Someone's got to be able to prevent the Kansas City Chiefs from winning a third-straight Super Bowl, right? The Chiefs are on the cusp of doing something that has never been done before (winning three straight Super Bowls) and their presence among the final four teams left standing at the end of the season feels inevitable.
Heck, the Chiefs' presence in the Super Bowl feels inevitable at this point. Until someone proves (like the Bengals a couple of years back) that they can knock the Chiefs out before the Super Bowl, we can safely assume they're going to find a way to get there. But what NFC teams are actually constructed in such a way that they could beat the Chiefs on the game's biggest stage?
1. San Francisco 49ers
The Chiefs' most recent Super Bowl opponent remains one of their most formidable opponents for 2024. The San Francisco 49ers are extremely well-constructed on both sides of the ball. They have a roster that has proven it can withstand even substantial change in recent years, and the 49ers have been able to cycle through coaches without skipping a beat as NFL teams try to get a piece of that organization for themselves.
The 49ers have one of the best, most talented, and most loaded groups of offensive skill players in the NFL. The talent they have on the roster in combination with the coaching and play-calling of Kyle Shanahan is on another level.
Defensively, the 49ers' boat has taken on some water with the loss of a player like Arik Armstead, but this team is reloaded and could absolutely win in the Super Bowl against the Chiefs. They've come close now multiple times in the Kyle Shanahan era.
2. Detroit Lions
To say the Detroit Lions could win a Super Bowl at all feels wild. We're definitely living in the future.
The Lions have an outstanding roster core and big-time players on both sides of the ball. The combination of talent on the roster and coaching from Dan Campbell and his entire staff have positioned this team for a deep playoff run.
Where the Lions are truly special right now is in the trenches. They have assembled one of the best offensive lines in the league, and the addition of veteran DJ Reader to their defensive line could be the missing piece to really push this team over the top in January/February.
3. Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are another team that has recently come close to besting the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. They got one of the most impressive individual efforts from Jalen Hurts two seasons ago in the Super Bowl against Kansas City, but the Chiefs were still able to prevail.
After a regression year in 2023, I see the Eagles as a team poised to come back strong in 2024 thanks to the addition of Vic Fangio as the team's defensive coordinator. The Eagles suffered a lot of loss in the 2023 offseason, including two key coaching losses with offensive coordinator Shane Steichen and defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon heading off to new teams to become head coaches.
Now, the Eagles have one of the best defensive coordinators in football, and they've restocked the roster for a bounce-back run in 2024.