Top 10 NFL Teams Heading Into Week Three
The Super Bowl Favorites
There are three teams that I see currently fitting into this category. Those teams are the Kansas City Chiefs, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Houston Texans, as all three have a serious case for why they should be the favorite to win it all. Starting off with the Chiefs, who are the reigning Super Bowl Champions and have started off this season with two wins over very good teams in the Bengals and the Ravens. It’s difficult to see the Chiefs leaving this category all season as long as they have a healthy Patrick Mahomes. The 49ers are coming off of a loss to the Vikings last week but Minnesota is a quality team and the Niners were missing star running back Christian McCaffrey. Even though they are sitting at .500 through two weeks, they are still the reigning NFC Champions and that is hard to ignore. Lastly, the Houston Texans have gotten off to a hot start with their retooled squad, sitting with an undefeated record after two weeks. Their offense has been explosive, they have the best-receiving core in the league and a defensive-minded head coach with plenty of tools on that side of the ball. The Texans are likely the biggest threats to Mahomes and the Chiefs to win the AFC.
Contenders
I see four teams out of the top 10 that fit under the umbrella of the word “contender.” Those four teams are the Saints, Bills, Ravens, and Lions. All of these teams still are well within the Super Bowl bubble but they have had very different starts to their seasons so far. The Saints and Bills are off to surprisingly hot starts, especially New Orleans as they’ve averaged 45.5 points per game through two weeks. In back-to-back weeks, both of these teams have had fantastic offensive performances and have started off undefeated as a result. While the other two teams listed earlier have gotten off to a less-than-desired start to their season. The Ravens have started off 0-2 while the Lions are now 1-1 after a close loss to the Buccaneers over the weekend. Both of these teams have undoubtedly talented rosters and are both coming off Conference Championship losses, a shaky start doesn’t mean that they can’t reach similar levels this season. These four teams are certainly looking like contenders that could make deep playoff runs in early 2025.
Last Three In
The last three teams that made my top 10 are the Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. All three of these teams were not expected to start off as well as they have this season. The Vikings were written off as a non-playoff team all together but have started off 2-0 through the first two weeks including an impressive win over the 49ers on Sunday. Sam Darnold has looked much better than advertised and the defense has been top-tier under the leadership of Brian Flores. The Cardinals have also looked like a completely different team this season. They lost a very close game to a solid Buffalo Bills team in Week One, and bounced back with a dominating performance, beating their division rival Los Angeles Rams 41-10 over the weekend. The offense has looked electric now that Kyler Murray is healthy and has an elite receiver in Marvin Harrison Jr. I could see the Cardinals potentially being a threat to steal away the NFC West from the San Francisco 49ers, and a Wild-Card team at the bare minimum. The last team in this category is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Coming off of a playoff appearance last season, the Buccaneers were somewhat overlooked heading into this season. Through the first two weeks, the Bucs have had a dominating victory over the Commanders and followed it up by getting revenge on the Lions for eliminating them from the playoffs last season with a 20-16 victory on Sunday. Baker Mayfield has proven he can take them to the postseason before, and so far he looks primed to do the same thing again this season.
