Everyone has a team that they are loyal towards and most fans had their dreams crushed at some point this season. Some teams had a tough defeat in the playoffs and some teams never really had any shot at the Super Bowl. It was a long season with many ups and downs and some team’s seasons could have been salvaged by one single play that didn’t go their way or a string of bad GM decisions. Here are the reasons why your AFC team didn’t win the Super Bowl.
Baltimore Ravens – Their offsense was too erratic and relied solely on their running game to score points. Joe Flacco will end up being a good NFL quarterback, but they just asked too much of him in his rookie season.
Buffalo Bills – They drafted Trent Edwards. Edwards spent most of his college career injured and can’t seem to stay healthy.
Cincinnati Bengals – Carson Palmer’s injury made the Bengals regress in 2008. I’m not sure if they would have been a playoff team if Palmer stayed healthy, but his injury made them look like amateurs.
Cleveland Browns – Romeo Crennel was their head coach. I know that most of the Browns recent draft picks haven’t lived up to the hype, but a coaching change will do them well.
Denver Broncos – A Pop Warner team could pass on their secondary. A team with Dre Bly and Champ Bailey shouldn’t be this bad.
Houston Texans – They are in the same division as the Colts and Titans. If doesn’t help their record or confidence when you face two of the best teams twice a year.
Indianapolis Colts -They can’t beat the Chargers in the post-season. They had a long winning streak going into the playoffs, but San Diego has their number.
Jacksonville Jaguars – They let Marcus Stroud leave. The Jaguars defense wasn’t the same without Stroud clogging the running lanes.
Kansas City Chiefs – I’m not sure if they have rebounded from being on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” two years ago. An injury to Larry Johnson didn’t help, but their season was derailed long before training camp.
Miami Dolphins – Having Chad Pennington as their quarterback finally caught up to them. Pennington may have had a much better season than expected, but he can only get you so far in this league and the first round of the playoffs seems to be the limit.
New England Patriots – This one is easy, Tom Brady’s knee. Brady is the one player on the Patriots that they couldn’t overcome losing. Matt Casell did a spectacular job, but he wasn’t Tom Brady.
New York Jets – They traded for Brett Favre. I don’t think the Jets would have won the Super Bowl with or with Favre, but he didn’t help the cause.
Oakland Raiders – Rich Gannon retired. I could have chosen many reasons for this, but seems like all their problems started a few years ago when their team got really old within a few months of going to the Super Bowl.
San Diego Chargers – They didn’t retain Lorenzo Neal. LaDainian Tomlinson needs a fullback to lead the way for him. Jacob Hester didn’t cut it and Tomlinson had one of his worst years.
Tennessee Titans – They stomped on the towel. I do believe in karma and Big Fat Lendale White didn’t earn the Titans any extra points by stomping on a Terrible Towel.