The NFL’s 10 Hottest and Coldest Teams; New England Patriots and Chicago Bears Headline The Lists
By Daniel
Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
5. Cleveland Browns:
Cleveland, yes Cleveland, is one of the hottest teams in the entire NFL. The Browns are also alone in first place atop the stacked AFC North, boasting a record of 6-3. They have won three games in a row and are 5-1 over their last six games. Quarterback Brian Hoyer has played good, mistake free football as he’s led this team atop the division (10 TDs, 4 INTs). Lebron James is back in northeast Ohio and the Browns are one of the NFL’s hottest teams — it’s time to party Cleveland.
4. Kansas City Chiefs:
The Chiefs are the only non-division leader in the top 5 of this list, but their position is very much deserved. They’ve won four games in a row (the longest winning streak in the division by three games) and are 6-1 in their last seven games. Kansas City is for real and they’re in second place of the AFC West, a tough division. How much longer will they dominate? We’ll have to see, but for now they’re one of the hottest teams in the NFL.
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3. Detroit Lions:
Detroit has won three consecutive games in the closing seconds, in comeback fashion no less, to protect its standing atop the NFC North. The Lions are riding a four-game winning streak and are 6-1 in their last seven contests. Their offense has the potential to be extremely dynamic, but they haven’t even reached that level yet (they’ve scored 13 less touchdowns than the Packers). Yet they’re still one of the hottest teams in the league. If this team reaches its potential it may just be atop these rankings in the coming weeks. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me at all.
2. Arizona Cardinals:
The Cardinals are alone in first place in a very tough NFC West by two games with a record of 8-1 on the season. They’re on a five-game winning streak, which is the longest in the NFL tied with one other team. Although, they come in at No. 2 on this list because they have just lost their starting quarterback Carson Palmer to a season-ending knee injury. It’s an incredibly sad situation for Palmer and the team, but it has definitely taken some of the heat off of them moving forward. Will they continue to be a quality team? I believe so, but will they stay this hot? That’s a good question. Maybe they’ll rally around new quarterback Drew Stanton and continue to make noise.
1. New England Patriots:
The hottest team in the NFL right now is the team that many were writing off in late September. The Patriots began the year 2-2 and quarterback Tom Brady was especially unimpressive (4 TDs, 2 INTs in those first four games). But since then, it’s been nothing but winning for the team and eye-opening stats from Brady. The Patriots are riding a five-game winning streak, tied with Arizona for the longest in the league. Brady has thrown 18 touchdowns and only one interception in those five games.
When will people learn that you can never count a Brady and Bill Belichick led Patriots team out? They’ve scored a net 83 points and have scored at least 37 points in four of their last five contests. There isn’t a hotter team in professional football and unlike the Cardinals, which is an unfortunate situation, the Pats still have their starting quarterback moving forward. There was no other choice for No. 1 on this list.