately lead this team to another appearance in the Super Bowl.

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#2 Atlanta Falcons (13-3)

All season long it has seemed like people have waited for the Atlanta Falcons to show signs of weakness or flaws in their game, but it just hasn’t happen as Matt Ryan, Michael Turner and Roddy White have quickly become amongst the league’s elite at their positions.

Along with the offense being near unstoppable throughout this NFL regular season, the defense has been able to hold opponents and help this team maintain leads every single week.

Whether or not this team can keep playing at this level in the playoffs remains to be seen, but with a first-round bye they are sitting pretty right now with a good chance of going the distance.

#3 Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4)

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been able to redeem themselves from their extremely disappointing title defense last season, but this is still a team that depends on their defense to run the show and when faced against an equally good defense (Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets) they might really struggle in the playoffs.

No matter what their fate in the postseason, the Steelers have played much better than anticipated after everything that happen off the field before the season began.

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#4 Baltimore Ravens (12-4)

Much like the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Baltimore Ravens have depended on their defense over the years to lead them into the playoffs, but this season has been different as the offense has started to step up and give this team a new dynamic.

The only thing that stopped the Ravens from getting a first-round bye in the playoffs was the Steelers wrapping up the AFC North division, but I believe they can hang with any team in the AFC right now and could make it interesting down the stretch.

#5 New Orleans Saints (11-5)

The defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints struggled out of the gate in their title defense this season, but have really started to come into their as of late and started playing like the team that dominated the league last season.

The Saints will almost certainly have their hands full against teams like the Falcons, Bears, Eagles and Packers in order to get back to the Super Bowl, but they are more than capable of pulling off the repeat.

#6-10 Chicago Bears (11-5), Philadelphia Eagles (10-6), New York Jets (11-5), Green Bay Packers (10-6) and Indianapolis Colts (10-6)