The 2020 sporting year has been one to remember.
From strict Covid compliances and regulations to no spectators filling the stands in our favorite sporting “genres”. Considering the sheer amount of personnel in every NFL building, Roger Goodell and co have had a monumental task on their plates keeping players and staff members of the 32 teams safe. I’m not sure if the NFL has discussed a “bubble” situation for their playoffs (similar to what the NBA did) but here are the top 4 contenders to win it all so far…
Kansas City Chiefs (10-1)
The Kansas City Chiefs have gotten to a hot start following their recent Superbowl victory against the San Francisco 49ers in February. There seems to be no Superbowl hangover for Head Coach Andy Reid and his men (unlike the dreaded Eagles who have yet to find success again after beating the New England Patriots 3 years ago). It seems Chiefs quarterback is having another MVP season after throwing 30 TDs with ONLY 2 PICKS (let’s not even mention his 115.5 Passer Rating). Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill and TE Travis Kelce are having a stellar year, Tyreek with over 1000 yards receiving and Travis close to reaching the 1000 mark. The only team to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs were the Las Vegas Raiders earlier in the year but no team has had luck since. They’ll be looking for a two-peat this year and are well-equipped to do so.
Pittsburgh Steelers (11-0)
Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season and it seems this year no one has been able to dethrone the Pittsburgh Steelers from their undefeated status. I don’t know who scouts players for the Steelers in the NFL Draft but they always find absolute ballers at WR. We won’t mention how they drafted Antonio Brown or Emmanuel Sanders but their rookie WR Chase Claypool looks to be a STUD. Drafted in the second round rookie Claypool has 10TDs on the year already with 5 games left it seems that number could only go up. I’m not going to be mentioning the fortress the Steelers have at defense with the likes of TJ Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Joe Haden just to name a few, it’s no wonder the defense holds most of the defensive statistics this year. There is one little caveat though, the Steelers have yet to beat a real Superbowl contender and it’ll be interesting to see if their unbeaten record remains intact.
Seattle Seahawks (8-3)
“LET RUSS COOK!” has been the cries of the Seahawks fans for years and this year we finally got a glimpse of what Seahawks QB Russell Wilson is all about. Russ, who has always been known for his exceptional ability to scramble, extend plays and throwing the deep ball has BALLED OUT this year (well for the first part of it). Russ who was the favorite to win MVP this year has fallen out of the discussion due to high turnover of the ball and interception rate this year. I don’t think Russ has lost the ability to make those breathtaking plays but he’s surely worn down at this point after willing his team to multiple comeback victories this year and taking the beating that comes with it. Second-year WR DK Metcalf has had a stellar year thus far and was compared to legendary ex-NFL WR Calvin Johnson by an Eagles staff member after he ran riot against their defense following their recent win against the Eagles. WR Tyler Lockett is nothing to sniff at either and has quickly become one of Russ’s favorite deep endzone threats. The Seahawks defense has been nothing short of disappointing allowing over 400 yards a game in the first few games although Linebacker Bobby Wagner is still leading the pack, they’ve also added Safety Jamal Adams and Defensive Lineman Carlos Dunlap into the mix in the hopes of reliving past glories with their historic defense also known as the Legion of Boom (with that being said it seems they may of turned the corner following a change of form and defensive statistics in recent games). I refuse to count this team out, not with Russ at QB and his HOF Coach Pete Carroll.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5)
This one is a personal choice or should I say an emotional one. Everyone who knows me knows what a big Tom Brady fan I am and this offseason he has found a new home in Tampa Bay after spending 20 seasons in Boston with the New England Patriots. This team is stacked and I mean STACKED. They have stars on both sides of the ball and with arguably the best QB to ever play the game in Tom Brady I can’t count this team out. This was never supposed to be a blockbuster year for the Bucs. After Covid-19 eliminated the ideas of having a preseason and OTA’s, it’s easy to see why this team has struggled. Tom Brady was/is tasked with learning a whole new offense, having new teammates and playing Head Coach Bruce Arians way (no risk it no biscuit type plays) is no easy job. Brady hasn’t been tremendous at all but at 43 years of age I’d say he’s doing a great job considering they’ve already equalled their record (when QB Jameis Winston was a turnover machine with 30INTs before he signed with the New Orleans Saints this offseason) from last year with 5 games left to play. Bucs powers at be have gone all in on Brady and brought in the likes of Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski along with so many others to fuel their Superbowl aspirations. The defense has the ability to turn up and be one of the league’s best (we saw glimpses against Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay Packers) but whether or not this team truly gels together or not is something we all look forward to. If there is one man I don’t bet against it’s Tom Brady.
