AFC Playoff Picture through 6 weeks shows North best conference in the NFL

It is early in the 2023 NFL season but enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think.

Through Week 6 of the season, there are only a few things that are certain around the league including that the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos and a bunch of NFC teams are not very good.

NFL Power Rankings will probably show those teams at the bottom.

For the Cleveland Browns, sitting at 3-2, the season can go a variety of ways at this point. So little is certain for a team that easily could be 4-1 or 2-4 at this point. Talking about the AFC playoff picture through six weeks is early but can help give context as the season goes on.

As of now, the Browns are the seventh seed in the AFC with the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers slotted in ahead of them. The AFC North is the only division in the NFL with all four teams sitting with a .500 record or better at this point. The Cincinnati Bengals, at 3-3, are currently the 12th seed.

The NFC West also has three teams in the top seven seeds through six weeks but the 1-5 Arizona Cardinals also reside there.

As shared Monday, the AFC North is an interesting division that lacks a convincing team.

Cleveland and Pittsburgh having early bye weeks helps keep them out of tiebreaker situations with the five teams with 3-3 records. It is interesting to look at some of the other tiebreaker and schedule-related information. Among the top seven seeds, the Browns have the second-best “Strength of Victory” and “Strength of Schedule” in their wins.

After four games in the AFC, Cleveland has a .500 record in the conference which can play a role later in the season.

You can see all the official details from the NFL’s official media page below:

While none of that matters until the end of the season, it is an interesting look at how important the Browns victory in Week 6 was. The difference between being the seventh seed and 13th.

Are you surprised how the seeding works out right now in the AFC? What else jumps out to you looking at the above chart?