4. Los Angeles Rams
Rams play Monday night vs. Falcons
The Los Angeles Rams have simply been one of the best teams in football all year long. The fact that they play in the NFC West is probably the only reason why their record is what it is at this point, and you still have to view this team as a premier contender in the NFC right now.
The only four losses this Rams team has this season are against the Eagles, 49ers, Panthers, and Seahawks. They’ve lost two of those games (49ers, Seahawks) in overtime. This team is well-coached, they are battle-tested, and they have a quarterback who is as dialed in as any in the NFL right now.
The Rams aren’t without flaws at this stage. They obviously have been exposed at times this year, but there’s not really a “perfect” team in the NFL. I would say they have been about as close as anyone when they’re at their best.
3. Denver Broncos
I think it’s fair to say the Denver Broncos have a shot to win the Super Bowl this year, despite not exactly being the most “impressive” 13-3 team in the league we’ve ever seen. The Broncos have found ways to win, and that cannot be diminished. They struggled a bit against the Chiefs on Christmas night, but most of that “struggle” was due to the team having such long drives, ironically.
The Broncos’ elongated drives against the Chiefs didn’t all result in touchdowns, and one turnover led to the Chiefs keeping it tighter than it was in all reality. The Broncos got their butts kicked against the Jaguars last week, but they’ve been one of the best teams in the NFL all season. It’ll be interesting to see how this team comes off of a mini-bye with a high-stakes game in Week 18 against the Chargers.
The Denver defense has lost a little bit of the juice we saw earlier in the season, and this team needs to start creating takeaways. The Broncos are AFC West champions for the first time since 2015, when they won Super Bowl 50. Could history repeat itself 10 years later?