NFL
Five Teams With The Best Chance To Dethrone The Eagles
There is some argument as to whether or not the Philadelphia Eagles are the Super Bowl favorites going into next season but it’s unjust if you ask me. A 13-3 team who ran through the playoffs in the NFC and beat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl without their MVP candidate quarterback will always be the favorite the following year in my book.
They, however, are not without flaws as they still have yet to find a truly successful number one option at running back and have already lost linebacker Paul Worrilow for the season to a torn ACL. They can be beaten and here are the five teams with the best chance to dethrone the Eagles.
1. The New England Patriots
As much as people may hate it, the Patriots will be a contender for the Super Bowl next year, and they will continue to be for years to come as long as Tom Brady continues to play. When you have the greatest football player of all time and the greatest coach of all time on the same team, in Brady and Bill Belichick respectively, they tend to be very good, and the Patriots are.
They ran roughshod over the AFC without their best wide receiver Julian Edelman and an arguably their best defensive player, linebacker Dont’a Hightower. Going 13-3 and being a possession away from winning the Super Bowl without two of your five best players is incredibly impressive and it’s why the Patriots may very well win it all next year.
Oh yeah! Did I mention they also have arguably the best passing weapon in the NFL 6’6 265-pound tight end Rob Gronkowski? Because they still do.
2. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers have lately developed a knack for folding in the later stages of the playoffs particularly in the AFC Conference Championship Game, but just last year they did even worse when they lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars in their first playoff game in the divisional round after gaining a first-round bye.
Couple the continuing disappointments with an aging and increasingly worse looking Ben Roethlisberger and it’s easy to think the Steelers’ window has closed. However when you have Antonio Brown an already all-time great and the league’s best wide receiver and the league’s best running back Le’Veon Bell you’ll have a shot in every game due to the sheer offensive talent.
Brown led the NFL in receiving yards by nearly 1,000 as he gained 1,533 yards receiving the closet to that was Julio Jones with 1,444 a massive gap. Meanwhile, Bell finished top five at the RB position in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, receiving yards and receptions the only other player to do so was Todd Gurley who had one of the best seasons in recent memory.
Roethlisberger while far from his prime still finished top 5 in both passing yards and touchdowns so he can still get it done. Yes after losing linebacker Ryan Shazier forever to a hard to watch spinal Injury their defense will undoubtedly take a step back, but when you can go for 50 every game, it might not matter.
3. The Los Angeles Chargers
This is probably a surprise if you weren’t paying a ton of attention last year, but the Chargers check all the boxes. Great QB? Check. Top ten wide receiver? Check. Great secondary? Check. Great pass rush? Check. Clear-cut number one running back? Check. Quite literally, the only thing missing last year for the Chargers was a run defense as they were last in the league in rushing yards allowed per game and yards allowed after contact.
This can, however, be attributed to the Chargers running lots of dime packages with them taking a linebacker off the field for a defensive back, weakening the interior. I, however, blame it on not having stud linebacker Denzel Perryman for the first eight games.
Remember how I said that the Chargers were dead last in the league in yards allowed after contact? Well when Perryman played, they were first in the league in that same category.
The Chargers Passing Defense Can Be One Of The Best
That is insane. The Chargers also finished sixth in interceptions, and top three in the league in passing yards and points allowed per game, and they did it without Jason Verrett one of the league’s best man coverage corner. In the draft, they added Derwin James, the safety out of Florida State and a universally agreed upon top ten talent.
Pair them with possibly the NFL’s best cornerback in Casey Heyward, and they could very easily have the best passing defense in the NFL next year. Combine that secondary with one of the NFL’s best pass rushes led by defensive ends Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram who both finished with double-digit sacks carrying the team to the 5th highest number of sacks in the league and this defense looks downright frightening.
On the offensive side of the ball, Keenan Allen finally played a full 16 games and finished 3rd in receiving yards and 4th in receptions proving that when healthy he is an incredible talent. Running back Melvin Gordon finished top ten in rushing yards and touchdowns and quarterback Phillip Rivers finished top five in passing yards and touchdowns. Oh, and everyone I named besides Phillip Rivers is still in their twenties. The arrow is definitely pointing upward in Los Angeles.
4. Jacksonville Jaguars
Offensively the Jags don’t even crack the top ten in the league. The defense, however, is an entirely different story. It’s only been a year, and it’s universally agreed upon that the Jags have one of the best defenses in NFL history after a historic season. They may very well have the two best cornerbacks in the league in Jalen Ramsey and AJ Bouye.
Up front, they have the scary defensive end duo of Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue. They combined for the highest number of sacks between teammates in the NFL. The defense as a whole finished first in passing yards allowed per game by 23 with 169 per game. That’s crazy for this era of the NFL where it seems like every team has a great passing attack.
They also finished second in sacks, points allowed per game, and yards allowed per game. Keep in mind they’re the seventh youngest team in the NFL so they’ll likely get even better. Offensively they don’t have much to look forward to except second-year running back Leonard Fournette who finished top ten in rushing yards and touchdowns as a rookie. With an elite defense and run game, the Jags will be looking to grind down teams in route to a Super Bowl berth. They definitely have the talent for it.
5. Minnesota Vikings
I know I know the Eagles embarrassed the Vikings 38-7 in the NFC Championship. Let’s be honest though that shouldn’t have happened. The Vikings vaunted defense got uncharacteristically shredded by Eagles backup Nick Foles for 352 yards and three touchdowns.
Those teams were far more evenly matched than the score showed and while I can’t offer an explanation, I can guarantee it won’t happen the next time these teams play. Especially now that the Vikings have added Kirk Cousins and get Dalvin Cook back from an ACL tear.
Those are two massive upgrades for a team who was a game away from the Super Bowl. Cook was showing great promise his rookie season before he tore his ACL. Not much has to be said for Kirk Cousins who for the third year in a row finished top ten in passing yards for the year without any true weapons in Washington.
The aforementioned defense was a nightmare led by safety Harrison Smith who had one of the best seasons for a safety ever. The defense finished first in yards allowed per game and points allowed per game and second in rushing and passing yards allowed per game. A healthy and improved Vikings is a scary reality, and they have as good a shot as anyone at winning it all in 2019.
Parity is at an all-time high in the NFL. There have never been this many teams this good at the same time. Next season should be very interesting.
