Road to Super Bowl 51: Contenders and Pretenders

Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Most teams are three quarters of the way home and it's time for teams to scramble for playoff seeding and home games for the playoffs, but lets take a look and who will actually make some noise and who will just try to come close.

Pretenders

Houston Texans

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Texans are holding on because of a very weak AFC south division, if they get in the Brock Osweiler experiment will doom them and with no J.J. Watt = first round exit.

Detroit Lions

Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

The Lions are one of the surprising teams in the hunt for the Lombardi trophy but they tend to fall behind and play catch up, in the postseason you have to be consistent, something they lack.

Baltimore Ravens

Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

The Ravens will depend on their defense mostly because of the erratic play of Joe Flacco and their lack of a running game. John Harbaugh will have another tough offseason in which to get the offense right.

Miami Dolphins

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Miami has rebounded quite well and their defense is playing better, but once Ryan Tannehill has to put his team on his shoulders, could he actually carry them? One game at the most but that's it.

Washington Redskins

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Skins' are hot and their offense is putting up points but the back end of their defense could become their weakness, depending on their path they could upset someone along the way.

New York Giants

Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

If they still had Coughlin as coach, I would have easily put them in the contender category but my concern would be 1st year coach McAdoo and can he make the right calls in playoff situations? We'll soon see if they get there.

Contenders

New England Patriots

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Patriots make it clear every year it's championship or bust in Foxboro and this year is no different as they will be a tough out yet again, but they are a bit more vulnerable with a need for pass rushers.

Dallas Cowboys

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The great wall and the two rookie of the year candidates has carried this team all season but they have what every playoff team needs to succeed and that's chemistry. They have issues in the secondary, but their ability to control the clock is a major sticking point to them succeeding.

Seattle Seahawks

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Pete Carroll puts this team on notice every season around this time as they play their best football of the year. Can they beat the injury bug or find a running game during the postseason, if not, they will need their defense to step up in a major way.

Atlanta Falcons

Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

The Falcons are offensively set to make a play at the NFC but it's how well coach Quinn gets their defense prepared without their all-pro corner Desmond Trufant. Matt Ryan may have to carry this team all postseason but I think he has the right supporting cast to help him along the way.

Kansas City Chiefs

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

The Chiefs are one of the best at creating turnovers which is their bread and butter at winning games, but if they have to rely on their offense, it may hurt them against week rounded team such as the Patriots.

Oakland Raiders

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Oakland pretty much has the same problem as Atlanta, high-powered offense with a defense that gives up yards and points. The only difference is the Raiders have Khalil Mack. Jack Del Rio has to keep his offense on the field a bit longer to have a better chance at winning.

These are my contenders and pretenders for a run at the Lombardi trophy, we are long way from being done, but what a ride it will be.

NFL fans who would be your biggest CONTENDER or your biggest PRETENDER?

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