NFL: 5 teams we’d be dumb to count out as playoff contenders

NFL Playoffs
Sam Darnold, Adam Gase, New York Jets

Sam Darnold, Adam Gase, New York Jets. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

These 5 NFL teams are 2020 playoff contenders, so just admit they are.

With an expanded playoff field, more teams will have a shot at making the NFL playoffs.

The AFC and NFC will add a seventh-seed, a third Wild Card team if you will, to the playoff picture. So instead of getting two games apiece on Saturday and Sunday on Wild Card Weekend, it will be a most glorious trifecta of awesomeness. Two more high-stakes games, what’s not to love about that?

In both conferences, there are a few teams we can already pencil in as postseason teams. It’s really not that hard if you think about it. In the AFC, the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs are locks. You might be able to convince yourself the Buffalo Bills are certainly getting in as well. But that still leaves four more spots up for grabs, including the AFC South division crown.

As for the NFC, it’s hard to visualize teams like the Minnesota Vikings, the Philadelphia Eagles, the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks not getting in. Again, this leaves three spots for the taking, including a divisional race in the NFC South. Unless a team is way below .500, a fan base can somehow convince itself this year’s club is slightly better than top half in the entire league.

So what we’re going to do today is highlight five teams who are being overlooked in all this, but probably shouldn’t be. We’re not saying they’re playoff teams, but they will definitely be in the mix for a Wild Card berth, possibly a division title if things shake out a certain way. You can call them dark horses if you want, but all five organizations will be playoff viability this upcoming season.

NFL Playoffs: 5 unexpected teams that are actually contenders

5

New York Jets

AFC East

With Tom Brady leaving the New England Patriots for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in his free agency, it leaves the AFC East wide-open for the first time in decades. One could argue all four teams in the division have a shot at winning the crown. While Buffalo seems to be the favorite to capture an AFC East division title, let’s not count out the New York Jets just yet.

Despite losing starting quarterback Sam Darnold at the start of the season to mononucleosis, the Jets still found a way to finish the season with a 7-9 record amidst all the chaos. Head coach Adam Gase got chewed up by the New York media, but survived and will get a second year leading Gang Green. Look for he and his starting quarterback to really let this Jets offense take flight.

New York may not be an elite offensive football team by any means, but the Jets should have a feisty as all hell defense under Gregg Williams’ watch. The Jets have difference-makers on that side of the ball at all levels. Safety Jamal Adams might be the best defensive back in football. Could the 2020 Jets defense rival that of what we saw under the peak years of the Rex Ryan era?

Ultimately, the Jets are a franchise that has tremendously high variance in the AFC. They could do as well as being the No. 4 seed in the playoffs as the division winner or struggle as mightily to put themselves at the bottom of the conference with the likes of the Cincinnati Bengals and the Jacksonville Jaguars. If New York gets to 9-7, the Jets could totally be a top-seven team in the AFC.

Veterans Advantage, Inc.

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