Every AFC team's best win/worst loss of the 2022 NFL season

Best win: 19-17 over Cincinnati Bengals (Week 5)

In what ended up being an odd season for the Ravens, this Sunday Night Football victory stands as their best because of how they earned it: by playing stifling defense that limited the Bengals to less than 300 yards of offense, and by converting scoring opportunities when available. The Ravens seemed doomed when Joe Burrow scored from 1 yard out with less than two minutes remaining, but as he's been known to do, Lamar Jackson saved the day, scrambling 19 yards to move close enough for future Hall of Famer Justin Tucker to finish off the Bengals with a 43-yarder as time expired on national television.

Worst loss: 28-27 to Jacksonville Jaguars (Week 12) 

Baltimore led by 9 at one point in this one before flat-out collapsing. The worst part of the foreboding defeat: a 75-yard, 10-play drive by the Jaguars that culminated in a touchdown with 14 seconds left and a courageous 2-point conversion pass from Trevor Lawrence to Marvin Jones. A game that the Ravens appeared to have in hand became a heartbreaker -- an outcome this team encountered far too frequently in 2022. The Ravens entered the week atop the AFC North at 7-3 but went 3-3 the rest of the way after this loss, falling to a wild-card berth in the playoffs.

Best win: 24-20 over Kansas City Chiefs (Week 6)

This one felt personal, with the Chiefs having ended the Bills' two previous playoff trips, including in 2021's Divisional Round thriller. After the Bills surrendered the lead in the fourth quarter, they engineered a masterful 12-play drive that ended with Dawson Knox beating Justin Reid in a one-on-one matchup for the winning score. The team made a statement at Arrowhead Stadium, clearing a massive hurdle and vaulting to the top of many folks' list of AFC favorites.

Worst loss: 20-17 to Jets (Week 9)

Seeing Josh Allen commit the kinds of inexplicable mistakes he'd stopped making during his rise to stardom had to be concerning for Bills fans. New York's defense played spectacularly, sure, but that didn't explain away a two-pick outing in which Allen finished with a passer rating of 46.8. Furthermore, Allen suffered an elbow injury that hampered him in the ensuing weeks. This inexcusable defeat to a division rival helped put the title-minded Bills into a position where they eventually lost out to the Chiefs in the race for the conference's top seed.

Best win: 27-10 over Buffalo Bills (Divisional Round)

Amid inclement weather, the Bengals executed an excellent game plan, seizing a 14-0 lead in the first quarter while Cincinnati's patchwork offensive line protected Joe Burrow better than most expected. Cincinnati's defense flummoxed Buffalo's explosive offense, limiting the Bills to 325 yards and 5-of-12 on third down. The Bengals could then ride Joe Mixon (20 carries for 105 yards and one touchdown) across the finish line, sending a message: Don't forget about the reigning AFC champs.

Worst loss: 32-13 to Cleveland Browns (Week 8)

In the first half of 2022, the Bengals had a tough time rediscovering the explosiveness that propelled them to Super Bowl LVI -- and Halloween stood as a low point. A Jacoby Brissett-quarterbacked Browns team played its most complete game of the season, while Cincinnati struggled to mount much of a fight on Monday Night Football, losing cornerback Chidobe Awuzie to a season-ending knee injury in the process. There was a silver lining, however: After this, the Bengals didn't lose another game until the AFC title match. Sometimes, even the best teams need a wake-up call. They received one in Cleveland.

Best win: 32-13 over Cincinnati Bengals (Week 8)

The Browns entered 2022 facing the self-imposed task of trying to compete with a backup quarterback. Jacoby Brissett delivered a commendable effort, especially on this Halloween night. With Brissett completing 17 of 22 passes for 278 yards (including a majestic 53-yard strike to Amari Cooper to set up a Nick Chubb rushing score) while logging two touchdowns (one passing and one running) and one interception, the Browns racked up 440 yards of offense. Myles Garrett (1.5 sacks) and the rushing duo of Chubb and Kareem Hunt (combining for 143 yards on 34 attempts) helped end a four-game skid with a dominant team performance.

Worst loss: 31-30 to New York Jets (Week 2)

When Chubb crossed the goal line on a 12-yard touchdown run with 1:55 remaining, it looked like the Browns had a 2-0 start in the bag. That's when a 13-point lead melted away in spectacular fashion. Cleveland blew coverage on a 66-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to Corey Davis, failed to recover New York's onside kick, then allowed the Jets to advance 53 yards in nine plays. Garrett Wilson's 15-yard touchdown reception with 22 seconds left gave the Jets a winning 1-point advantage. If the Browns' 2022 season could be captured in one two-minute stretch, it was this embarrassing display of incompetence, which resulted in the first of five losses in a six-week span.

Best win: 21-17 over Jacksonville Jaguars (Week 8)

There's no sugar-coating the Broncos' nightmarish 2022 season. There were a few bright moments, though, and the best came in London, where Russell Wilson led a late drive that ended in a 2-yard touchdown scored by Latavius Murray, who had joined the team just a couple of weeks prior. This game moved the Broncos to 3-5 and -- though one could argue in favor of their 11-10 win over San Francisco in Week 3 -- stands to me as their best win because of how they achieved it, traveling overseas and overcoming a 10-0 deficit in a city that has grown quite fond of the Jaguars over the last decade. It was the most competent Denver looked all season.

Worst loss: 17-16 to Seattle Seahawks (Week 1)

Schedule-makers knew what they were doing with this one, sending Wilson back to the city he'd pushed his way out of. Most everyone likely recalls this game because of how it ended, with rookie coach Nathaniel Hackett botching both clock management and play-calling in the game's final two minutes, leading him to send kicker Brandon McManus out for a 64-yard field-goal try at sea level. The kick failed, setting the tone for a disastrous campaign that resulted in Hackett's firing the day after Christmas.

Best win: 19-14 over Tennessee Titans (Week 16)

Though another offseason of change was all but certain, the one-win Texans arrived in Nashville with a purpose, displaying the resilience to outlast a 7-7 Titans team fighting for its playoff life. With Houston trailing 14-10 and facing the daunting task of stopping Derrick Henry, undrafted linebacker Jake Hansen stepped up, stripping the ball from Henry's grasp for a pivotal forced fumble that led to a Ka'imi Fairbairn field goal, cutting the deficit to 14-13. After another crucial stop, Davis Mills pushed Houston down the field in just five plays, capping the drive by ripping a bullet to Brandin Cooks for a score. Tennessee's Malik Willis followed with two picks, and the Texans left Nissan Stadium with a stunning victory.

Worst loss: 27-14 to Cleveland Browns (Week 13)

The score seems somewhat respectable, but if we're being honest, the Texans had plenty of chances to win. This was Deshaun Watson's first game following his trade from Houston to Cleveland and a subsequent suspension, and he was clearly playing with a ton of rust, completing 12 of 22 passes for 131 yards and an interception. Cleveland got a boost from special teams -- Donovan Peoples-Jones, not known as a great returner, took a punt back 76 yards for a touchdown -- and the defense, with the latter producing two scores. But Houston essentially handed the Browns the win by turning the ball over four times. 

Best win: 25-20 over Las Vegas Raiders (Week 10)

After firing Frank Reich, the Colts stunned the football world by hiring former center Jeff Saturday as interim coach, making this -- his first game -- must-watch television. Shockingly, Saturday delivered a 25-20 win over the Raiders that prompted Las Vegas owner Mark Davis to assure the public coach Josh McDaniels wouldn't lose his job immediately. This was a nice triumph for Saturday, whose hiring was understandably criticized by the collective football media. It also proved to be Saturday's only win as interim coach of a team that limped across the finish line.

Worst loss: 32-31 to Houston Texans (Week 18)

Speaking of limping across the finish line, Week 18 should have been a nice way to finish a painful campaign. Indianapolis stormed back from a 10-0 deficit but couldn't stop a Davis Mills-led offense from mounting one last comeback drive, which covered 83 yards in 14 plays and was capped with a Mills touchdown pass to Jordan Akins and another connection between the pair for 2. The Colts headed into the offseason with a clear need to identify a new course toward success.

Best win: 40-34 (OT) over Dallas Cowboys (Week 15)

If you're looking for a season-defining win for Jacksonville, you don't need to venture into the postseason: This one proved the Jags' comebacks of earlier weeks weren't flukes. After falling behind 27-10 in the third quarter, they very easily could have packed it in and shifted their focus to Week 16. Instead, Trevor Lawrence and Doug Pederson rallied to force overtime, where Rayshawn Jenkins capped a career day by intercepting Cowboys QB Dak Prescott and returning it for a walk-off touchdown. When the Jags mounted an incredible comeback to beat the Chargers on Super Wild Card Weekend, it was shocking to everyone except those who had watched Jacksonville in the regular season. This was the Jaguars' modus operandi.

Worst loss: 40-14 to Detroit Lions (Week 13)

Look, Detroit was on an absolute heater in the second half of 2022, but this was tough to swallow. The Jags didn't commit a ton of avoidable errors; rather, they were just flat-out dominated by a white-hot opponent. The Lions racked up 437 yards of offense, converted eight of 12 third-down attempts and dropped 40 points, sending the Jags back to Jacksonville with their tail tucked between their legs, momentarily slowing their momentum in their unlikely run to the playoffs.

Best win: 23-20 over Cincinnati Bengals (AFC Championship Game)

This win was the Chiefs' best for a couple of reasons: First, they snapped a three-game losing streak against the Bengals that included the 2021 AFC Championship Game. Second, they prevented collapsing in a second straight conference title match appearance. Playing on a bad ankle, Patrick Mahomes tossed two touchdown passes and scrambled for a first down that moved Kansas City close enough to kick the game-winning field goal. And when it was all finished, Travis Kelce got the last laugh, delivering this message to Cincinnati's mayor: "Know your role and shut your mouth, you jabroni!" That's what I call sweet victory.

Worst loss: 20-17 to Indianapolis Colts (Week 3)

Weird things happen in this league on occasion, and sometimes powerful teams take their opponents too lightly. That's what Kansas City seemed to do on this strange day in Indianapolis, which was marked by a muffed punt, a missed PAT (by backup kicker Matt Ammendola), a failed fake field-goal attempt, a missed Ammendola field-goal try, a slow-moving but crucial Colts touchdown drive and a tipped Mahomes pass that ended in a game-sealing interception. The Colts didn't do anything spectacular -- Kansas City just flubbed multiple chances to put them away.

Best win: 30-24 over New England Patriots (Week 15)

The Raiders found an incredible variety of ways to lose in 2022, but they finally caught a break in this one. After a frantic, nine-play, 81-yard scoring drive by Derek Carr erased a 24-17 deficit, this game appeared headed for overtime -- when chaos ensued. New England's Rhamondre Stevenson took a handoff up the right side of the field, gaining 23 yards before inexplicably tossing the ball back to Jakobi Meyers, almost as if he thought the Patriots were losing. Seemingly shocked by what had happened, Meyers retreated before throwing a backward pass to quarterback Mac Jones. Raiders pass rusher Chandler Jones was standing in the area and caught the pass, flattening Mac Jones on his way to a 48-yard return for one of the most unbelievable walk-off touchdowns in modern NFL history.

Worst loss: 29-23 to Arizona Cardinals (Week 2)

Remember when I mentioned how many ways the Raiders managed to lose in 2022? Las Vegas dominated early, taking a 20-0 lead into halftime, then struggled in the second half -- this would become a common theme in the season. Las Vegas went three-and-out twice in the last two quarters and overtime, running six-plus plays on just one possession in that span. In the meantime, Kyler Murray and Arizona's sluggish offense were given seven -- yes, seven -- chances to score near the goal line in the final minute of regulation. Murray converted on the last of them, then fired a dart to A.J. Green for the 2-point conversion to send the game to overtime. A Raiders loss felt inevitable even before Byron Murphy returned a Hunter Renfrow fumble for a walk-off touchdown.

Best win: 23-17 over Miami Dolphins (Week 14)

The Chargers didn't really have a signature win in 2022. Still, this triumph over Miami did help set the narrative of their season, which could have gone either way heading into Week 14. Instead of being overpowered by a Dolphins team that had won five of its last six, the Bolts prevailed behind Justin Herbert, who completed 39 of 51 passes for 367 yards and one touchdown. Rather than faltering down the stretch, the Chargers took down a contender and won each of their next three games, paving their path to the postseason.

Worst loss: 31-30 to Jacksonville Jaguars (Super Wild Card Weekend)

This won't require a lot of explanation. A passive offensive approach in the second half, combined with poor play on both sides of the ball and crucial mental mistakes (looking at you, Joey Bosa), led to one of the most stunning playoff collapses of the last 10 years. It was a terribly painful way to end a season that seemed to be building toward greater things, and it forced coach Brandon Staley to answer questions about his job security after snapping a three-season playoff drought.

Best win: 42-38 over Baltimore Ravens (Week 2)

Miami followed a dominant win over New England in Week 1 with a remarkable comeback on the road in Baltimore. With Lamar Jackson up to his usual game-breaking antics (producing 437 yards of total offense and four total touchdowns), it seemed the Dolphins had no chance -- until the final quarter. That's when Tua Tagovailoa lit up Baltimore's defense, throwing for four touchdowns, including a 7-yard pass to Jaylen Waddle that capped an incredible effort and put Miami squarely on the radar of most NFL observers.

Worst loss: 26-20 to Green Bay Packers (Week 16)

Miami's story cannot be told without mentioning Tagovailoa's absences -- or his final on-field appearance of the season. Tagovailoa threw for 310 yards against the Packers, but he couldn't avoid mistakes, throwing three interceptions and allowing Green Bay back into a game that Miami led 20-10 in the first half. The Dolphins were shut out from that point, allowing the Packers to chip away at their lead until the advantage belonged to Green Bay. The painful loss only stung worse when Tagovailoa reported concussion-like symptoms the next day, leading him to be placed into the concussion protocol for the second time in 2022.

Best win: 38-15 over Cleveland Browns (Week 6)

This was the one week when New England found the kind of consistent offensive success it enjoyed in 2021. The Patriots simply outcoached the Browns on both sides of the ball, taking a 24-6 lead in the third quarter and forcing Cleveland to rely heavily on Jacoby Brissett's arm. His second interception of the day led to the Patriots touchdown that pushed their lead to 18, and from there, all they had to do was coast to victory. Bailey Zappe's 309 passing yards and two touchdowns (in place of Mac Jones) and Rhamondre Stevenson's 19 rushes for 76 yards and two scores served as proof the unit could produce in the right situations, and with a proper offensive game plan.

Worst loss: 30-24 to Las Vegas Raiders (Week 15)

New England had no business losing this one. Even after failing to hold a one-score lead, the Patriots only had to accept a trip to overtime to preserve their chances of victory. Instead, they mentally melted down in the final seconds of regulation, with Stevenson inexplicably throwing a backward pass to Jakobi Meyers, who tossed a prayer across the field in the direction of quarterback Mac Jones, which was caught by former Patriot Chandler Jones, who ran over Mac Jones en route to his triumphant trip to the end zone. New England won and lost games by narrow margins in 2022, and many of those losses could be pinned on sloppy play. The Patriots' sloppiest moment ended up being their most embarrassing.

Best win: 27-10 over Green Bay Packers (Week 6)

New York surprised a ton of folks with a hot start to the 2022 season, and this was a crucial juncture. Rookie running back Breece Hall ran wild against a struggling Packers team that didn't mount much of a fight, racking up 116 yards and scoring a touchdown on 20 carries, and New York's defense held Green Bay to 278 yards and a meager 10 points. If anything, this win proved the Jets weren't just lucking out early in the season, even if injuries and poor quarterback play ultimately led to their downfall.

Worst loss: 27-22 to Minnesota Vikings (Week 13)

Following a dispiriting defeat to the Patriots in Week 11 that prompted the benching of Zach Wilson and a momentarily encouraging win over the Bears in Week 12 with Mike White as the newly anointed leader at quarterback, the Jets were desperate to get firmly back on track in Week 13. They certainly had their chances to win. Facing a 5-point deficit in the fourth quarter, New York twice moved into Minnesota's red zone. Both times, the Jets failed to take the lead, with the second attempt ending in a White interception, punctuating a frustrating day that would define the second half of their once-promising season.

Best win: 13-10 over Las Vegas Raiders (Week 16)

This win accomplished two important goals: 1) it kept the Steelers in the playoff hunt, and 2) it proved Kenny Pickett can be the quarterback of the future. Pittsburgh intercepted Derek Carr three times and held Davante Adams to two catches for 15 yards -- but while defense can win championships, an NFL team is nothing without a quality quarterback. Pickett demonstrated on a 76-yard drive (which used 2:09 of game clock) that he has the goods. Pittsburgh ended up staying in the playoff race until the fourth quarter of Week 18. That wouldn't have been possible if not for the Christmas Eve heroics of Pickett and Co. -- including George Pickens, who connected with Pickett on a 14-yard touchdown pass with 46 seconds left. 

Worst loss: 16-14 to Baltimore Ravens (Week 14)

Pittsburgh had more than a few winnable games end in the opposition's favor, but I chose this Ravens loss because of the ramifications of the defeat and how it happened. Baltimore entered with backup Tyler Huntley at quarterback and was later forced to turn to rookie Anthony Brown, setting up what should have been a quality opportunity for the Steelers. Instead, they let J.K. Dobbins run right through them to the tune of 120 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries. Pittsburgh couldn't put any points on the board in the second half until the final few minutes of the fourth quarter. If they had won, the Steelers might have been able to secure a playoff berth with their Week 18 domination of Cleveland rather than watching the Dolphins claim the final spot in the AFC.

Best win: 27-17 over Green Bay Packers (Week 11)

The Titans entered this game as the underdog despite owning a superior record (6-3 versus Green Bay's 4-6), and they seemed to take that personally, rolling into Lambeau Field and riding a 14-6 lead into halftime. This was one of Ryan Tannehill's best outings of 2022 (22-of-27 for 333 yards, two touchdowns and one interception). The victory forced the football world to once again take Tennessee -- a strong defensive team that limited the Packers to 271 yards -- seriously. At least, for the time being. 

Worst loss: 19-14 to Houston Texans (Week 16)

Although he gave his best effort, Tennessee's offense simply wasn't productive enough to consistently compete whenever rookie Malik Willis was under center. This was the case in Week 16, when Willis completed 14 passes for just 99 yards while short-circuiting Tennessee's last two chances to retake a lead over the lowly Texans with a pair of picks. The bulk of Tennessee's offense came from Derrick Henry, who rushed 23 times for 126 yards and a touchdown but fumbled in the fourth quarter, leading to a key Houston field goal. Tennessee's offense devolved into a run-first attack that simply wasn't potent enough to dig itself out of holes, with self-inflicted wounds leading to losses.