Chiefs, Rams Among Teams With Best Super Bowl Chances
Chiefs, Rams Among Teams With Best Super Bowl Chances
Every year, Super Bowl windows open and close for several teams around the league. With no more major free agency signings to be made, it’s clear which teams are gearing up for a deep run and which ones are fighting for 2020’s #1 overall draft choice. Without further ado, here are the five teams with the best chance at hoisting the Lombardi trophy come February.
Honorable Mentions:
- Chicago Bears: Trubisky is still a question mark and they have no bell-cow after trading away Jordan Howard
- New Orleans Saints: Drew Brees is only getting older and seemed to run out of arm strength as the season wore on. Can the Saints make yet another run after two consecutive heartbreaking finishes?
- Los Angeles Chargers: If they make the playoffs again, they’re likely to end up as a wildcard because they share a division with the Chiefs.
- Dallas Cowboys: Jason Garrett is their head coach. No Bueno.
5.) Philadelphia Eagles
Many seem to have written off the Eagles as contenders even though they’re the most recent franchise (outside of New England) to win the championship. Their starting 22 isn’t much different than the #1 seeded squad from 2017. Even when ravished by injuries (to the point where their tenth CB of the season was in during the divisional round), Philadelphia still posted a winning record and almost snuck into the conference championship. Doug Pederson and Howie Roseman have constructed a winning, player-friendly franchise that should be among the league’s top for the next decade. As long as Carson Wentz can stay out of harm’s way, there’s no reason that the Eagles can’t represent the NFC in the big game next season.
4.) New England Patriots
Tom Brady posted great numbers last season, but New England chose to ride the run game and defense en route to their third Lombardi trophy of the past five seasons. Their receiving core is barren at the moment, Rob Gronkowski just retired, and Tom Brady turns 42 before the season starts. Regardless of all the odds stacked against them, Bill Belichick is still running the show, and Brady has not retired. Until one or both of those things change, you can expect the Pats to continue their streak of consecutive AFC title game appearances.
3.) Los Angeles Rams
The Rams geared up for a Super Bowl run prior to the 2018 season but saved their worst performance of the season for the worst time. Luckily for LA, the roster they constructed still has at least one more year before major changes have to be made. Aaron Donald, Jared Goff, Todd Gurley, Brandin Cooks, Robert Woods, Aqib Talib, Marcus Peters, Dante Fowler, John Johnson III, and others will still be around for 2019. For the Rams to have a real shot at winning their first Super Bowl since “The Tackle”, Todd Gurley will have to prove effective late into the season, as he was unable to do this past year.
2.) Indianapolis Colts
Frank Reich is the real deal. Andrew Luck is the real deal. Chris Ballard is the real deal. Quenton Nelson is the real deal. Darius Leonard is the real deal. The Colts, who weren’t even supposed to be playoff contenders last year, have built a strong foundation to pair with a strong roster. It shouldn’t surprise anyone if the Colts come out of the AFC next year (assuming Luck stays healthy again). Similar to the Rams, the Colts are also built for the future, and CEO Jim Irsay’s expectation of three straight titles isn’t a completely unfounded idea. The Colts will be among the league’s heavyweights for a long time, led by one of the NFL’s top combos in Reich/Luck.
1.) Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs were a half-decent defense away from representing the AFC in the Super Bowl. The offense remains the same explosive unit from last year (assuming Tyreek Hill’s innocence), piloted by the NFL’s premier passer. With Tyrann Mathieu joining the D, and Steve Spagnuolo now in charge of that side of the ball, all KC needs to do is a field a unit in the top 20 of those categories and there’s no reason they shouldn’t be featured in Super Bowl LIV. Top it off with a respected coach in Andy Reid, and you’ve got the NFL’s top contender for 2019.
-By: Micah Jimoh