Which Division is the NFL’s Weakest?

2014 has not been a kind year for the NFL’s South divisions. In a continued slump, the divisions have shown that their is only one truly competitive team amongst them: the Indianapolis Colts.

But the worst division in the NFL? That’s not as clear cut.

A 13 win division is certainly weak, but this year the AFC South manages to stay ahead of the NFC South, which has just 11 wins on the year and not a single team above .500.

So, if we’re measuring by total wins, the AFC South is not the worst division in the NFL…barely. The Colts account for most of the wins (six), which is as much as the next two (the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans) combined. Tack on one more from the Jacksonville Jaguars and the teams in places two through four barely outweigh the top dog.

The NFC South is a bit more of a wash. With nobody above .500, the 11 win division could have anybody come up and snatch the title. The New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons have been good in recent years but their run of supremacy may have finally died last season. The Carolina Panthers don’t look like contenders but are tied with the Falcons at three wins (a slight edge with a tie on their record, though). The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are an absolute mess right now and are deserving of their 1-8 record.

So, between the AFC South and NFC South, which is the weakest division in the NFL?

Honestly, we likely won’t know until the end of the season. There’s still enough time for any NFC South squad to overcome their struggles and post a winning record and get into the postseason. Then again, none of them could post a winning record and a sub .500 team could take the division and earn a postseason berth. Based on potential, I’d give the nod to the AFC South as the weakest. But, at least they have the Colts.

We can look at which division has won the most games outside of itself. Surprisingly, the NFC South has five wins of their 11 coming from other divisions. The AFC South, in contrast, has eight wins coming from outside the division. The majority of the AFC South’s external success stems from the Colts, making up half of them.

Daniel Zillmer over at NFL Spin Zone did an interesting “hottest and coldest” NFL teams piece recently. Three AFC South teams ended up on that list as the coldest and two from the NFC South. However, the two from the NFC South were “colder” than the three from the AFC South. Based on the “thawed” nature of those teams compared to the deep freeze of the Bucs and Panthers.

Between the two divisions, it’s pretty obvious there is something wrong. Combined they have just 24 wins which is just one more than the best division in the NFL, the AFC North. These two divisions are a wash right now and it’s tough to call one the toughest.

What do you think?