NFC's best teams lag behind AFC's Chiefs, Patriots

There's nothing quite like a bad AFC team to make a good NFC team feel better.

In 15 interconference meetings this year, the NFC is 12-3 overall and 5-2 on the road. The NFC North is 4-0, including 2-0 against Vic Fangio's 0-3 Broncos.

But …

There isn't an NFC contender that would want to jump conferences. Yes, the AFC has the greener pastures of 10 teams sitting at 1-2 and 0-3. But in those pastures sit two bulls that would make any NFC team a distant third behind New England and Kansas City in overall team strength and generational quality at quarterback.

So, thanks but no thanks. The wide-open NFC is the place to be for the Rams, Packers, Cowboys, Saints, 49ers, Lions, Vikings, Bears and Seahawks.

The Rams are 3-0 but Jared Goff is off and the futuristic offense is presently sputtering. Together, they've failed to score a first-half touchdown the past two games.

The Packers have an unproven head coach. The Cowboys are the best team in the conference, but Jason Garrett is 2-3 in the postseason and has never reached a conference title game.

The Vikings won't be trusted until Kirk Cousins steps up or Dalvin Cook stays healthy. The Bears will be doubted until Mitchell Trubisky shows some consistency. And the Seahawks just lost at home to a Brees-free Saints team in a game that saw Russell Wilson account for 457 yards and four touchdowns.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Super Bowl bracket, the Patriots and Chiefs are steamrolling toward a rematch of last year's AFC Championship Game.

The Patriots are 3-0, have outscored their opponents 106-17 and haven't given up a touchdown on defense since last year's AFC Championship Game. Yes, they've beaten three teams that are 0-9, but September generally is just a practice month for the dynasty that's been to eighth consecutive AFC title games.

Then there's Kansas City, which might be even better as a team and, if possible, quarterback. Yes, Tom Brady is the ageless GOAT, but reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes is the GORN (Greatest of Right Now) as he sets weekly records and season paces we've never seen before.

Mahomes has started 20 regular-season NFL games. He's thrown for 300 yards a record 13 times while going 16-4.

The Chiefs are so good that Ravens coach John Harbaugh outcoached himself because he feared his team — which had scored 82 points in two games — wouldn't have enough firepower to keep up with Andy Reid's scoring machine.

In a battle of 2-0 teams in Kansas City, Harbaugh went for it on fourth down three times in the first half. He went for two three times and came up short each time in a five-point loss.

"I don't remember the situation or which was what, but every one of those was a clear analytical decision to go for two," Harbaugh said after the game. "We had a mind-set that we were going to come in and try to score as many points as we could. So that's what we tried to do."

And he was facing a Chiefs team far, far from full strength. Kansas City was without its best receiver, its left tackle and its lead back.

No big deal. Not when you have Mahomes. And Reid, whose milestone 210th win (including playoffs) on Sunday moved him ahead of four-time Super Bowl winner Chuck Noll into sixth place in career victories.

But in the NFC, there are nine teams with winning records. The top six seeds through three weeks are, in order: Rams (3-0), Packers (3-0), Cowboys (3-0), Saints (2-1), 49ers (3-0) and Lions (2-0-1).

Unlike the AFC, picking the two best out of that group — not to mention the 2-1 Vikings and Bears — is anything but clear-cut.