The 2013 NFL season will begin tonight and here are Tommy Rocker's top three AFC teams to start the battle for the Vince Lombardi trophy.

3. The New England Patriots

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The Patriots had the 25th best defense in the NFL last season giving up 20.7 points per game. Bill Belichick has always had his team ready to play and a defensive scheme planned out. He might need to spend a little more time on that this year, even though he gets most out his players and sometimes that is more important than having great players but he does have a great player.

The Patriots still have Tom Brady at quarterback and that means a lot. New England had the best offense in the league last year and they will need it  this year.

Yes they have lost some key players but Tom Brady will get the most from the guys he has and I bet they will be in the hunt for the post season.

Who will beat them in the AFC East the Jets, the Bills or the Dolphins? I don't see any of them doing that and they will still win the AFC East.

The playoffs are a different story and that is where I see the Patriots having a hard time.

2. The Houston Texans

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The Texans had the 7th best defense in the league last year giving up only 20.7 points per game and I don't see that changing. J.J. Watt is the leader of the unit but adding Ed Reed will help out.

When you can rush the passer it makes covering a lot easier in the game.

The Texans have a good offense, but the big question is, is Matt Schaub is really the guy? He has Andre Johnson to catch the ball along side Arian Foster to carry the rock, but can he lead his team to the big one? I'm not sold on Schaub just yet.

The big problem I see with the Texans is they can't stay healthy. The last couple of seasons they have had more people hurt than any other team. Yet they still have been in the hunt. With a good defense and top ten offense I see the Texans making a run at a title.

1. The Denver Broncos

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The Broncos had the second best defense in the league last year. Yes Dumervile is in Baltimore and Von Miller will miss the first six games but this is still a good team.

The big question is who will step up in the defense and help make some plays. They don’t need a ton of big plays but a few would help out.

The key to this team is the offense. The Broncos had the 4th best offense last year and they got better in the off season. Decker and Thomas both had over 1,000 yards last year and the Broncos added Welker.

So, Manning has a ton of players to throw to but can they run the ball? I think so. If the running backs can get 1,000 to 1,200 yards for the season the Broncos should win a few games.

This season Manning could light it up like a pinball machine on a Saturday night and he should. The Broncos should win the west and could play all of their playoff games in Denver.

There is only one ending to the season for Broncos fans and is a win on Feb. 2nd in New York.

Let me know if you agree with me and check out my picks for the NFC division.

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