It won’t be easy to dethrone the Kansas City Chiefs in their quest for a three peat. Following Week one, three teams stuck out as the most likely challengers.
Week One in the NFL has a tendency to get people to overreact. Both good and bad. Some Vikings fans, in what seems like a lost year, may be hyping themselves up following the beatdown of the Giants. On the other hand, Bengals fans may be pressing the panic button after a brutal loss to the bottom-feeding Patriots.
Three teams that we all viewed as contenders played well in Week One. As the Chiefs looked strong themselves against another contender, the Baltimore Ravens, we take a look at these three who seem to be the main challengers for KC after just a week of play.
1. Detroit Lions
The Lions did not play their prettiest game, but they played a gritty style of Detroit-brand football in an Overtime win against the LA Rams. The game was a rematch, of course, from the Wild Card Round last season in the same setting. The Lions could have easily come out flat against a team seeking revenge, and a Quarterback who spent over a decade there.
While Detroit did come out a bit slow on offense, there was the emergence of Jameson Williams, who dropped over 100 yards as the Lions are counting on him to emerge as WR2. Defensively, the front seven did a better collective job of getting past the Rams O-Line, albeit banged up. Instead of last year’s version of Aidan Hutchinson carrying, other pieces got in the backfield, including Marcus Davenport with DJ Reader on his way into the fold as well. With Ben Johnson dialing it up for his playmakers out wide, as well as Sam Laporta, and a two-headed monster in the backfield getting it done, this Lions team is scary.
2. Houston Texans
The Texans have been offseason darlings for months, and few doubted that they would be in the mix. But on Sunday, the team looked sharp in their first road challenge. Despite giving up 27 points, the defense fared alright against Anthony Richardson and the Colts. Without Christian Harris, the defense did see some things to clean up, mainly in the secondary.
On offense, newly acquired veterans Joe Mixon and Stefon Diggs made immediate contributions, with Diggs scoring twice and Mixon tallying over 160 all-purpose yards out of the backfield. CJ Stroud was a perfect 9-9 on 3rd and 4th down and found Nico Collins for multiple insane grabs. Add in Tank Dell, Dalton Schult,z and Dameon Pierce, and the Texans Offense is a force to reckon with. We will see at least a regular season matchup between the Texans and Chiefs in late December.
3. San Francisco 49ers
The team that fell short to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII looked just as strong as the 2023 season in their 2024 debut. Without Christian McCaffrey, Jordan Mason went for over 100 yards as his replacement, with the Niners not missing a beat offensively. Even with noticeable rust from Brandon Aiyuk, the 49ers rolled, scoring on eight straight drives against the 3rd ranked DVOA defense from last season. On the defensive side, Aaron Rodgers avoided the entire side of the field that Charvarius Ward resided in, and Fred Warner continued his dominance. The D-Line pressured Rodgers 11 times and will only get better as Leonard Floyd merges with Nick Bosa and Javon Hargrave.