Now that we are halfway through the 2022 NFL regular season, it's about time we start looking at the playoff picture. It's incredible that the NFC East has three teams that have six or more wins, that the are leading the NFC West and that the have a 4.5-game lead over the in the NFC North. Will it stay this way, or are things bound to change?Below, we will sort out the contenders and pretenders in the NFL. We will discu s all eight division leaders, and then the other teams that have the best records in the NFL. There are a few interesting teams that we won't discu s here such as the , , and , but here are 12 teams right in the thick of the playoff race that we perceive to be either contenders or pretenders. How far will Buffalo go this season? Conference Winner Odds +475 Probability 17.4% Division Winner Odds +125 Probability 44.4% The Bills have been the odds-on favorite to win Super Bowl LVII for some time now, and that hasn't changed ... even after their Week 9 lo s to the . did not look like himself on Sunday, as he threw for 205 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions. The Bills are prone to have one or two of these lo ses a year. Remember when they lost to Urban Meyer and the on the road last season? Statistically, the Bills still have the No. 1 offense in the NFL, and the No. 4 defense. The Bills are also 3-0 vs. current division leaders, beating the , and . They face another division leader this week in the Vikings. There is one concerning unknown: Allen's elbow injury is worrisome. How far will Kansas City go this season? The Chiefs are perennial contenders with under center, although they didn't exactly "wow" NFL fans in prime time in Week 9. Mike Vrabel showed up with a rookie quarterback and zero wide receivers and took the Chiefs to overtime. Still, Mahomes leads the NFL in pa Alex Leatherwood Jersey sing yards (2,605) and pa sing touchdowns (21) this season. He's on pace for an NFL single-season record 5,535 pa sing yards, and is rising to the occasion as his new No. 1 target. Plus, it's hard not to be intrigued by the addition of . The Chiefs may be prepared to play their best football, as Andy Reid's squad has won 23 straight games in November and December. Kansas City statistically has the No. 2 offense behind Buffalo, but leads the league in points per game with 30.4. How far will Baltimore go this season? The Ravens are a new addition to the "contenders" category. The main reason why is because of the improvement shown on defense. That 27-13 win over the on Monday night was impre sive. The Saints came into that matchup with the No. 3 offense in the NFL, averaging 394.4 yards per game, but this Ravens defense held them to just 243 total yards. was fantastic with 2.5 sacks and an interception, made an impact in his return to the field and former Bear clearly showed he can help this team. Rookie could make his debut soon and star safety should return before the playoffs. Offensively, I think everyone knows what the Ravens are. leads the No. 2 rushing offense in the league, and the offensive line is talented. Per PFF, Theo Riddick Jersey Baltimore has the No. 1 pa s-blocking line, and the No. 5 run-blocking line. I have the Ravens as the best team in the AFC North, and if they stay healthy, they could have an opportunity to make a run. How far will Philadelphia go this season? The lone undefeated team in the NFL. Obviously, the Eagles are contenders. Also, when are they going to lose that first game? The are up this week, followed by the Jeff Saturday-led and then the struggling Packers. has won 11 straight regular-season starts and seemingly has endle s options on offense with , , and . As for the defense, it is the No. 3 overall unit in the league, allowing an average of 299 yards of total offense per game. How far will Philadelphia go this season? We all have probably been fooled by the Cowboys at one point over the past few years, viewing them as contenders only for them to fall apart in a big game. But I have to say, I like this 2022 squad. The Cowboys are 2-0 straight up and against the spread since returned to the starting lineup, and I think has proven that he's worth giving more touches too. The main reason why I'm confident the Cowboys are contenders, however, is because of the defense. This unit is top five in the NFL in points allowed per game (16.6), yards per play (4.8) and first in sacks (33). Not only does this pa s rush lead the NFL in sacks, but also in pre sures (130) and PFF grade (84.6). is of course a monster, and is the heavy favorite at this point to win Defensive Player of the Year (-260 over at Caesars Sportsbook). The NFC East may end up belonging to the Eagles, but the Cowboys are going to the playoffs, and have a chance to make a postseason run. How far will Minnesota go this season? said after the Vikings' 20-17 win over the Commanders on Sunday that they are going to need to win more convincingly. Minnesota is 6-0 in one-score games this season, which are the most one-score wins without a lo s in the NFL. I've been saying for a week now that that's the biggest difference between this year's Vikings team and last year's team. In 2021, they were 6-8 in one-po se sion games. Offensively, we all know how effective and are, but the addition of tight end could be an impactful one. He caught all nine of his targets for 70 yards in his first action as a Viking. Minnesota's defense currently ranks eighth-worst in the league with 368.1 yards of total offense allowed per game, but the Vikings do have the No. 10 run defense with an average of 111.3 rushing yards allowed per contest. We are going to find out if the Vikings are real contenders here soon enough, as they take on the Bills and Cowboys in their next two games. How far will New York (NYJ) go this season? The Jets are one of the biggest surprises in the NFL this season, currently sitting with a 6-3 record halfway through the year. This is because of their impre sive defense and the run game. New York has held opponents to 20 or fewer points in five out of its past six games, and sacked Allen five times last week. Losing was a huge hit to the offense, but looked solid in the Buffalo victory, and is certainly a good running mate. Quarterback looks better than he did last year, but he's not winning games with his arm. He also struggles mightily against pre sure, which is Johnathan Abram Jersey something the Bills apparently didn't know, since they only got pre sure on him on four drop-backs -- a season low. There's no doubt that the Jets are on the right track as a franchise, but I don't view them as a legitimate threat to hoist the Lombardi trophy. How far will Miami go this season? The Dolphins are one of the most fun teams in the NFL, and it's because of Mike McDaniel's offense. leads the NFL in pa ser rating (115.9), and just became the first player in Dolphins franchise history to record 300 pa sing yards, three pa sing touchdowns and zero interceptions in consecutive games. has the most receiving yards by any player in his team's first nine games of a season in the Super Bowl era, and proclaimed after Miami's win over Chicago Sunday that he's "." But seriously, Hill leads the NFL with 76 receptions and 1,104 receiving yards, and is averaging a career-high 122.7 receiving yards per game. He is on pace to record 2,085 receiving yards this season -- which would surpa s Alec Ingold Jersey single-season record of 1,964 yards. Oh, and that kid is pretty good too. What scares me about Miami, however, is the defense. The Dolphins defense ranks 10th-worst in the league, and just allowed to break a QB regular-season NFL record with 178 rushing yards on Sunday. Fields also became the first player in NFL history to throw three touchdowns and rush for 140-plus yards. Like the rival Jets, this Dolphins team is on the right track, but I'm not betting on them to win the Super Bowl in the first year of the McDaniel era. How far will Tenne see go this season? The Titans showed on Sunday night against the Chiefs that they are capable of beating any team. Seriously, how did Vrabel will this team to overtime in prime time in front of a hostile crowd with a backup rookie quarterback and a wide receiving corps that didn't record a single catch? The Titans are the best team in the AFC South and will make the playoffs, but will have to rush for 200-plus yards per game if the Titans want to get to Super Bowl LVII. If only they had some weapons could throw to like an A.J. Brown or something. This is a pretty fun team that has one of the best front sevens in the league, but I don't see them as a Super Bowl contender. Their 51 completions to wide receivers this season are the fewest through eight games since the 2010 . How far will Seattle go this season? I think the NFL world has much more respect for Pete Carroll and now. The Seahawks, who many believed could be the worst team in the NFL this season, are leading the NFC West, and have five upset wins on the year -- which is tied for most in the NFL. They have won four straight games by double digits, and their defense has been the top unit in the NFL over this four-game stretch (282.8 yards of total offense allowed per game). The Seahawks defense was the worst unit in the NFL through the first five weeks! Running back is the Offensive Rookie of the Year favorite, but he's not the only first-year player who has made a major contribution for Seattle. Cornerback was the Defensive Rookie of the Month for October, and are both starting rookie tackles and then cornerback has made a considerable impact too. The Seahawks have become one of my favorite teams to watch in the NFL, but I don't see them as legitimate Super Bowl threats. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm not even sure they are the best team in the division just yet. How far will Tampa Bay go this season? The Buccaneers went 54 yards in 35 seconds to beat the last week on a 1-yard receiving touchdown from tight end with nine seconds remaining. completed 5 of 6 pa ses for 54 yards on his game-winning drive. This comeback marked his-- breaking a tie with for the most in NFL history.The Buccaneers are still the heavy favorites to win the division (-220 over at Caesars Sportsbook), but I don't see them winning the NFC South as an absolute given. After their lo ses to the and , it's hard to label the Bucs as contenders. They still have the worst rushing offense in the NFL with 60.7 rushing yards per game. How far will New York (NYG) go this season? I've had the Giants in the pretenders category the entire year despite the impre sive record. I admitted that if they beat the Seahawks a couple weeks ago I would move them up into the contenders category, but that of course did not happen. Looking back, the Giants have won just one game this season by more than six points. Josh Jacobs Jersey Everything has been close. has reestablished himself as a star, but this Giants offense ranks ninth-worst in the NFL (320.6 yards per game), and averages just 20.4 points per game (11th-worst in the NFL). The Giants are the third-best team in their division, and I don't see them as Super Bowl contenders -- although this franchise is moving in the right direction.
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