The cream is starting to rise to the top.
There is still a lot of football to be played, but as we hit the halfway point of the NFL season, the contenders and pretenders are starting to separate themselves.
So, to get you set you for Week 10, we take a look at the 10 teams that have the best shot to bring home the Lombardi Trophy come February.
The favourites: Kansas City Chiefs (8-0), Detroit Lions (7-1)
With nine games down, a Super Bowl matchup between the Chiefs and Lions looks like the most realistic outcome.
The Chiefs are the only undefeated team left in the league and are also the back-to-back Super Bowl champions led by the league’s best QB Patrick Mahomes. Even with some early-season injuries to some of their best offensive weapons, Kansas City has remained unblemished.
They haven’t exactly been blowing out their opponents, winning only two of their eight games by double digits. But undefeated is undefeated, and with WR Deandre Hopkins now in the fold, the Chiefs are the clear favourite in the AFC.
But though the Chiefs are undefeated, it’s an NFC team that looks like the league’s best as we head into the second half of the season.
Since dropping a Week 2 game to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Lions have looked like an unstoppable force. They can win in multiple ways, and since Week 3, Detroit has more offensive touchdowns (26) than QB Jared Goff has incompletions (24), per NFL Research.
The Lions are averaging a league-best 32.3 points per game, and with a win over the Houston Texans on Sunday, can become the first Lions team to start 8-1 or better since 1954.
If they keep things rolling, a first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history looks like it could be on the horizon.
The challengers: Baltimore Ravens (7-3), Buffalo Bills (7-2), Philadelphia Eagles (6-2), Washington Commanders (7-2)
While the Chiefs and the Lions look like the two favourites, there are a couple of teams in each conference that look like formidable challengers.
If we were basing things strictly on how the Ravens offence is playing, they might be the odds-on favourite. But as we saw in Thursday’s win over the Bengals, their league-worst passing defence leaves reason for concern.
The Bills have a four-game lead in the AFC East, and are looking like shoe-in to host a playoff game. With WR Amari Cooper now in the fold, Josh Allen and the Bills won’t be an easy out.
Meanwhile, in the NFC, the Commanders and Eagles look like the biggest threats to the Lions thanks to some prize off-season acquisitions. Commanders rookie QB Jayden Daniels has taken the league by storm, while star RB Saquon Barkley has made the Eagles offence look even more dangerous.
If things break right: Minnesota Vikings (6-2), Atlanta Falcons (6-3), Houston Texans (6-3), San Francisco 49ers (4-4)
Each group in this tier has the potential to win it all, but all have glaring question marks.
The Vikings looked like the league’s best team through five weeks of the season, but after losing two of their last three games, questions of whether Sam Darnold is really capable of leading a team to a Super Bowl have begun to arise.
Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons are 5-1 over their past six and have seemed to have finally unlocked RB Bijan Robinson’s potential. We will have to see if Cousins can finally get it done when it matters most.
Houston was a darling pick to win the Super Bowl to start the off-season with sophomore QB C.J. Stroud looking to build on a record-breaking rookie season. But the Texans’ offensive line is simply not good enough right now to be considered one of the AFC favourites.
Lastly, the 49ers might be third in their division, but with the return of star RB Christian McCaffrey this week against the Buccaneers, the defending NFC champions are poised to make some noise in the second half of the season. At 4-4, their margin for error is slimmer than many of the other contenders.
Just missed out: Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2), Green Bay Packers (6-3), Los Angeles Chargers (5-3), Arizona Cardinals (5-4)
Game of the Week: Lions (7-1) @ Texans (6-3) — Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET
Sunday’s primetime matchup features two teams that come into Week 10 on opposite sides of the momentum spectrum.
As previously mentioned, the Lions have a right to be labelled the best team in the league due to their recent play.
On the other side, the Texans have looked shaky lately and are coming off a bad loss to the struggling New York Jets in Week 9. Injuries to two of their top passing catch weapons and poor offensive line play have made the Texans offence look like a shell of the group that many predicted to be one the league’s top units this season.
Houston may get a boost this week if its No. 1 receiver Nico Collins returns from injury, but against this Lions squad, that may not be enough.
The Lions are a juggernaut that looks nearly impossible to stop. Offensively, they can beat you through the air, or let their dynamic RB duo of David Montgomery and Jahymr Gibbs do the heavy lifting.
Detroit will also get their second-leading receiver Jameson Williams back this week from a two-game suspension, which makes the tall task of stopping Detroit seem even taller.
Can the Texans overcome the odds for a statement win? Or will the Lions further cement their status as the league’s gold standard?
Forrest’s Favourites (Season record: 13-8 — All odds courtesy of BetMGM):
Lions @ Texans — Pick: Lions -3.5 (-110): It’s always hard to bet against Stroud, but it’s even harder to bet against the best team in football.
Broncos @ Chiefs — Pick: Broncos +7.5 (-110): Yes, the Chiefs are undefeated. But they aren’t exactly blowing teams out. A division game, plus a solid Broncos defence should keep this one within a touchdown.
Dolphins @ Rams — Pick: Rams -1.0 (-110): Don’t look now, but the Rams are getting healthy and have won three straight. They are also 3-1 at home. Take them to beat the Dolphins.
Thursday, Nov. 7
Baltimore Ravens 35, Cincinnati Bengals 34
Sunday, Nov. 10
New York Giants vs Carolina Panthers (at Munich, Germany), 9:30 a.m. ET
New England Patriots at Chicago Bears, 1 p.m. ET
Buffalo Bills at Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m. ET
Minnesota Vikings at Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m. ET
Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs, 1 p.m. ET
Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m. ET
San Francisco 49ers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 p.m. ET
Pittsburgh Steelers at Washington Commanders, 1 p.m. ET
Tennessee Titans at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:05 p.m. ET
New York Jets at Arizona Cardinals, 4:25 p.m. ET
Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys, 4:25 p.m. ET
Detroit Lions at Houston Texans, 8:20 p.m. ET
Monday, Nov. 11
Miami Dolphins at Los Angeles Rams, 8:15 p.m. ET
Teams on a bye: Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, Las Vegas Raiders, Seattle Seahawks
