NFL Playoff 3 teams Possibly Back in the Conversation
Today we’re talking about three teams I see as NFL Playoff hopefuls. These three teams are the Buffalo Bills, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and San Francisco 49ers. Each team has bolstered their organization dramatically. They either signed a prominent coach or prominent players in the off-season and free agency; there have been many stories around the NFL this off-season. For example, various prominent veteran players have left the only teams they have ever played for their entire career to sign with another team. Some of these players include ,Terrell Suggs, Mark Ingram, Shane Ray, Earl Thomas, DeSean Jackson, Eric Weddle, Dee Ford, Cole Beasley, and more. These teams are my NFL Playoff hopefuls because they are all on the rise, have been rebuilding for a couple seasons, and selected the right players for their roster.
Buffalo Bills
The Bills they have been rebuilding to make the playoffs for a while now. Buffalo hired Sean McDermott in January 2017 to be their new head coach. McDermott came from the Carolina Panthers organization after they reached the Super Bowl in February 2016. Buffalo also selected their franchise quarterback, Josh Allen, in the 2018 NFL Draft. Throughout the 2018 season Allen showed glimpses of a bright future in what was a lost season.
The Bills defense was solid, and according to nfl.com they were ranked 1st in passing yards allowed at 179.2 yard and 2nd in total yards allowed at 294.1. On offense they were ranked dead last, but the bright spot was their rushing game ranked 9th at 124 yards. The down side was most of their rushing was by Allen. Buffalo has shot to make the wild card in the AFC if they don’t win the AFC East division.
Getting a wild card in the AFC East is possible because the Miami Dolphins lost some of their key players. The Dolphins lost Ryan Tannehill to the Tennessee Titans and signed Ryan Fitzpatrick as well as bringing in Josh Rosen. Then they also lost Jarvis Landry to the Browns after the 2017 season and Danny Amendola went to the Lions. The New York Jets, on the other hand, have their future quarterback in Sam Darnold. In addition to this they signed Le’Veon Bell. While their offense has definitely upgraded, their defense isn’t spectacular. The Jets have a few good individual players on defense but do not have a cohesive unit yet. Therefore, the Bills only competition is the Patriots. If the Bills can defeat the Patriots then they will be the new team of the AFC West.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The second team on my NFL Playoff hopefuls list is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They have have the coach that can help them make the playoffs, despite being a tough division, in Bruce Arians. Also, former quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is now with the Dolphins as mentioned earlier allowing Jameis Winston to have the starting job to himself. Their defense wasn’t great as a whole last year, but had great players, and between both quarterbacks they had high ranking for passing yards. They ranked 1st in passing yards at 320.3 yards and total yards ranked 3rd at 415.5.
The Buccaneers are in the bottom six for defense though. They as well had great skilled individual players like Gerald McCoy, but he has signed with the rival Carolin Panthers. Tampa Bays defense may have ranked in the bottom six, yet during games their defense didn’t look like as a whole. This is not because of all the talented players individually, but that all of them hustled to the football or on the field to make plays. They didn’t give up even when they were losing. Lastly, on the positive side they are a young team, if they stay together to develop, they have great potential. Additionally, they signed veteran Ndamukong Suh who made the Super Bowl with LA Rams last season.
San Francisco 49ers
My last team on my list of NFL Playoff hopefuls are the San Francisco 49ers. When starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo got injured, the 49ers high expectations fell short. Despite their loss they relied on every quarterback on the roster. They managed to be ranked in the middle offensively and defensively in the league. Why you ask? Well because they didn’t give up in games, they actually tried to win. They gave effort and didn’t quit whether they won or lost. On offense their best rank was rushing at 13th for 118.9 yards. They were lead by running back Matt Breida and now have Tevin Coleman as well. Those two are quite the one two punch. For their height both have quick feet, while one is a downhill runer and the other is an agile runner.
On defense the 49ers ranked 11th in pass yards at 233.2, 14th in rush yards at 113.4 and 13th in total yards at 346.6. Dee Ford and Tevin Coleman are two players who signed in free agency this off-season. Ford is a nifty pass rusher and Coleman has played for coach Kyle Shanahan in Atlanta. Even more they have the coach who helped lead the Atlanta Falcons to a Super Bowl where they lost to the New England Patriots. George Kittle a tight end on the rise, became the go to receiver last year when both quarterbacks went down. In the NFC West, the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks are rebuilding, which means the 49ers only competition is the LA Rams who lost in the 2019 Super Bowl. The 49ers, if they can stay healthy, can make the playoffs by winning their division or as a wild card.
