^ The easier schedule crap has been said for every top 3 seed in both conferences, and it's stupid. This year, about 80% of the teams are below .500, so every playoff team has a easy schedule on paper. It's just something salty fans say.
Honestly, when healthy, Patriots are clear favorites in the AFC. They won't get Soldier, Brown, and Lewis back, which sucks, considering those were 3 starters, and Lewis was on pace to have about 1,500 yards. Still, when healthy as can be right now (meaning guys off season-ending IR are playing), they have a top 10 defense, and the best offense. It doesn't even matter if New England has to play in Cincinnati or Denver to win the AFC Championship. I think Patriots will still be the first seed in the end, but just in case they're not. No worries, Bengals and Broncos aren't as good as them.
As for the NFC, my pick is the Panthers. My problem with Panthers is two things. I'm from North Carolina, and let me tell you. The bandwagon train is just as big on it as when Seattle started playing elite. The second thing, is the MVP discussion. Cam doesn't have the stats to be MVP like Brady and Palmer do, but people are picking him. Why? He has no weapons? He has the best offensive line, the 3rd best tightend, the best fullback, and the 4th/5th best runnerback. He barely even passes. He plays consistent with a run-first offense, and lets his defense carry him 80% of the time. Do I blame him? No. Half the time he throws a medium to long range pass, it's picked or off target. He knows he isn't that good, so he relies on a system Ron has built for him, that allows them to succeed, like with Wilson in Seattle. Heck, I actually like Cam. Not so much Wilson. Still, I can tell you this much. With just as much on offense to work with, Wilson has had better seasons than this year's Cam. And if being undefeated is the reason for him to be MVP, then it should be Kuechly or something as MVP. After all, their team runs through their defense, not offense.