It doesn’t seem that long ago when Patrick Mahomes was voted Super Bowl’s MVP as the Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime. It was the Chiefs’ second consecutive Vince Lombardi Trophy and consolidated Mahomes as one of the most legendary quarterbacks of all time.
As the season moves into its decisive months with play-offs looming, there are some challenges mounting for the current champions. Kansas will have their eyes on a magic trilogy at the Caesars Superdome, home of the New Orleans Saints, but they are no means as decisive this season.
As December began, the NFL season explained for Andy Reid ‘s team and FOX Sports NFL analyst Bucky Brooks was a summary of the campaign.. Nobody may talk that the Chiefs are the luckiest team of the NFL but champions in waiting need confidence, readiness to turns things around and competitiveness to register 14 successive one score victories. The Chiefs look for ways to make it work and the belief (and timely) play will see them through to the play-offs.
Mahomes hasn’t reached his dizzy heights and was sacked five times in a narrow win over the Raiders, continuing a worrying trend
The 29-year-old, a three-time winner of the Bowl, argues that such narrow victories are keeping the team hungry, pointing to the fact that when the Chiefs were in dominant form in 2020 they ended up losing the final match which is ultimately the only one that counts.
The Chiefs are always in the mix but have not featured in the top two of recent online betting markets that are totally zoned in on the march of the Detroit Lions and the Buffalo Bills.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen says that statistics are “for losers” but his presence and ability to frame games has culminated in one of the fastest starts ever recorded for an NFL signal caller. Allen became the first-ever quarterback to have a touchdown catch, pass and run in the same game when the Bills overran last season’s Super Bowl runners-up San Francisco.
Sean McDermott’s team clinched their fifth successive AFC East title and in the process became the first team since the Colts 15 years ago to complete that feat with as many as five weeks left to play. Their play-off place is secure as they now look to beat the Chiefs in a foot race to the AFC
Detroit are only one of four NFL teams who have never played in American football’s showpiece event. Their form book on the road has been impressive The North division has been competitive, with Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers pushing them, and that will be of great value when things come to a head at the business end.
The Lions are doing a great job in enjoying ever-shortening odds to win the glittering prize as December snow started to fall. Dan Campbell’s side stack up so many points and don’t look like stopping any time soon. David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs are a dream running tandem in offence, setting NFL records, while Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch are up for defensive players of the year for locking up the shop at the back. The Lions can boast a healthy win ratio in the race to the NFC title with the Philadelphia Eagles.
While many commentators believe the Lions are the most complete team in the whole league, Philadelphia can also claim the same. Brooks said: “The Eagles are now trending as one of the beasts in NFL and given their morale and physical strength they should be able to bring down the big boys in the NFC.”
The 2022 Super Bowl runners-up are a statistically dominant team with Saquon Barkley scoring high on rushing yards, a huge part of their touchdown success, while Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean have formed a stopping machine during their recent impressive winning streak.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are the real left-field choice to make a charge to the AFC crown. Veteran quarterback Russell Wilson appears to have revived his career and it has significantly assisted the Stellers’ offense which was often seen as a weak link in previous campaigns.
Now that the front line has explosive elements like Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, their historically solid defence can lock teams out with extra confidence. Their forced turnover stats are very good and one things leads to another. They are underdogs, but can perhaps play with the lightness that such a tag brings.
When the 59th Super Bowl takes place on February 9 in New Orleans, there are going to be enough form teams from 2024 looking at just two spots in that 83,000 capacity stadium. It feels like this could be a year for a new set of heroes. Time will tell.
