The Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys are both playoff-ready. After watching these two teams go at it on Saturday night in Dallas, I think that much is clear. If it weren't for Dan Campbell's aggressive nature, the Lions might have kicked an extra point and we'd be talking about these two teams battling it out in overtime, but you can't help but love that about Campbell.
Both the Cowboys and the Lions are going to be tough to deal with in the postseason, and the NFC is shaping up to be a much tougher road to the Super Bowl than the AFC at this current point in time.
Sure, the AFC features the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs (we assume), but I think valid arguments could be made for at least four teams in the NFC as arguably the best overall team in the conference.
Of course, you have the reigning NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles have struggled at times throughout this season, but they're not a team you want to underestimate when it comes to the playoffs.
The San Francisco 49ers might be the most well-oiled machine in the NFL at this point in time.
The Cowboys have, of course, had the biggest point differential in the NFL for most of the 2023 season, flat-out dominating their opposition most weeks. At this point, the Cowboys are third in the NFL in that category, but before they suffered consecutive losses to the Bills and Dolphins, they had a good distance between the 49ers.
And then, of course, you have the Detroit Lions, the champions of the NFC North this season. The Lions carried over momentum from one season to the next, not an easy thing to do. They have managed to be one of the best teams in the league all season long and they've done it with balanced offense, winning in the trenches on both sides of the ball, and great coaching.
And watching both the Cowboys and Lions go at it in a playoff-like atmosphere? I feel confident in saying that these two teams are not only playoff-ready, but they both look like contenders. That was a game that could go either way. Despite their flaws, there's absolutely no question that either Detroit or Dallas could represent the NFC in the Super Bowl this year.
For the Cowboys, that would mean potentially ending a really long Super Bowl drought. For the Lions, it would be an opportunity to get off of the list of 12 teams currently in the NFL without a Super Bowl win.
I don't think there's any team these two can't beat when it comes to the postseason.