Every single year, several teams look as though they’re really ready to make it all the way. They get their shoes shined and hair done, ready to go the ball. Most of these lovely ladies won’t make it to the dance. That’s right, both your team and your best buddy’s one can’t win the Super Bowl together, so be prepared to cry on their shoulder, high heels in hand, when February rolls round. Still, the prettiest of the bunch don’t always win prom queen, and sometimes that’s all they are: pretty. Let’s get into the top 5 overrated NFL teams for 2020.
5 Arizona Cardinals
To be fair, the Cardinals have a lot to be excited about. They have a potential franchise QB in Kyler Murray, the best WR in the game at a dirt-cheap price tag, and they still have actual franchise player Larry Fitzgerald. The Cardinals may be riding the hype train too far, however, and it’s unlikely that Arizona can compete in a division shared with both the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks. They’ve had far too much credit given as playoff contenders in a division featuring teams with 13 (SF), 11 (SEA), and 9 (LAR) wins last season, respectively. The Rams are 1 year shy of a Super Bowl appearance and the 49ers are 0. Seattle is a genuine Super Bowl contender as well, but the 5-win Cardinals are likely to come out swinging. They’ll go down swinging too. Tough luck.
4 New York Jets
It seems as though the New York Jets have failed to reclaim the success of their 2009 and 2010 playoff runs, ushering a new, sadder era of Jets football for 2020. In a division where New York (Jersey) was discussed as potential division-winners a year ago, the Jets came hot out the gate and fell flat on their face. They didn’t get their season back on track after Darnold kissed a sewer grate and C.J. Mosley went down early, and they didn’t do much else to help their team in an otherwise exciting offseason. A barren WR room will hinder an offense that can’t be carried by their ‘Bell-cow’, and the defense isn’t of a high enough calibre to replicate the success of the division-companion Bills and their struggling offense last season. If they make the playoffs, it’s a win, but don’t expect fireworks from this under-coached squad.
3 Denver Broncos
Can someone please explain what the deal with Drew Lock is? It seems as though we blinked twice and suddenly this kid was the designated project QB. He’s still that, unfortunately, despite the addition of 15th-overall pick Jerry Jeudy to complement breakout WR Courtland Sutton. Signing Melvin Gordon was smart, but the offense won’t be ready until Lock locks in. They may make a late-season playoff push once things gel, but they aren’t complete enough to compete with Kansas City for a while longer. Things are looking up, Broncos fans, but not all the way yet.
2 Dallas Cowboys
Here comes the bride. That’s right, the NFL’s mean ex-wife is back. Did it make sense drafting CeeDee Lamb at 17th overall? Yes, but perhaps not to a team who just paid their undisputed top WR a cool $100m. On a defense so full of holes that they missed the playoffs with the #1 offense in every metric but points, they only got thinner. They may only be considered real contenders by their cacophonous fanbase, but the cries of “this is our year” will inevitably have died out by December. In a gradually tougher NFC East, Dallas winning the division is much less guaranteed than years past. It isn’t the 90’s anymore, Dallas. You’re not good enough.
1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
This shouldn’t be controversial, but people really believe that adding an aging Tom Brady in a new system for the first time in his career and a beaten-up post-retirement Gronk magically makes the Buccaneers into Super Bowl contenders. I’m not kidding, they really believe that. For people who actually watched Brady last season, it’s clear that he’s not the man he used to be, and may never have been without Bill Belichick. Gronkowski, too, has never played for another coach and Bruce Arians may not be the right fit for this dynamic duo. A weak secondary, lacklustre running game, and growing pains will all inevitably spell disaster for the new Brady bunch. There is one thing you can count on though: the entire AFC will be watching this ship sink.