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The NFL has five unbeaten teams. Which are contenders and which are pretenders?
Three weeks of the 2024 season are in the books and only five teams are undefeated. The NFL’s parity has been on full display this season, with 25 teams at either 1-2 or 2-1 right now. Any team can win, and every game is a tossup — but right now a small group are solidifying themselves as the league’s elite.
These are the five teams who find themselves at 3-0 on the season. Today we discuss whether their hot starts are emblematic of big-time runs this season, making them true contenders — or whether these starts are fool’s gold, and disappointment for fans lingers on the horizon.
Kansas City Chiefs: Contenders
Do we need to really explain this one out? The Chiefs are the masters of understanding the state of football, and adapting to the conditions to churn out a winner. Not only is this team 3-0, but they’re a strong 3-0 with wins over the Bengals, Ravens, and Falcons — all teams who were earmarked to be contenders in their own right in 2024.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the teams Kansas City has beaten are actually great, but at the very least it will ensure the Chiefs are back in the playoffs — where it’s unclear if anyone in the NFL is equipped to actually beat them. Strong line play on both sides of the ball, the best quarterback in football, the best defensive tackle, and opportunistic DBs, Kansas City has it all.
We’re back in broken record territory. It’s going to take a monumental achievement for anyone in the NFL to stop the Chiefs from winning the Super Bowl again. It’s become that automatic for Andy Reid and Co.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Contenders
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They, in fact, can keep getting away with it.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are once again 3-0 and doing it despite an offense that hasn’t truly played very good yet. They’re 16th in EPA per play, but an awful 28th in Success Rate. What this means is that the Steelers offense is better at making explosive plays off of chaos than the effective, but mundane plays that help decide a game. However, that can also be seen as a positive: despite playing poorly on the offensive side of the ball, they’re 3-0 on the backs of a defense that is playing at a historic rate to start the season. Fourth in defensive DVOA, first in EPA per play allowed, sixth in success rate and getting better as the weeks go by. The secondary is finally playing at a high level behind a ferocious front seven and TJ Watt is back healthy, a terror for opposing offenses.
If the Steelers’ offense grows the way we think it will with Justin Fields (SPECIFICALLY JUSTIN FIELDS) at QB, then this team could be very good.
Minnesota Vikings: Contenders
The Vikings simply needed to prove their concept — and they’ve done just that. Rumors of a complete collapse after Kirk Cousins’ departure were vastly overrated, and right now there’s no team in the NFC who is playing better football than the Vikings. This team isn’t just winning games, it’s beating the likes of San Francisco and Houston, two sweetheart teams to win the Super Bowl, and they were turned into ground beef by Sam Darnold.
This team is built off explosive plays on offense, and a league-leading defense orchestrated by genius coordinator Brian Flores. Flores has transformed a rather haphazard group of NFL talent into the league’s best defense. They bend, but don’t break in the passing game, boast the No. 2 ranked run defense in the NFL, and only allow 10 points a game. Creative blitz packages take pressure off the defensive backs, while throwing off quarterback comfort — and when it all comes together it’s beautiful to see.
Outside of Darnold turning into a pumpkin when the clock strikes midnight, the Vikings are very much for real in 2024.
Seattle Seahawks: Pretenders
So here is our main hesitation with the Seattle Seahawks.
Their schedule.
They beat a Denver Broncos team back in Week 1 that saw Bo Nix make his NFL debut. In that game Nix threw a pair of interceptions — one right at the goal line in the first half — and Seattle managed to win by six.
Then in Week 2 they went into New England and needed overtime for a second straight one-score victory. Granted, coming to the East Coast to play a game in the early window is never easy for a West Coast team, but this Patriots offense is not exactly tearing up the statistics this season.
This past weekend, they welcomed in the Miami Dolphins, who were without Tua Tagovailoa and by the end of the game had Tim Boyle under center.
Seattle faces their first real test this weekend when they make a trip to Detroit to take on the Lions. Depending on how they fare in that game, we might move them into the contenders column, even with a loss.
Until then, however, we remain skeptical.
Buffalo Bills: Contenders
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The Bills continue to muscle open their window with sheer willpower and determination. Despite undergoing some major player turnover in the offseason, including the decision to trade away top receiver Stefon Diggs, Buffalo actually looks better for it — as the team has diversified its offense, spreading the ball around more and winning as a result. Buffalo wrecked the Jaguars, 47-10, on Monday Night Football in a performance that again earmarks them as an elite team.
Defensively the Bills are still an elite team. They rank in the Top 10 in passing yards allowed, and while their run defense can be suspect at times, it doesn’t matter when offensively this team can score in bunches. Josh Allen is playing some of his best football, completing over 70 percent of his passes and failing to turn the ball over once. If the season ended today, Allen is MVP.
This is a team build to challenge in the AFC once more, and it’s unclear if anyone in the East can stop them — especially as the Dolphins find their way through the Tua Tagovailoa injury. The window for the Bills is open for contention once more, and now it just comes down to whether they can make it past the league’s final boss in the Chiefs.
