AFC preview capsules

WEST DIVISION

San Diego

2010: 9-7, 2nd in West

Last year in playoffs: 2009

Rewind: Gaudy statistics alone won’t get it done. The Chargers were reminded of that last season when they missed the playoffs despite finishing No. 1 in the league in total offense and defense.

Play: The Chargers have one of the league’s best quarterbacks in Philip Rivers, and they did him a big favor by re-signing two of his favorite targets: Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd. The Chargers parted ways with long snapper David Binn, their longest-tenured player.

Fast-forward: In each of their four seasons under Norv Turner, the Chargers have gotten off to painfully slow starts — 1-3 in 2007, 3-5 in 2008, 2-3 in 2009 and 2-5 in 2010. Once again, they say getting off to a strong start is vital, but are they capable of doing it? The schedule sets up well for them, as three of their first four games are at home (but their away game is very tough: at New England in Week 2).

Kansas City

2010: 10-6, 1st in West

Last year in playoffs: 2010

Rewind: The Chiefs were mostly dominant at home last season, winning their first seven games at Arrowhead Stadium. Their last two appearances there were forgettable, though: stompings by the Oakland Raiders (31-10 in the regular-season finale) and Baltimore Ravens (30-7 in the first round of the playoffs.)

Play: Kansas City has added some targets for quarterback Matt Cassel, using its first pick on Pittsburgh receiver Jonathan Baldwin and signing former Arizona Cardinals standout Steve Breaston. But the Chiefs, who led the league in rushing last season, still intend to be a ground-and-pound offense. Cassel took a beating in the preseason.

Fast-forward: This schedule will be anything but a breeze for the Chiefs, who face six of last season’s playoff teams and four of them on the road. What’s more, they play each of the 2010 conference title game participants in a row; in order, Steelers, Bears, Jets and Packers.

Oakland

2010: 8-8, 3rd in West

Last year in playoffs: 2002

Rewind: The Raiders made history last season, becoming the first team in the modern era to finish 6-0 in division games but still miss the playoffs. Their promising performance wasn’t enough to save the job of Tom Cable, who was replaced by Hue Jackson.

Play: Oakland wants to start working the passing game back into its offense. The team finished second in rushing last season, rolling up an average of 155.9 yards on the ground. But the onetime “vertical stretch” franchise was 23rd in passing (198.8), one of 10 teams that failed to crack 200 yards passing per game. The question: Is Jason Campbell the quarterback to get them where they want to be?

Fast-forward: Once dominant on “Monday Night Football,” the Raiders have lost three of those Monday season openers in the last five years. They get another chance this year at Denver.

Denver

2010: 4-12, 4th in West

Last year in playoffs: 2005

Rewind: No wonder the Broncos brought in a defensive specialist as a head coach in John Fox. They gave up more yards than anyone last season, had an NFL-low 23 sacks, and were tied with Indianapolis for the fewest interceptions in the AFC (10).

Play: Rebuilding the defense is a priority, but Denver has a lot of questions to answer at quarterback too. Is Kyle Orton the long-term solution? Is the Tim Tebow experiment going anywhere, or did the franchise waste a first-round pick on him? The lockout certainly didn’t help in Tebow’s development.

Fast-forward: For the first time in seven seasons, the Broncos will open the season at home. There aren’t a lot of breathers on their schedule, which includes a game against Green Bay at Lambeau Field and one against the New York Jets on three days’ rest. One to circle: Jay Cutler’s return to Invesco Field, when the Chicago Bears play there Dec. 11.

NORTH DIVISION

Pittsburgh

2010: 12-4, 1st in North

Last year in playoffs: 2010

Rewind: The Steelers moved to the brink of a seventh Super Bowl title but couldn’t quite close the deal. With 13 players eligible for free agency at the end of last season, they had a lot of work to do to keep some key players once labor was settled. They hung on to two key ones: linebacker LaMarr Woodley and cornerback Ike Taylor.

Play: A key position to watch is left tackle, where journeyman Jonathan Scott is protecting Ben Roethlisberger’s blind side. The Steelers would be deep at receiver, but Hines Ward is easing back from thumb surgery and Emmanuel Sanders is coming off foot surgery.

Fast-forward: The Steelers open at Baltimore in perhaps the league’s most physical matchup. That will be a test for both teams, as the short summer had clubs scrambling to get up to speed, and the new labor agreement allowed for less hitting in camp.

Baltimore

2010: 12-4, 2nd in North

Last year in playoffs: 2010

Rewind: Although defense still runs the show in Baltimore, Joe Flacco took another step in his development last season and has to be considered among the league’s small group of elite quarterbacks. Fitting that their season would come down to another thisclose game at Pittsburgh.

Play: The Ravens made a big acquisition last month by trading a fourth-round pick to Buffalo for receiver Lee Evans, among the NFL’s most dangerous deep threats. He has the speed to complement the more physical Anquan Boldin, giving the Ravens a potent one-two punch at receiver.

Fast-forward: The league clearly expects a lot from the Ravens, booking them for five prime-time games. The calendar sets up well for Baltimore, whose strength of schedule is 31st in the league. Ravens opponents had a combined record of 117-139 last season. The opener isn’t so easy, as Baltimore plays host to division rival Pittsburgh.

Cleveland

2010: 5-11, 3rd in North

Last year in playoffs: 2002

Rewind: The lockout might have hurt the Browns more than any other team, seeing as the club is coming off consecutive 5-11 seasons, has new coaches and a promising but lightly experienced quarterback in Colt McCoy, and is implementing fresh systems on both sides of the ball.

Play: Cleveland has a very young roster but three of the league’s more exciting offensive players: McCoy, running back Peyton Hillis, and multi-purpose weapon Josh Cribbs. New Coach Pat Shurmur knows how to bring along young quarterbacks. Just look what he did for Sam Bradford in St. Louis last season.

Fast-forward: The Browns will be starting the season before a home crowd for the 12th time in 13 seasons since their rebirth in Cleveland — and this time it’s against a bad Cincinnati team. That’s the good news for the Browns. The bad news? They have won only one of those.

Cincinnati

2010: 4-12, 4th in North

Last year in playoffs: 2009

Rewind: A lousy 2010 season set the stage for lots of changes this year. Chief among them, quarterback Carson Palmer said he would retire if the Bengals didn’t trade or release him. So far, he’s sticking to his promise. Gone too are receivers Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco.

Play: The Bengals are starting fresh with rookie quarterback Andy Dalton and first-year offensive coordinator Jay Gruden, the younger brother of Super Bowl-winning coach/ESPN announcer Jon Gruden. A player to watch is rookie receiver A.J. Green, considered by many the top pass catcher in this year’s draft class.

Fast-forward: Cincinnati fans aren’t brimming with optimism about their team, especially in a division with powerhouses Pittsburgh and Baltimore. But there are some reasons for hope. The Bengals have about as soft a start to their schedule as you can get, playing at Cleveland, at Denver, San Francisco and Buffalo in their first four games.

SOUTH DIVISION

Houston

2010: 6-10, 3rd in South

Last year in playoffs: None

Rewind: The Texans looked great at the start of last season, beating Indianapolis in the opener on the way to a 4-2 start. But — despite the efforts of eventual rushing champion Arian Foster — they cooled quickly and lost eight of 10.

Play: The Texans struggled with a slew of injuries at camp, particularly along the offensive line and at linebacker, where Foster, Ben Tate and Steve Slaton have all been nursing bum hamstrings. Under new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, the Texans are switching to a 3-4 scheme. What they lack is a run-stopper.

Fast-forward: If the Texans can get through the first half of their schedule in good shape, they stand a decent chance of finally making the playoffs. But that’s a big if. They open against Indianapolis, then play consecutive road games against Miami and New Orleans before playing host to Pittsburgh and Oakland.

Indianapolis

2010: 10-6, 1st in South

Last year in playoffs: 2010

Rewind: For the first time since 2002, the Colts failed to win at least 12 games in the regular season. Still, 10 victories were enough to clinch the division title and get them to the playoffs.

Play: Quick: Who’s Peyton Manning’s backup? The Colts hope you don’t figure out that one. (It’s Curtis Painter.) They’re keeping their fingers crossed that Manning recovers sufficiently from off-season neck surgery to resume his typical pace. He’s missed only one play because of injury —one play — in his career. If Indianapolis has to tap his backup, that’s trouble. Just in case, the team signed veteran quarterback Kerry Collins, who would be running a dramatically slimmed-down offense.

Fast-forward: An Indianapolis game to circle comes Dec. 4 at New England, when the Colts play the Patriots for the 11th consecutive season. The Patriots have won seven of those 10 matchups, and rival quarterbacks Tom Brady and Manning have won the last three MVP trophies.

Jacksonville

2010: 8-8, 2nd in South

Last year in playoffs: 2007

Rewind: At 8-5 in early December, the Jaguars looked to have the inside track on a postseason berth. But they lost three in a row — their last two at home — to stagger across at .500.

Play: The Jaguars used the No. 10 pick on Blaine Gabbert and christened him their quarterback of the future, yet he’ll need time to adjust to a pro-style offense, and Jacksonville has a capable bridge quarterback in David Garrard, who has been very good at times. As in years past, the Jaguars will wind up piling much of the offensive weight on the broad shoulders of running back Maurice Jones-Drew.?

Fast-forward: Only two previous times in franchise history have the Jaguars played more than one Monday night game in the same season. This season, they have two Monday games and a Thursday game. They flopped on a Monday last season, losing to Tennessee, 30-3.

Tennessee

2010: 6-10, 4th in South

Last year in playoffs: 2008

Rewind: In January, the Titans parted ways with Jeff Fisher, the NFL’s longest-tenured coach (16 years). It was a mutual decision. Hall of Fame guard Mike Munchak, the team’s offensive line coach, was promoted to head coach.

Play: The Titans made a smart move in acquiring former Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who, if he can stay healthy, still has some good football left in him. That will ease the transition to rookie Jake Locker, who has shown promise this summer. The big question is whether the Titans can work out their differences with running back Chris Johnson, who has piled up the yards this off-season and now will pile up the cash. He signed a four-year, $53-million deal last week.

Fast-forward: It’s not as if there’s no pressure on Munchak — there’s plenty of that — but at least he won’t have to perform under the glare of the national spotlight. The Titans are not scheduled for any prime-time games this season.

EAST DIVISION

New England

2010: 14-2, 1st in East

Last year in playoffs: 2010

Rewind: Despite a phenomenal season, the Patriots were one and done in the playoffs for the second consecutive year, losing to the 10-point-underdog Jets. It was a huge disappointment for a Patriots team that swept the second half of its schedule and scored at least 31 points in each of those games.

Play: The Patriots are famous for squeezing at least another season out of fading stars, having done so with players such as Randy Moss, Corey Dillon and Junior Seau, among others. Now, they’ll try to get that out of defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth and receiver Chad Ochocinco.

Fast-forward: New England players will get to sleep in on a lot of Sundays this fall. Half of their games will kick off at 4:15 p.m. ET, and four others are prime-time games. Big games outside the division include home versus the Colts

New York Jets

2010: 11-5, 2nd in East

Last year in playoffs: 2010

Rewind: For the second consecutive year, the Jets went on a road winning streak in the postseason and — with young quarterback Mark Sanchez at the helm — came within a victory of the Super Bowl. The club re-signed its most in-demand free agent: receiver Santonio Holmes.

Play: It didn’t take long for receiver Plaxico Burress to make his presence known. After 33 months since his last appearance in a game, Burress caught a 20-yard pass in his first return to action. In that game against Cincinnati, Burress also dived and reeled in a 26-yard touchdown catch. Joe Namath says Burress, recently released from prison, will be “damn lucky” to stay healthy.

Fast-forward: The Jets start the season in a big way, playing host to the Cowboys on a Sunday night, a game that pits Jets Coach Rex Ryan and his brother, Rob, new defensive coordinator in Dallas. That’s one of five prime-time games for Gang Green.

Miami

2010: 7-9, 3rd in East

Last year in playoffs: 2008

Rewind: Coach Tony Sparano’s job dangled by a thread at the end of last season, especially with the way the Dolphins finished, with a humiliating, 38-7 loss at New England. There were big questions about Chad Henne’s ability to be an effective quarterback, and about Miami’s uninspired running game.

Play: With running backs Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown now in Baltimore and Philadelphia, respectively, the Dolphins made a splash by adding Saints star Reggie Bush. Whether Bush can stay healthy enough to be a regular contributor remains to be seen, but his debut went well. He gained 81 yards in 10 touches, averaging six yards per carry in an exhibition game against Carolina.

Fast-forward: The Dolphins won’t have to wait long for a rematch against the Patriots; they open with a Monday home game against New England.

Buffalo

2010: 4-12, 4th in East

Last year in playoffs: 1999

Rewind: The Bills finished the season with consecutive 31-point losses to New England and the Jets, and their worst record since 2001. Among the glaring areas of need was run-stopping help along the defensive line, setting the stage for Buffalo’s selecting Alabama defensive tackle Marcell Dareus with the third pick.

Play: It should be interesting to watch the running back competition between Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller. Jackson has been one of Buffalo’s few reliable offensive mainstays over the last two seasons, whereas the second-year Spiller has shown occasional explosiveness. On defense, the Bills so far like what they’re seeing from Dareus. Could he be Ndamukong Suh, Part II?

Fast-forward: For the second consecutive season, the Bills have no primetime games. At least they’ll get to warm up before division play; they play only one AFC East opponent (New England) in the first eight weeks.