With the 2022 NFL regular season halfway through, it’s time to start looking at the big picture for the playoffs. He has three teams with 6 or more wins in the NFC East, the Seattle Seahawks leading the NFC West, and the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC North in Green Bay. He leads the Packers by 4.5 games. It is amazing that Should it stay like this, or should it change?
Below, we sort out the NFL contenders and imposters. All eight divisions he leaders and other teams with the best records in the NFL. There are a few interesting teams we won’t cover here, including the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Chargers, and Cincinnati Bengals, but here are 12 teams that are in the prime of playoff racing and seem to be contenders for one. To do. Or someone who pretends.
Contenders
The Bills have been odds-on favorites to win Super Bowl LVII for some time, and that hasn’t changed. Josh Allen didn’t look like himself on Sunday as he threw for 205 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions. Bills tend to have one or two of these losses a year. Remember last season’s road trip losses to Urban Mayer and the Jacksonville Jaguars?Statistically, the Bills are still the best in the NFL.He has the No. 1 offense and his No. 4 defense. I’m here. The Bills are also 3-0 against current division leaders, defeating the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs and Tennessee Titans. They will face another division leader at the Vikings this week. I have one question. I’m worried about Allen’s elbow injury.
Kansas City Chiefs (6 wins, 2 losses, 1st in the AFC West)
The Chiefs are a longtime contender with Patrick Mahomes under center, but they haven’t been able to exactly “wow” NFL fans in prime time in Week 9. Still, Mahomes leads his NFL in passing yards (2,605) and touchdowns passed (21) this season. He’s on pace to record his 5,535 passing yards in his first season in the NFL, and JuJu Smith-Schuster is rising on the occasion as his new No. 1 target. . Plus, I can’t help but be intrigued by the addition of Kadarius Tony. The Chiefs may be poised to play their best football as Andy Reid’s team has won his 23rd straight game in November and December.
Kansas City has the second-most offense, statistically behind Buffalo, but leads the league in points per game with 30.4.
Baltimore Ravens (6-3, AFC North leader)
The Ravens are the newest addition to the “Contenders” category. The main reason for that is due to the improvements shown in defense. His 27-13 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Monday night was impressive. The Saints faced the No. 3 offense in his NFL, averaging 394.4 yards per game, while this Ravens defense only totaled 243 yards. Justin Houston was great with his 2.5 sacks and interceptions. Tyus Bowser is back on the field making an impact, and former Bear Lokuan-Smith has clearly shown he can help this team. Rookie David Ojabo could make his debut soon, and star safety Marcus Williams should be back before the playoffs.
Offensively, I think everyone knows what the Ravens are. Lamar Jackson leads the league’s second-best rushing offense and has talent on the offensive line. Per PFF, Baltimore has his No. 1 pass blocking line and his No. 5 run blocking line. The Ravens are his best team in the AFC North, and if they stay healthy, they could get a spot.
The only undefeated team in the NFL. Clearly, the Eagles are a contender. And when will they lose that first game? The Washington Commanders are up this week, followed by the Jeff Saturday-led Indianapolis Colts and the struggling Packers. Jalen Hurts has started 11 straight games in the regular season and his offensive options seem endless with Miles Sanders, AJ Brown, Devonta Smith and Dallas Gordart. Defensively, he is his third unit overall in the league, averaging 299 total offensive yards per game.
We’ve probably been fooled by the Cowboys in the past few years and viewed them as competitors only to fall apart in the big games. But I have to say I love this 2022 team of his. Since Dak Prescott returned to the starting lineup, the Cowboys have been against the spread in his 2-0 straight, and I think Tony Pollard has also proven he’s worthy of giving him more touches. However, the main reason I believe the Cowboys are a contender is because of their defense. The unit is top 5 in the NFL for points allowed per game (16.6), yards per play (4.8) and sacks (33). His rush this pass is not just in sacks, but also in pressure (130) and his PFF grade (84.6), which has him leading the NFL. Micah Parsons is a monster, of course, and the frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year right now (-260 over at Caesars Sportsbook). The NFC East may end up with the Eagles, but the Cowboys have a shot at making the playoffs and making the postseason.
Minnesota Vikings (7 wins, 1 loss, NFC North 1st)
Kirk Cousins said the Vikings need to pull off a more convincing win after Sunday’s 20-17 win over the Commanders. This is the most undefeated single-score win in the NFL. He’s been saying all week that the biggest difference between this year’s Vikings team and last year’s team is that. 6 wins and 8 losses in one possession in 2021. Offensively, we all know how effective Dalvin Cook and Justin Jefferson are, but tight end him the addition of TJ Hockenson could be an impactful one. He caught all nine targets at his 70 yards in his first action as a Viking.
Minnesota’s defense is currently the eighth-worst in the league, with 368.1 total offensive yards per game, while the Vikings are the 10th-best running defense, averaging 111.3 rushing yards per game. I have. Vikings are next He will face the Bills and Cowboys in two games, so we’ll see soon if the Vikings are a real contender here.
con man
New York Jets (6-3, AFC East 2nd)
The Jets have been one of the biggest surprises in the NFL this season, currently trailing a 6-3 record midway through the year. This is due to their impressive defense and run game. New York has held opponents under 20 points in five of their last six games, and sacked Allen five times last week. looks solid in Buffalo’s win and James Robinson is certainly a good running mate. The Bills are battling hard against pressure that they didn’t seem to know about, as they only put pressure on him with four dropbacks in the . , I don’t think they are a legitimate threat to lift the Lombardi trophy.
The Dolphins are one of the most fun teams in the NFL. It’s all thanks to Mike McDaniel’s offense. Tuatago-Bairoa led the NFL in passer rating (115.9), making him the first player in franchise history to record a 300-yard pass, three touchdowns, and no interceptions in consecutive games. Did. Tyreke Hill has had more receiving yards than any player in his first nine games of the season for the Super Bowl-era team, and after Miami’s victory over Chicago Sunday, he said,like a child in a candy store“But in all seriousness, Hill leads the NFL with 76 receptions and 1,104 receiving yards, averaging 122.7 receiving yards per game. He’s amassing 2,085 receiving yards this season. He’s on pace to do a season record of 1,964 yards.
But what scares me in Miami is the defense. The Dolphins’ defense was his 10th worst in the league, allowing Justin Fields to break his NFL record for a QB regular season with 178 rushing yards on Sunday. Fields also became the first player in NFL history to record his three touchdowns and he rushed for 140 or more yards. Like the rival Jets, this Dolphins his team is on the right track, but I’m not betting they’ll win the Super Bowl in the first year of the McDaniels era.
Tennessee Titans (5-3, AFC South leader)
The Titans showed Sunday night against the Chiefs that they can beat any team. Seriously, how did this team work overtime in prime time in front of a hostile crowd complete with backup rookie quarterbacks and a wide-receiving corps that didn’t record a single catch? The are the best team in the AFC South and will make it to the playoffs, but Derrick Henry will need to rush for over 200 yards per game if the Titans want to reach Super Bowl LVII. I wish Ryan Tannehill had a weapon he could throw like AJ Brown or something. This is a very fun team that is one of the best fronts in the league. His 51 completions to wide receivers this season are the fewest in eight games since the Raiders in 2010.
Seattle Seahawks (6-3, 1st in NFC West)
I think the NFL world now has more respect for Pete Carroll and Gino Smith. They lead the West with five upset wins in a year, the most in the NFL. He’s a top performer (282.8 total attacking yards per game). The Seahawks defense was the worst unit in the NFL throughout his first five weeks!Running back Kenneth Walker III is offensive. He’s not the only player. Cornerback Tarik Uhlen was the Defensive Rookie of the Month for October, Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas both started rookie tackles, and cornerback Kobe Bryant also made a considerable impact.
The Seahawks are one of my favorite teams to watch in the NFL, but I don’t see them as a legitimate Super Bowl threat. I could be wrong, but I’m not even sure they are the best team in this department.
The Buccaneers beat the Rams for 54 yards in 35 seconds last week after receiving a 1-yard touchdown from tight end Cade Otton with nine seconds left. Tom Brady completed 5 of 6 passes and gained 54 yards on the winning drive. This comeback was his 55th career 4th quarter/overtime winning drive, breaking Payton’s tie with Manning for the most in NFL history.
The Buccaneers are still the frontrunners to win the division (-220 over at Caesars Sportsbook), but I don’t think winning the NFC South is a must. It’s hard to call the Bucks a contender after losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers. They still have the worst rushing offense in the NFL, with 60.7 rushing yards per game.
Despite their impressive record, I’ve had the Giants in the Pretters category all year. If they had beaten the Seahawks a few weeks ago, I would have allowed them to move up to the contender category, but of course that didn’t happen.In retrospect, this season, the Giants have made it to his 6th. He has only won one game by more than a point. Everything is closer now.
Saquon Barkley re-established himself as a star, but the Giants’ offense was the 9th worst in the NFL (320.6 yards per game) and averaged just 20.4 points per game (11th worst in the NFL). ) is. The Giants are his third-best team in that division, and I don’t see them as Super Bowl contenders. However, this franchise is on the right track.