With NFL season one week away, which teams will battle it out to win Super Bowl LV?

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If you are going to make a list of the top five teams that can win Super Bowl LV on February 7, 2021, the three local teams (NY Giants, NY Jets, Philadelphia Eagles) would not be on it.

While the banged-up Eagles might make the playoffs in the NFC, the Giants and Jets both have brutal schedules and a deficit of talent that would let them compete with the teams in the upper echelon of the NFL.

What teams might those be? Well, five teams won at least 12 games last season, and one of those lost the greatest quarterback of all-time to another team that might jump up and replace it.

You have to start with the defending Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, who rallied for 21 points in the fourth quarter to beat San Francisco 31-20, in what seems like a game played five years ago.

The Chiefs are loaded, and after a 12-4 record in 2019, might come back and win more games in the regular season in 2020.

William Hill NJ has Kansas City at odds of -130 to win more than 11.5 games, and with 2018 NFL MVP (and Super Bowl LIV MVP) Patrick Mahomes under center, that should be a lock. He will only get more comfortable in Andy Reid’s offense, and Reid’s teams have never had a problem winning games in the regular season.

But who are the other four or five teams that have a chance to win the Super Bowl?

In the AFC, the only other legitimate pick right now are the Baltimore Ravens, led by 2019 MVP Lamar Jackson. The Ravens went 14-2 in the regular season, but fell to Tennessee in the AFC Divisional Round. It is really tough to see any team in the conference beating those two teams on back to back weekends, almost certainly on the road both times. Baltimore is the current second favorite to win the Super Bowl with sportsbooks (check William Hill NJ promo code details), and will get a lot of action.

The NFC is where the picture gets a little muddled. San Francisco is the defending NFC champion, but only one team since 1993 has returned to the Super Bowl after losing the previous year: the 2018 New England Patriots, who were in the midst of a five-year run which saw them win three titles and four AFC championships. The 49ers are priced at +700 to win the Super Bowl, and +400 to win the NFC, but the last six seasons have seen a different NFC team make the big game, so I am going to look elsewhere.

There is a new name near the top of the odds chart this season, for good reason: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If you have not heard, Tom Brady has taken his talents to the NFC South, and the Bucs are now fourth choice to win the Super Bowl at +1400. Brady has a good supporting cast around him, and this team could make a big jump in its win total. The Super Bowl is also at Raymond James Stadium in February, which could be another story in the making.

The New Orleans Saints are still a factor (+1200) in the NFC, but Drew Brees is getting old, and this team seems snakebitten of late in the playoffs.

But there is one other team in the NFC that could benefit from a weak division, and a favorable schedule: the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas is +1500 to win the Super Bowl, and +650 to win the NFC. The Cowboys have a strong offense, and could make a run in the playoffs under Mike McCarthy.

There could be some other contenders that come from the pack, or a surprise team that makes the playoffs (there always is), but the champion should come from those teams.

Predictions:

(Odds from Bet New Jersey)

Division Winners

AFC East: New England Patriots (+125)

AFC North: Baltimore Ravens (-260)

AFC South: Indianapolis Colts (+120)

AFC West: Kansas City Chiefs (-450)

NFC East: Dallas Cowboys (-120)

NFC North: Green Bay Packers (+160)

NFC South: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+160)

NFC West: San Francisco 49ers (+100)

Conference Winners