Week 12 is well underway in the NFL, with three Thanksgiving games yesterday and another game going on this afternoon. As we get closer to the playoffs, a clearer picture of the league’s best teams is starting to come into focus. Of course, even teams with good records could easily crash and burn come playoff time.
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Super Bowl or bust
Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys
For these five teams, nothing but a Super Bowl victory will be considered a success this year. For the defending champion Chiefs and runner’s up Eagles, this goes without saying, and both teams appear poised to get back to the big game this season.
The 49ers have had the league’s best defense for a couple of seasons now, and appear to be the biggest obstacle standing in the way of the Eagles. Last year, injuries to the quarterback position doomed them, as 4th string Josh Johnson had to start the NFC championship game. If starter Brock Purdy stays healthy, they have a chance to go all the way.
The Ravens and Cowboys are two solid teams that I don’t think most people give them much chance to win the Super Bowl. People are so used to them getting to the playoffs and then losing in the first couple rounds that I believe it would be a shock to see them pull off a championship. Lamar Jackson and Dak Prescott are in their 6th and 8th seasons, respectively, and the clock may be ticking for them to win the whole thing.
Cool that they’re good this year, but not their time yet
Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, Cleveland Browns
For the last few decades, these four teams have been fixtures at the bottom of NFL standings. Things have finally turned around, as they’ve all seen some success this year.
The Lions and Browns have been doing it on the heels of a solid overall roster. The Lions’ Jared Goff and Browns’ Deshaun Watson haven’t been spectacular, but the players around them have allowed them to manage the game and not be heroes. It seems highly unlikely that these teams will go on a huge run, as some ugly losses this year have showed that they probably don’t have what it takes to hang with the big boys just yet.
The Jaguars and Texans both have young quarterbacks that promise to have their teams in the mix for years. The Jaguars made the playoffs last year, and appear to be the most likely of this group to build on their showing a year ago and possibly advance to the AFC championship game. The Texans have been led by star rookie C.J. Stroud, but who’s kidding who, they’ll simply be happy to make it into the postseason.
Darkhorse Super Bowl team
Buffalo Bills
Sure you can go ahead and write off the Bills this year. At 6-5, they are likely out of the mix for the top spot in the AFC, and will need to string some wins together to make it into the postseason. They have lost some close games this year, but their point differential of +104 is 4th in the NFL, indicating that they are one of the best teams in the league. We’ve seen how well they’ve played the Chiefs in the playoffs in years’ past. With the Bengals likely bowing out due to the injury to quarterback Joe Burrow, it wouldn’t be shocking to see the Bills go on a run in January.