Two months ago, the AFC was written off to the New England Patriots. Then Tom Brady went down with a season-ending injury and it was like a completely different universe was born.

In the Bizarro AFC the Miami Dolphins are in the running for a wild card spot. The AFC East is up for grabs between the New York Jets, the Dolphins Wildcat Attack, and, yes, the Patriots. The Jets have Brett Favre working his magic and keeping Madden’s hope alive that he will get to say his name at least once a week without appearing obsessed. The Dolphins have shown that if you have three NFL running backs it is possible to make a high school offense work. The Patriots have somehow managed to find another quarterback in Matt Cassel.

The AFC North is a battle between the ailing Pittsburgh Steelers and the young and surprisingly scoring proficient Baltimore Ravens. Rookie Joe Flacco has suddenly given the Ravens an offense that does not always pressure them to give up less than 10 points. The Steelers have had to deal with a complete lack of an offensive line that has suddenly made Ben Roethlisberger relive some rookie nightmares.

The AFC South is safely in the hand of the Tennessee Titans. The only perfect team left has the advantage of playing a year that has found the Colts offense looking human. Peyton Manning has been waking up of late and making the reads that made him so deadly in the past. The Jacksonville Jaguars are far from making a run, but could play the role of spoiler down the stretch.

The AFC West is wild, again. The Denver Broncos score as much out of glee as necessity. The defense couldn’t hold a 30-point lead in the fourth quarter. The Chargers are within striking distance, but have fallen to injury and their normal inability to make good on their potential.

The AFC looks like the only sure division winner is the Tennessee Titans, with the Jets, Dolphins, Patriots, Steelers, Ravens, Colts, Broncos, and Chargers all within reach of the postseason. Fans will be searching those Titans tickets to see if they could beceom the second consecutive team to finish 16-0, Steelers tickets to see if they can overcome a season hindered by injuries, or Broncos tickets to simply see the team shoot for 40 points every game.