Last summer, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were hanging around in the top ten, but not in the top five, of most of the sports betting odds lists for the likeliest team to win Super Bowl LV. Sure, the Bucs had just lured Tom Brady away from New England, but they couldn’t even make the playoffs with Jameis Winston at the helm. Winston had a ton of talent and a cannon of an arm, but he just generated too many turnovers. Brady was seen as a dump-off quarterback who was so worried behind his O-line that he would check down, time and time again. The Bucs offered a better offensive line and better weapons around Brady, but could Tampa Bay really win a title? We saw, of course, that the answer was Yes. It helped that Green Bay went ultraconservative in the NFC Championship, and it helped that Kansas City’s offensive line was riddled with injuries in the Super Bowl, but Tampa Bay earned their title.
This time around, the odds aside, which teams can really hope to contend with the best NFL Odds?
NFL News: Who Can Really Win Super Bowl LVI?
Obviously, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have to lead the list. They are the defending champions, and all 22 of their starters are back. It has been 16 years since the last time a champion was able to win a second straight Super Bowl — but the quarterback of that team was also Tom Brady, as the Patriots beat Carolina and Philadelphia in two straight title games. Brady doesn’t appear ever to take a day off, and that chip never comes off his shoulder. So don’t expect the Buccaneers to look content, or soft, or complacent.
The Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl LIV and then lost Super Bowl LV. They’ve retooled their offensive line, and they’ve made some additions on defense. Most importantly, they still have Patrick Mahomes II at quarterback, one of the most transcendent playmakers in the sport. Can the Chiefs really make three straight Super Bowls? The last team to do that was also New England, who appeared in Super Bowls LI, LII and LIII. The AFC is definitely the tougher conference right now, in terms of quality teams; the Chiefs had to beat Cleveland and Buffalo to get to the Super Bowl, arguably a tougher path than the games against Washington, New Orleans and Green Bay that the Bucs had to negotiate. Even so, until someone knocks off the Chiefs in the conference, they are a contender.
The Seattle Seahawks are a sort of contender by default in the NFC. They still have Russell Wilson at quarterback, although he has some bridges to repair after apparently throwing his O-line under the bus during the off-season. He still has D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett running routes. The team could definitely use a game-changer at running back, as the team has never really managed to replace Marshawn Lynch. The defense is also a bit sparse at times, but Pete Carroll’s motivational skills and the playmaking of Wilson could carry the Seahawks to a title game.
The Cleveland Browns have retooled their defense, adding Takk McKinley and Jadeveon Clowney to the pass rush, and two top secondary defenders from the Rams to help slow down the likes of Mahomes and Josh Allen (and Joe Burrow). Their offense remains stout, with Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb to carry the ball, as well as Jarvis Landry, Odell Beckham Jr and Rashard Higgins to catch passes from Baker Mayfield, who has a terrific O-line in front of him.
The Buffalo Bills went to the AFC Championship last year, where they faded against Kansas City. The team returns all of its key pieces, and it has another year of experience — and another layer of hunger. The Bills do have a tough first-place schedule this time around, but once they’re in the postseason, it would not surprise me to see this team in the Super Bowl.
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