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The Baltimore Ravens defense has turned into a surprising liability this season. Photograph: Nick Wass/AP
As we career at high speed into the second half of the season, even the best NFL teams have issues they need to shore up before the playoffs. Because in the postseason every mistake is magnified, and every big play is bigger.
So, here are five of the NFL’s most credible contenders, and the one potentially fatal flaw that could boot each one of those squads out of the race to Super Bowl LIX. The list is far from exhaustive – there are plenty of other teams who could win the title – feel free to add your own choices, and their weaknesses, below.
Kansas City Chiefs (9-0)
Weakness: A lack of explosive offensive playmakers.
The Chiefs are like Bill Belichick’s best New England teams – no matter what weakness you think you can exploit, they’ll develop another part of their game to beat you instead. And that’s why these Chiefs are undefeated. But they’re undefeated despite a severe lack of explosive plays, especially in the passing game. This season, Patrick Mahomes has just four completions of 20 or more air yards on 14 attempts for 168 yards, three touchdowns, three interceptions, and a passer rating of 77.1.
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To put that into perspective, Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers leads the NFL with 15 such completions, and only two qualified quarterbacks – Jacoby Brissett of the New England Patriots and Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns – have fewer than Mahomes. Neither Brissett nor Watson are starters on their own teams.
Mahomes has much more going for him than Brissett and Watson, and the Chiefs’ run game, defense, and special teams are keeping them afloat. But there has to be some concern in Kansas City about the lack of playmakers who can set opposing defenses on edge when it really matters. If the Chiefs go up against a more explosive offense in the postseason, and…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ravens-defense-one-man-team-090051190.html
Author : The Guardian
Publish date : 2024-11-12 09:00:51
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