1 week Ago By Brad Gagnon
As we embark on the final quarter of the 2024 NFL season, 21 teams remain either in playoff spots or within two games of said positions. Technically, any of 'em could still win the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Here's one reason for each to believe it's still possible.
Buffalo Bills: Josh Allen — There's no overthinking this one. The superstar quarterback is the MVP front-runner for a reason, and if the Bills finally overcome the Chiefs in the AFC, it'll be because he delivers in January. Miami Dolphins: Nobody in the AFC is unbeatable — It's been nearly two months since the Chiefs have won a game by more than a single score, and it's entirely possible their luck will run out soon.
The Bills have suffered several revealing losses. Nobody is convinced the Steelers are a legit contender. Nobody else in the conference has fewer than five losses.
You never know...
Baltimore Ravens: Lamar Jackson — The reigning MVP has a career passer rating of 100.8 in the regular season and 75.7 in the playoffs.
He'll need to fix that, or the Ravens won't likely stand a chance against the Bills or Chiefs in the AFC postseason. Pittsburgh Steelers: Defensive playmaking — It does seem they know what they've got in Russell Wilson now. Capable, but likely never the player he once was.
To keep this rolling, a star-studded D that has 23 takeaways in the last nine games has got to stand on its head. Houston Texans: C.J.
Stroud — The defense also makes plenty of plays (only the Steelers and the Vikings have more takeaways), and that'll have to continue as well, but Stroud is a much bigger wild card than, say, Wilson in Pittsburgh. If he can catch fire like he did down the stretch as a rookie, the Texans can absolutely shock the football world. Indianapolis Colts: Nobody in the AFC is unbeatable — Just like with Miami, but with tongue planting deeper into cheek.
A 6-7 Colts team that actually ranks below the league median on both sides of the ball and generally lacks elite talent would need an historic number of breaks to somehow run to the Super Bowl from here. Denver Broncos: The defense in general — A rookie starting quarterback has never won a Super Bowl, so for Bo Nix to suddenly break that trend, the league's second-ranked scoring defense will have to absolutely dominate. The ingredients are there, but the task is damn tall.
Kansas City Chiefs: The football gods favor them — They just keep finding ways to win, which on its own wouldn't be reason enough if not for the fact they have found their way into four of the last five Super Bowls (winning three). Los Angeles Chargers: Jim Harbaugh and the coaching staff — The legacy is there, and it's difficult to argue with the results thus far. If Harbaugh, Greg Roman, Jesse Minter et al.
can continue to squeeze the absolute max out of this good-but-not-magnificent roster, the ceiling is Super Bowl-high. Philadelphia Eagles: Saquon Barkley — Running backs rarely ever factor heavily into Super Bowl equations, but Barkley's putting together an historical campaign that could be MVP-worthy. If he keeps rolling, less will continue to fall on Jalen Hurts and the defense.
That could do the trick. Washington Commanders: Kliff Kingsbury — Jayden Daniels fever cooled off as the Commanders hit a big speed bump in November. Now, a lot falls on the shoulders of the innovative offensive coordinator tasked with jumpstarting Daniels and the offense.
Let's see what Kingsbury can cook up. Detroit Lions: Dan Campbell and the coaching staff — The talent is absolutely there. Now, it's up to the energizing and increasingly inspiring and confident head coach and his colleagues to get the most out of this Lions team.
Green Bay Packers: Jordan Love and consistency — This team has a top-10 scoring offense and defense as well as a quarterback who routinely exhibits elite ability. Love appears to be hitting another late-season stride. If he can stay on track, the Pack are a factor.
Minnesota Vikings: Playmaking ability — Both sides of the ball. Sam Darnold will still have his oopsie moments, and the defense will still have lapses. But as long as Darnold, Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.
J. Hockenson and Aaron Jones are healthy and producing and the defense is generating frequent takeaways, history can be made in Minny. Atlanta Falcons: Kirk Cousins and consistency — It's not going so cool for Cousins right now.
We know he can ball with the best of them at his best, but that hasn't happened during a horrendous four-game losing streak. There's still time for Good Kirk to reappear, which keeps Atlanta alive for Lombardi in a soft division. Speaking of which.
.. New Orleans Saints: The NFC South is awful — The Saints clearly don't have it, and Derek Carr's newest injury is likely a death knell.
That said, anything can happen in a division led by an extremely flawed 7-6 Bucs team. And once you're at the dance..
. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Experience — Like I said, extremely flawed. But when there's a clear path in the division and you've got championship-tested veterans like Lavonte Davis, Mike Evans, Tristan Wirfs, Antoine Winfield Jr.
and Vita Vea, nothing can be ruled out. Arizona Cardinals: Kyler Murray and Marvin Harrison Jr. — The time clearly is not now for the slumping, still-rebuilding Cards.
That said, they remain on the edge of contention, and there's little doubt that Murray and Harrison make up one of the most talented offensive duos in football. Los Angeles Rams: Experience — Are they coming alive late once again? If so be careful, because we've seen what Sean McVay, Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp have done on the Super Bowl stage. San Francisco 49ers: Resilience — Ditto for Kyle Shanahan, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, Kyle Juszczyk, Nick Bosa and Fred Warner on the NFC playoff stage.
The 49ers have plenty of guys who have exhibited their ability to come together and overcome. Seattle Seahawks: Geno Smith when it matters most — The 34-year-old has led three fourth-quarter comebacks and game-winning drives this season, and overall he has looked like a franchise quarterback more often than not. How he performs in the clutch will determine if Seattle can close out this division and make a surprise run to New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX.
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