Nov 16, 2013 4 min read

Someone will survive in the NFC East, which no longer is the only division up for grabs. The AFC and NFC North also are mired in uncertainty and, in some cases, mediocrity.

Sure, it’s exciting when the races go down to the wire, and we can expect to see that in both West divisions, where the Chiefs, Broncos, Seahawks and 49ers are strong teams.

We might even get something similar in the NFC South, where the Panthers suddenly have grown some fearsome claws on defense and could challenge the Saints. New Orleans and Carolina meet Dec. 8 and 22.

“I think I’m stating the obvious when I say everyone has been pining for a magical season,” Panthers quarterback Cam Newton says. “No one wants to be affiliated with mediocrity, or something that’s just bland, so to speak. For the past couple of years, we know it – the Carolina Panthers haven’t been the hot topic, or the hot thing in the league.”

Now they are, and it’s tasty.

Elsewhere, it ain’t pretty.

The ugliest view, of course, is in the NFC East, where the leaders, Dallas and Philadelphia, are 5-5. A weak 5-5 as both teams show little promise they can finish with a winning record, even though neither has a daunting schedule remaining.

It’s such a homely division that the defending champion Redskins can range from mediocre to abysmal and still be in it. And the Giants can lose their first six games and still be in it.

“We’re still fighting to get back on track and get back to where we need to be,” Giants quarterback Eli Manning says, “and so we’ve got a lot of football games. We can’t let any more slip away.”

Well, maybe one or even two in the NFC Least.

More disappointing is what has happened in the AFC North, a place where intimidating defenses punctuated close races among solid teams. Now?

The Bengals (6-4) looked like a powerhouse but now are displaying an inability to finish. They haven’t been as mistake-prone as tailender Pittsburgh (3-6), but with a minus-4 turnover margin, there’s plenty of reason to get nervous in Cincinnati.

Except, maybe not, because Cleveland (4-5) and Baltimore (4-5) have been anything but scary (except to their fans) in 2013. This from a division many projected to be the strongest in the league.

At least the teams in the NFC North have an excuse for that sector’s plummet into ordinariness. Injuries have ravaged the Packers (5-4) and Bears (5-4), and certainly not just at quarterback, as critical as the losses of Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler are. That’s provided an opening for Detroit (6-3), which has remained relatively healthy, and could set up a scramble down the stretch – if Green Bay and Chicago get somewhat healthy.

Still, this is hardly the Black and Blue Division of old, and the weaknesses of the defenses could be telling the rest of the way.

Besides, the Lions could run away and hide thanks to one of the easiest stretch-run schedules in the NFL.

Equally unsightly: the AFC South. Last week was the perfect example, with division leader Indianapolis (7-3) getting routed at home, offering a chance for runner-up Tennessee to move within one game of the Colts. Instead, the Titans (4-6) flopped against previously winless Jacksonville. At home, no less.

Then the Colts rallied to win at Tennessee at Thursday night.

With Houston’s collapse to near cellar dweller – the Texans should be thankful to have the Jaguars in the division – a race in the AFC South is something of a mirage.

Thankfully, though, we can turn our attention to the West for some real excitement.

Seahawks-49ers has become one of the NFL’s fiercest rivalries, in part because both defenses are old-school intimidators. Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh have feuded since their college coaching stints in the Pac-10, and young QBs Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick often are compared for their skills and excitement quotient.

And don’t completely dismiss as a wild card Arizona, which has made huge strides under coach Bruce Arians, although not yet getting close to the class of the division.

In the AFC West, well, all anyone needs to know is that Kansas City (9-0), the league’s lone unbeaten team, meets Denver (8-1) in two of the next three weeks. A classic matchup of immovable defense that makes a living on takeaways against unstoppable offense.

“This is what it’s all about,” Broncos receiver Eric Decker said. “They are No. 1 in our division, No. 1 in the NFL right now, and this is a good challenge for us to see what we have as a team. … These challenges are what it’s all about.”