The 49ers, Eagles, Lions and Cowboys rule the NFC: but who has the edge?
IIt now looks like a four-team battle to see who will come out on top in the NFC championship game after the San Francisco 49ers. 42-19 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. Which of the teams is most likely to make it to the Super Bowl?
1) San Francisco 49ers (9-3, 1st place NFC West)
Strengths: You've probably heard this before, but the 49ers are the most balanced team in the league. While Brock Purdy will always be the main story in San Francisco, it's less about the quarterback and more about his offensive weapons. The 49ers have an incredible offense, with running back Christian McCaffrey, tight end George Kittle and multitasking receiver Deebo Samuel alone representing a killer squad that can beat teams in the air and on the ground. When you combine San Francisco's offense with an extremely effective defense, it's hard not to rank them as the most dangerous team in the NFC right now, even if Philadelphia has won one more game.
Weak points: Purdy has saved his best performances for this year's biggest games, including four touchdown performances against the Dallas Cowboys and the Eagles. However, he has shown understandable signs of decline during his second season and isn't quite the proven QB that Jalen Hurts or Dak Prescott is. Also the 49ers midseason slump exposed holes in their pass rush. That feels like nitpicking after Sunday's statement game, but we can't assume that all of the team's problems have been permanently resolved.
2) Philadelphia Eagles (10-2, 1st place NFC East)
Strengths: Although today's loss dropped the Eagles' chances at top spot from 79.5% to 53.9%, they are still in the driver's seat to maintain home field advantage throughout the playoffs. It's impossible to overstate how big of an advantage this is in the NFL playoffs. While Prescott is currently the trendsetter of the month among quarterbacks, dual-threat Hurts is still likely the MVP favorite.
Weak points: In their four previous games before their loss to the Niners, the Eagles trailed in the second half. Although Philly ultimately won all four games, Sunday's loss was a reminder that this is not a recipe for success against the best teams. Hurts is having a great season, but it's also worth noting that he has 10 interceptions already this year (he had six in all of last regular season), which isn't ideal if he's the bulk of your offense.
3) Dallas Cowboys (9-3, 2nd place, NFC East)
Strengths: The Cowboys' development into a Dark Horse Super Bowl contender is centered around Prescott. Right now, Prescott is playing like the best quarterback in the league, especially after his three-touchdown performance on Thursday Night Football. In six of his last seven games, he has had a passer rating of at least 109.3 he has been second in QBR all season only for Purdy. Will this last? That could determine whether the Cowboys can finally return to the Super Bowl or if they will falter again in the divisional round.
Weak points: Thanks in part to Prescott, the Cowboys have a fantastic passing offense. The problem is that the ongoing game is not completely out of the question. If they want to overtake the Eagles and 49ers, Tony Pollard and the rest of the running backs will have to make a bigger impact.
4) Detroit Lions (9-3, 1st place, NFC North)
Strengths: below head coach Dan Campbellthe Detroit Lions play old-fashioned football where the running game is central. They are the third-best rushing team in the league this season and the best in the NFC. That works wonders when combined with a QB like Jared Goff, who has already thrown for over 3,000 yards this season.
Weak points: The Lions have had a legitimately great season, perhaps even exceeding the preseason hype. Goff is one of the Detroit players with playoff experience — he made it to the Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams — but this season he has shown a troubling tendency to turn the ball over. Thanks to this, he has a QBR of 60.6, the lowest of the four quarterbacks listed here. Plus, the defense is still a work in progress. It feels like a year has passed, but honestly, they are already ahead of schedule. Maybe everything will turn out fine.
MVP of the week
Mike Evans, wide receiver, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Evans had a nice day, with seven catches for 162 yards in the Bucs' 21-18 win over the Carolina Panthers, a result that keeps them one win behind the Atlanta Falcons in the race for the NFC South. But more impressive is the fact that Evans now has over 1,000 receiving yards in each of its first 10 seasons in the N.F.L. The only other player in league history with 10 straight seasons of over 1,000 receiving yards? One Jerry Lee Rice.
Video of the week
When Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill traveled 78 yards for his first touchdown against the Washington Commanders, he celebrated in the end zone with his teammates in suitably epic fashion. If there was one setback for Hill during the Dolphins' 45-15 winit was that he didn't have much left for an encore as he quickly followed it up with a 60-yard touchdown.
This was Hill's eighth 100-yard game of the season, tying a 36-year-old Dolphins record, with five games remaining on the schedule. At this point, Hill has not only earned the right to celebrate however he wants, he also has a legitimate MVP case.
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Statistic of the week
2-1. That's the number of safeties the Jets have scored in the first quarter compared to offensive touchdowns this season, a statistic that says a lot about the team's pathetic offense compared to their brilliant defense (and very good punting unit).
Sunday's safety gave them a 2-0 lead before entering the closing stages lost 13-8 to the Falcons. It turns out that the lack of a viable backup plan after Aaron Rodgers went down in Week 1 had exactly the effect on the offense that you might have predicted. If you believe Rodgers' comments suggesting he could return from his Achilles injury this season, that improbability is increasing. seems an impossibility.
Elsewhere in the competition
— There was a statistic making the rounds on Sunday afternoon, it emerged that Jordan Love had 2,599 yards and a 5-6 record over his first eleven NFL starts, the exact same numbers as his predecessor in Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers. After love led the Packers to victory He won the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday and now has a 6-6 record as a starter, better than Rodgers (5-7) in that span. Love also has two more touchdowns than Rodgers in their first twelve starts. Love still has a long way to go to match Rodgers' performance, but it appears the Packers made a good decision when choosing his successor. The victory, which was helped by two not calling for apparent pass interference the Chiefs' final drive also brought Green Bay in a wild card spot in the NFC.
— In a battle of bubble teams, the 6-5 Houston Texans faced the 6-5 Denver Broncos. Neither team's QB had a great game. Denver's Russell Wilson threw three picks, while Denver's defense sacked standout rookie C.J. Stroud five times. The Texans had the lead the entire time, but almost let the Broncos come back in the final seconds of the game. Unfortunately for Denver, Wilson saved his final interception for the final seconds of the game when Houston's Jimmie Ward picked it off in the end zone to close it out. a 22-17 victory. The Texans are now 7-5, while the Broncos are 6-6. However, there was sobering news for the Texans: Stroud's favorite target, Tank Dell, suffered a season-ending injury when he broke his fibula after being caught under a pile of Denver players.
— With their win over the Broncos, the Texans briefly moved into the final AFC wild-card spot. Almost immediately after Houston's win, the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans went into overtime. A Colts win would move them back into the playoff spots in place of the Texans.
When the Titans managed to take the lead on a Nick Folk field goal, it looked like Houston would dodge a bullet. Then, Everybody's Favorite Backup Gardner Minshew set up a first-and-goal situation with a 55-yard throw to Alec Pierce. Two plays later, Minshew found Michael Pittman Jr. in the end zone and recorded a 31-28 victory.
— The New England Patriots' losing season just keeps getting worse. Replacing struggling quarterback Mac Jones with backup Bailey Zappe ultimately wasn't the answer. Zappe went 13 of 25 for 141 yards as his team were eliminated 6-0 of the Los Angeles Chargers. On the other hand, the loss wasn't a complete waste, as a win would have essentially accomplished nothing other than hurting their draft position. The Patriots are 2-10 and still have an outside chance landing the first overall pick.
— The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered more than a little adversity against the Arizona Cardinals. First they lost starting quarterback Kenny Pickett to injury and then suffered a rare NFL weather delay. By the time the game finally resumed, Pickett had been ruled out and was sitting in a boot on the sidelines. In his place was former Chicago Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky. That gave the Cardinals a golden opportunity to get just their third win of the season, which they did in a big way Defeated Pittsburgh 24-10dropping Pittsburgh's record to 7–5.
— Blast from the past! Joe Flacco, who last played for the New York Jets at the end of last season, made his return to the league on Sunday. The Cleveland Browns made the 38-year-old their fourth starting QB of the season earlier this week. It would have been a great story if he had led the Browns to victory over the Los Angeles Rams, and sure enough he threw a touchdown that made it a one-point game in the fourth quarter, but the Rams eventually won 19-36. The Browns fell to 7-5, but held on last wildcard spot in the AFC.