Hello football fans! We are writing this article before Thursday Night Football where the Steelers host the Patriots, so as of now we still love football, but no guarantees after having to witness whatever bullshit is going to go down tonight. But let’s talk about some good teams, and specifically questions we have surrounding the five top contenders in the league. 

1. Can Anyone Stop the 49ers Offense?

The San Francisco 49ers offense, when coming together, is the most entertaining watch in the league. They have a powerful core of strong players highlighted by running back Christian McCaffrey who leads the league in nearly every rushing metric. Adding to their firepower, Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk form a formidable duo at wide receiver. Aiyuk excels in the traditional X-receiver role, while Samuel’s unique skill set blurs the lines between wide receiver and running back, a style he himself has innovated and excelled in, earning the moniker “wideback.”

The strength of the 49ers offense, however, stems from their blocking. Not only do the 49ers boast one of the best offensive lines in the league, spotlighted by Trent Williams, but San Francisco has two of the best blocking skill position players in Kyle Juszczyk and George Kittle (who is an elite playmaker in his own right). Against the Eagles this past weekend, Kyle Shanahan dialed up a couple of run plays to the left side that featured McCaffrey going downhill with Williams, Kittle, and Juszczyk blocking. It was beautiful and virtually unstoppable. When ahead of the chains, there is no limit to what the 49ers offense can do.

Not only do they have arguably the greatest slew of position players to ever be assembled this century, but they also have Shanahan, one of the greatest offensive minds ever. San Francisco’s offense faces a concerning issue that troubles me, especially when looking ahead to the playoffs: When things go south, they have the potential to unravel significantly. The reason the offense is so successful is because they have an elite running game and the rushing success allows them to open up the passing game. But if a defense can consistently create negative plays on first down, it has the potential to neutralize Shanahan’s typical play-calling advantages. The strategic use of jet motions, shifts in formation, and play-action fakes loses its potency when the defense isn’t concerned about the run.

This shift requires Brock Purdy, a solid starting quarterback who executes the 49ers’ system exceptionally well, to take on a more active role in creating plays rather than relying solely on the system’s design. While Purdy showcases accuracy and anticipation and generally protects the ball, his success is intricately tied to Shanahan’s system. If he is forced to switch to a conventional, pass-heavy game plan, I have doubts about Purdy’s ability to excel without the system’s support. Still, the Niners possess the most potent offense and, with an elite defense and good coaching, San Francisco is the clear team to beat.

2. Contenders or Pretenders?

The Miami Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys have been two of the top teams in the league this season. Both teams are 9–3 and have steamrolled their way through the majority of teams but have struggled against the league’s best. Are these teams glorified frontrunners? Or can they compete for the Lombardi Trophy?

The Dolphins’ three losses are to the Bills, Eagles, and Chiefs and they have not looked good in those games. Miami’s offense is much like San Francisco’s; when operating, they are a well-oiled machine, utilizing motion and getting their playmakers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle in space over the middle and allowing Tua Tagovailoa to play to his strengths of anticipation and accuracy. The Dolphins, however, are not equipped to play from behind. When elite defenses—such as Philly and Kansas City, for example—are able to establish early success, Tagovailoa and company struggle. With a lead, the teams are able to employ two high safeties more confidently, which thwarts many of Mike McDaniels’ plays. While the Fins certainly have the talent to rack up a few more this postseason, their inability to stage comebacks against elite teams casts doubt on their status as serious contenders.

While the Cowboys and Dolphins have similar profiles, their team identities and styles are quite different. Miami likes to move horizontally, whereas Dallas likes to attack vertically with Dak Prescott slinging seam routes and go-balls to his talented pass-catchers. Most notable of these receivers is CeeDee Lamb who can run every branch in the route tree with seamless precision that makes you question how anyone could ever stop him. However, the key to the offense’s success lies in the performance of the offensive line. While the talent of the five linemen was never in doubt, their availability was uncertain early in the season. However, their matchup against the Eagles on Sunday will mark their sixth consecutive game with all five starting offensive linemen on the field.

Defensively, the Cowboys have been elite, ranking top five in yards allowed and points per game. Dallas’s defense is anchored by a stout front four spearheaded by Micah Parsons. He is one of the most physically gifted players in the entire league and possesses the ability to change the game by himself, a trait that a handful of other defenders possess. The Cowboys host the Eagles this Sunday Night in a game that will be for control of the NFC East. I have always been high on Dallas, but with Prescott’s leap in production, the Cowboys are now Super Bowl contenders. 

3. Do the Defending Conference Champs Have Enough for Another Run? 

Expectations were high for the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles after a thrilling Super Bowl last February; both teams had young star quarterbacks, great head coaches, and strong supporting casts that would put them right back in contention this year. And while they’ve been good this year—Kansas City is 8-4 while Philly is 10-2—there have been some indications that these former conference champs might find themselves eliminated before the Super Bowl. 

The Chiefs’ defense has been better than in years past (this is probably the best unit of the Patrick Mahomes era), but it’s the offense that has surprisingly been lacking. Mahomes is still the best quarterback in the league by a considerable margin, but the weapons around him have been…um…underwhelming. When talking about Travis Kelce, we’re not gonna reference she-who-shall-not-be-named (love her though), but the legendary tight end has been noticeably more injury-prone this year and at times has struggled to make an impact on games. Behind him, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Kadarius Toney, and Skyy Moore are unreliable and have had massive drops in late-game situations this year.

The result? The Chiefs offense is outside the top five in overall yards per game and passing yards per game—for reference, they were first in both last season. But I’m an optimist and will always believe in Mahomes, so we’ll lay out some bright spots to look forward to. For one, rookie Rashee Rice is coming into his own; after a bit of a slow start to the season, he’s getting more playing time and looks to be establishing himself as the number-one option for Mahomes outside of Kelce. Kansas City’s running game has also been quite solid this year—they’re currently eighth in the NFL in rushing yards per game and are spearheaded by the feisty Isiah Pacheco, one of the more underrated backs in the league. Lastly, their schedule eases up in this last part of the season, as after a tough date with the Bills this weekend the Chiefs get the Patriots, Raiders, Bengals, and Chargers and should be heavy favorites in all of them. The year has been bumpy, but I’m not ready to jump off the Kansas City train just yet—they’re still the team I trust most in the AFC. 

While the Eagles have a better record than the Chiefs, they might be in a little more trouble given the red-hot Cowboys and juggernaut 49ers in the NFC. Philly has won a lot of really close games this season—their point differential is +41 compared to Dallas and San Francisco in the +160 range—and while they’ve looked solid, the dominance you’d expect from a Super Bowl team hasn’t really been there. Star quarterback Jalen Hurts has been alright, but a far cry from his 2022 breakout season and his second-place MVP finish. The wide receiver duo of A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith is still formidable and the run game is solid, but it’s worth considering if the Eagles’ vaunted offensive line can still compete with the league’s best defenses; they got annihilated this past weekend by the San Francisco pass rush, a matchup that they’ll likely have to face again to make it back to the Super Bowl.

The Philadelphia secondary has also been concerning—after being a shutdown unit last year, there have been way too many holes for opposing offenses to hit this season. But, like the Chiefs, I have some faith in the Eagles. They’ve played an absolute gauntlet over the past month and have gone 3 for 4, taking down Dallas, Kansas City, and Buffalo before falling to San Francisco. After another big game against Dallas this weekend and a trip to Seattle the week after, their last three games are against the Cardinals and the Giants twice—two of the worst teams in football. It hasn’t been pretty so far, but I think the Eagles are going to end up with the one seed in the NFC; the 49ers matchup is one to watch out for though, as we may very well see those two squaring off in the conference championship again. 

The last third of the season is littered with blockbuster matchups; games that will present clarity on who the contenders are. With this being the last production before winter break, you will not hear from us for a while. We will be sure to check back in before the Super Bowl though and provide you with our predictions. 

Sam Weitzman-Kurker can be reached at sweitzmankur@wesleyan.edu.

Teddy Benchley can be reached at tbenchley@wesleyan.edu.