1. New England Patriots– Again, this shouldn’t be a shocker to any of you. Tell me if you’ve heard this saying before: The Patriots are your defending Super Bowl champions. It’s incredible the sustained excellence they’ve displayed all these years. They’re once in the driver’s seat again to win their division, clinch one of the bye rounds in the playoffs and win the AFC. Tom Brady enters his 20th year in the league with one team. The Patriots are the favorites again to win it all. They’ll be without Gronk, but it’s always the next man up for them.
2. Los Angeles Rams– Sean McVay will be the first to tell you he was outcoached in the Super Bowl. There’s also that part of him that wants you to think the Rams will be hungrier and more motivated because of it. After Cooper Kupp tore his ACL, the Rams offense looked lost at times without him. He’s back and Jared Goff has his security blanket back on the field along with other weapons to work with. The defense should get back to its elite ranking under Wade Phillips as well. The NFC will be an interesting one this year.
3. New Orleans Saints– I know the off-season was a tough one for them, especially with how their season ended. The infamous no-call in the NFC title game against the Rams will never just go away. It’s one thing when a call like that is made during the regular season because you live to see another week. That ultimately led to the end of their season and they lost a playoff game at home for the first time in the Sean Payton/Drew Brees era. They’re loaded on offense and on defense. They’ll be ready for another run.
4. Kansas City Chiefs– They were a game away from the Super Bowl. They had no problem at all outscoring people. The offense could do it all if you needed them too. It was their defense that continuously held them back. It’s year two of the Mahomes experience. The reigning MVP comes in with the most pressure I feel because people want to see how good he really is. The first year was excellent. Now, there’s more tape on him which defenses can use to their advantage. Just imagine if the Chiefs made some upgrades defensively. A ton of pressure would be elevated off the offense.
5.Los Angeles Chargers- They’re a contender if you ask me. Philip Rivers is still getting the job done, they have a group of wide receivers that would make any basketball team jealous because of their length and a defense that’s one of the best in the league. Speaking of that defense, I wonder how they’ll go about replacing Derwin James for the time being. He’s out for 3-4 months because of a stress fracture in his foot. Anthony Lynn will do everything he can to keep this team together.
