Training camp is upon us, as a handful of teams prepare for a season that figures to sack the players’ plans for binge-watch weekends of those favorite series that restart this autumn.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers gets an honorable mention after announcing he will be calling it quits at season’s end, but his decline has been steady and he’s no longer a big-ticket draw. Even quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ comeback from knee surgery doesn’t make Kansas City the biggest must-see team.
And a number of clubs—the Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons, and Arizona Cardinals among them—have quarterback conflicts with their starters having to prove themselves in the preseason. However, not one has enough spice to draw the attention of the national NFL audience.
A select group of teams this season come with drama, pressure, expectations, or a compelling combination of all three. Here are the top five teams to watch this season:
5. Cincinnati Bengals
Yes, quarterback Joe Burrow said it. He stated boldly in front of the media that the Bengals have all they need to get the job done—that is, to win in the playoffs.
He said offense-heavy Cincinnati addressed its shortcomings on defense and the team can now make its way, first through its AFC North division, then past a talented gauntlet of conference foes, and all the way to a Super Bowl title.
Burrow didn’t even wait for outside pressure, he put it on himself. And this comes a season after he said he wasn’t sure if wanted to “keep doing this.”
That’ll put a lot of eyes on Burrow, if not the team, to see how the Bengals fare in a competitive conference.
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Like an angry partner trying to leave a dinner party early without his date, Baker Mayfield will be simultaneously looking to make a clean getaway while trying to make a good impression on all the guests watching the two bicker.
Mayfield cut off all talks about a contract extension this past week and said he felt disrespected and unappreciated because the Bucs didn’t offer him a contract worthy of a franchise QB.
Mayfield now plans to do his best and find a new team after the season, but how does he find peak performance as the team leader when it’s difficult to hide that tinge of conflict in the heart with every snap?
That’s going to be a draw each time the Bucs suit up.
3. Buffalo Bills
The pressure clearly is on Bills quarterback Josh Allen. Baltimore Ravens signal-caller Lamar Jackson is another QB whose grace period of not reaching the Super Bowl is a point of focus, but Allen has arguably had the best chance (an AFC championship game in 2022).
The time, though, is now for Allen. He was the No. 7 overall pick in the 2018 draft and has been the best bet to beat K.C. in the postseason—his team was actually 13 seconds away from the big game when a kickoff, a long pass, and an even longer field goal pushed the playoff game into overtime and the Chiefs came out on top.
Allen has become this era’s Peyton Manning and has struggled at times—meaning, observers criticize him for not being able to come up clutch in the postseason, and stacking up years of not leading his team to playoff success.
Allen has the big arm, the eye-grabbing stats, and makes highlight-reel plays every week. What NFL fans and supporters of the Bills want to see is a strong regular season and the kind of postseason plays that get the talking TV heads and the sports radio crews singing his praises.
2. Dallas Cowboys
It feels like the first time, but Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has bottled up his strong feelings from microphones and press gatherings this offseason. In fact, when Jones recently emerged from his spring and summer hibernation, his comments were mostly mild and sensible.
The team drafted well, selecting Caleb Downs out of Ohio State with the 11th overall pick and adding to its needs in other areas.
But it was quarterback Dak Prescott who made reporters’ snap around with his comments. He showed up for training camp on Monday, sporting a T-shirt from Super Bowl XXX in 1995 (the last time the Cowboys played for a championship).
Prescott didn’t hesitate to say the words Super Bowl, and defiantly said that should be the expectation for the franchise.
If Jones is going to be tempered and Prescott is going to spout youthful bravado, viewers are going to want to tune in to enjoy the show.
1. Los Angeles Rams
Not Myles Garrett. Not Aaron Donald. Not Puka Nacua. Not one of those players is enough to make football fans drop the remote and settle back into their seats.
But the collective Rams? They feature reigning MVP quarterback Matthew Stafford and effervescent football-addicted coach Sean McVay. That team’s going to be the leader of battery conservation for remotes this season.
The super-team Rams, who are scheduled to play a league-leading seven games in prime time, are the darlings of NFL executives expecting to cash in on the second-best team in L.A—according to results—after the reigning two-time-champion Dodgers.
If the return of Aaron Donald, a future first-ballot Hall of Famer, indeed comes to fruition, the team with last season’s top offense and a revamped defense is going to be worth the investment. And broadcasters are betting on it, based on all those night games.
The Super Bowl-or-bust Rams have all the pressure as the preseason favorites to win it all. Nothing could be more compelling.
