Denver Broncos
The NFL season is winding down, and the playoff picture is coming together… sort of. There is a log jam for all four wildcard spots, and it is hard to determine division winners. Some teams are proving to be possible Super Bowl contenders, but who is number one?
It is difficult to base it off just record, as there are five teams tied for the best record at 9-3. The Broncos, Patriots and Packers have shown to me to be top contenders for a Super Bowl title. All three are top seven in total offense, but only the Broncos place top five in overall defense.
As history has shown us, defense wins championships. The Broncos made some additions to their defense in the offseason with Demarcus Ware and Aqib Talib, and it is paying off. The Broncos are second in stopping the run and 10th in pass defense. The Broncos’ improved defense puts them into the number one spot.
Also, let’s not forget about Peyton Manning and the season he is having. Manning is second in total quarterback rating only to Aaron Rodgers and leads the league in passing touchdowns with 36, one of them breaking the career touchdown pass record. Manning also has all those receiving weapons that make his job so much easier and the Broncos so much better.
The combination of a great offense and a good defense makes the Denver Broncos the team to beat in the NFL.
– Cullen Begley
Green Bay Packers
There are currently five teams in the NFL with a 9-3 record: the Packers, Eagles, Cardinals, Patriots, and Broncos. All five have produced individual standouts. I know there are a lot of Bears fans at Bradley who probably don’t want to hear this, but after 13 weeks of football, I have to say the best team in the league so far is the Green Bay Packers.
Green Bay started off 1-2, with that one win against the 2-10 Jets on a controversial call. Since then, the Packers took off and cruised their way to eight wins in the next nine games to post a 9-3 record, a big improvement from last year’s record of 8-7-1. Of course, star quarterback Aaron Rodgers was out for most of that season. This year, he’s leading the NFL in quarterback rating, with 118.6, and a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 32-3. Probably his most impressive statistic, he hasn’t thrown an interception at Lambeau Field since December of 2012. The Packers are currently 2nd in the league in points scored with 380.
However, their defense has been average so far. They’re ranked in the middle of the league in yardage and points allowed. But most of said yardage and points came toward the end of the game when it was put away. The Packers have the full package and there is no questioning how far this team will go come playoff time.
– Sam Dintruff
