Who Looks Super Bowl Bound After Week 1 of the NFL Season?
The new NFL season is now underway! With almost all games played in the opening weekend, who are the teams that look set for a battle to land a place in the Super Bowl? Who are the pretenders? Who is going to battle for a spot in the playoffs and who are the teams that are looking at a very long and painful season ahead?
Let’s take a closer look!
Super Bowl Contenders
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Baltimore Ravens
- San Francisco 49ers
- Detroit Lions
- Buffalo Bills
Aside from the 49ers, who play Monday night, all these teams have been in action. The Ravens showed enough in defeat against the Chiefs to suggest they are their main rivals in the AFC, along with the Bills. Meanwhile, the Lions continue to grow in skill and confidence and will likely be the 49ers’ main opponents in the NFC.
Super Bowl Pretenders
- Dallas Cowboys
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Miami Dolphins
- Houston Texans
- New York Jets
- Green Bay Packers
- Cincinnati Bengals
The top four listed in the Pretenders section will feel they are genuine Super Bowl Contenders and should be ranked in the section above. They may have a point but as yet, they haven’t fully convinced all the doubters just yet. The Jets and Packers had tough starts but should come good. The Bengals started abysmally against the Patriots, but don’t rule them out just yet. They have the talent to come good.
Playoff Hopefuls
- New Orleans Saints
- Minnesota Vikings
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Cleveland Browns
- Indianapolis Colts
- Chicago Bears
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Los Angeles Chargers
- Seattle Seahawks
- Los Angeles Rams
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Arizona Cardinals
- New England Patriots
Bucs and Saints fans may feel aggrieved to see their team listed here, as will the Steelers, but the NFC South is not the strongest division and the teams the Bucs, Saints, and Steelers beat in Week 1 were not the best. The Vikings started well against the poor Giants. The Jaguars should have beaten Miami, but they ran out of gas in the South Florida heat. The Seahawks and Bears secured good wins. There are plenty of teams in this section that could move up to be a Super Bowl Pretender, but just as many that could drop into the section below reserved for the strugglers.
Set To Struggle
- Washington Commanders
- Las Vegas Raiders
- Denver Broncos
- Tennessee Titans
- Atlanta Falcons
- New York Giants
- Carolina Panthers
It looks like being a tough season for several of these teams after less than stellar starts. The Titans led 17-0 and ended up losing 24-17, despite Chicago not scoring an offensive touchdown. The Panthers were blown out by the Saints who scored 47 points and the Giants were downed 28-6 by the Vikings who had a back-up at quarterback. The Falcons could not beat a Steelers team that failed to score a touchdown. There’s probably more positives for Broncos, Commanders and Raiders fans, but for those four teams listed at the bottom, the new season is already looking very tough!
