For over a decade, the NFC was widely considered the the stronger conference when compared to the AFC. There were far more powerhouse teams in the NFC, while the AFC was largely defined by two or three teams: Brady’s Patriots, Roethlisberger’s Steelers, and when Peyton Manning retired, the distinction slowly shifted to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Now, the AFC is stacked to the brim. The Chiefs, Bengals, Bills, Chargers and Jaguars are all led by exciting quarterbacks. Even the New York Jets are going to make the case they belong in the conversation after acquiring Aaron Rodgers from the Packers.
Meanwhile, the NFC has two heavyweights: San Francisco and Philadelphia. After them? Pick a team.
It’s easy to look at this negatively, but in a glass-half-full way it’s this: the conference couldn’t be more wide open. This is good news for the Seattle Seahawks.
On paper, Seattle has everything to compete for a conference championship. The Eagles and 49ers will be tough to get past, but their status as kings of the mountain is far from assured.
Philadelphia played one of the weakest schedules in recent memory, as well as being fortunate enough to play a 4th string quarterback from San Francisco in the NFC Championship. Once they played their first legitimate opponent – Kansas City in the Super Bowl – their vaunted defense crumbled.
Meanwhile, the 49ers are constantly dealing with the one issue they have never quite figured out: keeping a quarterback healthy. Brock Purdy is coming off a UCL injury, and his backup is Sam Darnold who is reportedly struggling with the offense.
Make no mistake, Philadelphia and San Francisco should still be considered the favorites of the conference until we see otherwise. What I am arguing is the gap between those two and Seattle may not be that great.
As for the rest of the conference – Aaron Rodgers is finally out of Green Bay, the Giants could be worse offensively without Saquon Barkley, no one particularly fears the Kirk Cousins-led Vikings, and the Cowboys… are the Cowboys.
The window is very much open for the Seattle Seahawks.
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