Biggest Question Each NFL Super Bowl Contender Must Answer Before the 2023 Playoffs
The road to the Super Bowl is about survival, not perfection.
Every team starts the season chasing perfection, but very few teams actually achieve it. The 1972 Dolphins remain the only team to pull off a flawless run to the title in the Super Bowl era.
This year, survival has been even more difficult as injuries have ravaged some teams' hopes for a Super Bowl with several quarterback injuries that have changed the landscape. And teams like the Bills have shown how hard it is to sustain success in this league.
Still, there is a tier of teams who have earned the right to be called Super Bowl contenders. They may not be perfect, but they still have some time to work on their flaws and get things ironed out before the playoffs start in January.
Here's a look at the top seven teams ranked by their Super Bowl odds from DraftKings Sportsbook and the biggest questions they need to answer before getting to the postseason.
Philadelphia Eagles: Can the Secondary Find Consistency?
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Super Bowl Odds: +450
It's hard to find many holes with the Philadelphia Eagles. That's why they currently have the best Super Bowl odds and they find themselves at No. 1 in our latest power rankings.
The buzz only grew louder for the team with its 21-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 11. The only problem is that the group that held Patrick Mahomes to 177 passing yards on 43 passing attempts hasn't looked like that for much of the season.
The Eagles are 17th in EPA per play and a lot of that ranking is buoyed by a run defense that gives up just 76.5 yards on the ground per game.
The secondary might have played well against the Chiefs and their questionable receiving corps, but they also gave up 397 yards and four touchdowns to Sam Howell and the Commanders before giving up 374 yards and three touchdowns to Dak Prescott and the Cowboys.
They also nearly gave up a go-ahead touchdown to the Chiefs in the final two minutes but were fortunate that Marquez Valdes-Scantling dropped the ball.
The Eagles pass rush isn't getting sacks at the historic rate that it enjoyed last season. That's going to put additional pressure on the secondary to make plays.
So far, they've done it to the tune of a 9-1 record, but they have some good offenses lined up over the next several weeks that will going a long way toward telling if they are championship caliber. The December slate features the 49ers, Cowboys and Seahawks over the next three weeks.
San Francisco 49ers: Can They Win a Game Playing from Behind?
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Super Bowl Odds: +475
When the San Francisco 49ers have won this season, they've won big. Six of their seven wins this season have been by at least two scores. When they are clicking they have a rightful claim to being the best team in the league.
At their best, the 49ers are great at jumping on teams early and never surrendering the lead. When they aren't able to get an early lead, things get interesting.
Part of it is that Brock Purdy has not elevated his play in those moments.
Going into Thursday night's win over the Seahawks, he completed 71.3 percent of his passes with 10 touchdowns and no interceptions when the Niners have a lead. When the Niners are losing, his completion percentage drops to 63.9 percent and he has just two touchdowns to four interceptions.
The other element to this, is that it has become a trend under Kyle Shanahan. The coach is one of the best offensive minds in the game but he has a 1-37 record when his team goes into the fourth quarter behind by at least three points.
There aren't many teams that can put the 49ers in that kind of bind. Shanahan's game planning and opening-drive scripts are usually successful in getting the early lead, but the idea that they won't have to come from behind in at least one postseason game is not realistic.
The Niners need to show they can win the close ones before it really matters.
Kansas City Chiefs: Can Travis Kelce Carry the Passing Attack?
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Super Bowl Odds: +475
There are two answers to this question that could result in a repeat title for the Chiefs. Either Kelce can still be the No. 1 receiver on a Super Bowl-winning team, or it's not going to matter because the Chiefs young group of receivers are going to step up over the final stretch.
Right now, Kelce hasn't been productive enough to carry the passing attack and the other receivers on the roster have let down the offense.
Teams have devoted a lot of resources to stopping Kelce. The tight end was limited to just 44 yards on seven catches in the 21-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Mahomes talked to reporters after the game about the extra attention he's gotten from opposing defenses.
"They're putting two (or) three guys on him. They understand how much of a threat he is and how well he's played for a long time now, and so they're trying to take him away the best they can. It's my job to get it to the right guy, so we can execute and if we hit some of these deep passes that we're missing it's going to take teams out of those double teams and triple teams."
As noted with the Eagles, Marquez Valdes-Scantling was open for a go-ahead touchdown late in the game but the ball went right through his hands. It was one of five drops for the Chiefs offense in that game alone.
The Chiefs defense is the best they've had in the Mahomes era. But Kelce has just two games with more than 100 receiving yards this season and none of the receivers have stepped up to this point.
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Baltimore Ravens: How Do They Adjust Without Mark Andrews?
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Super Bowl Odds: +850
The Ravens have established themselves as one of the premier teams in the league this season with a defense that is second in the league in EPA per play along with an offense that has found a nice rhythm under new offensive coordinator Todd Monken.
The Ravens are still one of the most run-heavy teams in the league, but when they throw the ball they are efficient. They are completing 69.3 percent of their passes and averaging 7.5 yards per attempt, both numbers rank in the top five of the league.
But that efficiency is going to get challenged with Mark Andrews now out of the lineup. Their star tight end suffered an ankle injury that will likely end his season, although there is now reportedly a chance that he could be back later in the year.
Andrews has been a beacon of consistency for the Ravens. Before the injury he had just one game where he had less than 40 yards receiver. Now Lamar Jackson is going to have to find a new go-to receiver in clutch situations.
Zay Flowers got off to a hot start to the season but has slowed in recent weeks. The Ravens drafted tight ends Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar in last year's draft.
The young guys are going to have to perform if the Ravens are going to carry their current momentum into the postseason.
Miami Dolphins: Can the Offense Show Up Against Good Teams?
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Super Bowl Odds: +900
When you think of the Miami Dolphins right now, you think of offense. Mike McDaniel as the mad scientist cooking up the newest and most innovative way to get Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle the ball.
It's warranted. McDaniel is a creative offensive mind and Hill and Waddle are dominant offensive weapons.
We're still just waiting to see them do their thing against a team with a winning record. So far the Dolphins have only played three teams with a winning record at the time of the game. All three have resulted in losses. All three saw the Dolphins put up 20 points or fewer.
What's more concerning is that the Dolphins offense has been slowing down for the last month. Over their last four games they are averaging just 20.5 points per game.
The good news, is that the defense has stepped up in that time period. They held the Raiders to just 13 points in the last game. Jalen Ramsey had two interceptions and has been looking like an elite corner since making his Dolphins debut in Week 8.
Ultimately, the defense is starting to look like a playoff unit right as the offense is slowing down.
The good news for the Dolphins is they have some time to get back on track offensively. Their next four games include two matchups with the Jets and games against the Commanders and Titans.
The real stretch that will tell us who the Dolphins are comes in the final three weeks when they play the Cowboys, Ravens and Bills.
Dallas Cowboys: Is the Linebacker Corps Good Enough?
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Super Bowl Odds: +950
Coming off a 45-10 thrashing of the Washington Commanders it's hard to pick out a huge weakness for the Cowboys. But being a Super Bowl contender means checking off a lot of boxes.
Overall, the Cowboys' defense has been stellar. They are third in EPA per play and fifth in points per game. But if there's an area where there could be some concern, it's at linebacker.
With Leighton Vander Esch out for the season, the Cowboys have moved safety Markquese Bell up to linebacker. He's done a great job and is ranked ninth among all linebackers by PFF. Damone Clark has played well too, but Dallas is still walking a fine line at a position that could be important in the postseason.
However, Bell is 6'3", 205 pounds. Having that kind of frame is great for a coverage linebacker, but eventually, teams are going to be good enough to run right at the Cowboys defense.
The Panthers had success on the ground. Last week, Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sander combined for 107 yards on 21 carries. It didn't matter because the Panthers are bad and the Cowboys are a much better football team.
But when the opposing offense is the Eagles or 49ers, it's a weakness that could be exposed.
The Cowboys have another option to add to the roster if they want to. Shaquille Leonard recently cleared waivers after getting released by the Indianapolis Colts. David Moore of the Dallas Morning News reported the Cowboys are "kicking the tires" on Leonard.
With the Eagles coming back up on the schedule in two weeks, time is of the essence to make a decision.
Detroit Lions: Is Jared Goff Really a Super Bowl-Winning Quarterback?
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Super Bowl Odds: +1100
We know that Jared Goff can take a talented team to the Super Bowl. We've seen it. Goff's strong arm was good enough to help the Rams get there back in Super Bowl LIII when they mustered just three points in the big game.
Goff was exposed in that outing, going 19-of-38 for 229 yards with an interception. One season later and the Rams traded Goff to the Lions to get Matthew Stafford to win a Super Bowl.
So the question remains: Is Goff good enough to win a Super Bowl.
The last two weeks he hasn't been. Goff threw three picks in a win over the Bears. While the Lions get credit for being good enough to win when the quarterback was having an off day, fighting through that to beat the Bears isn't the same thing as beating a team like the Eagles in a big game.
On Thanksgiving, the Lions weren't so fortunate. Goff threw for over 330 yards and two touchdowns against the Packers, but he lost three fumbles in a 29-22 loss.
There's a lot to like about the Lions. Jahmyr Gibbs continues to grow into a game-changing offensive weapon and they've won a lot of games. But the defense is just 16th in EPA per play which means they need an elite quarterback to win the big games.
Right now, it's still fair to question whether Goff is that guy.
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