5 NFL Teams That Are LEGIT Contenders… And 5 That Are Total FRAUDS after Week 11
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
We’re officially at the halfway point of the 2025 NFL season, and the playoff picture is starting to take shape.
But here’s the thing, not every team sitting pretty in the standings right now will still be there in January. And some teams you’re writing off? They’re just getting started.
So, let’s cut through the noise. These are the five real Super Bowl contenders you need to take seriously, and the five pretenders who are going to flame out when it actually matters.
Who are the contenders and pretenders in the 2025 NFL season?
Contender: Kansas City Chiefs
Never. Count. Out. Patrick Mahomes.
Let’s be honest, if you’re writing them off this 2025 NFL season, you haven’t been paying attention for the last seven years.
This is a team with championship DNA in every fiber of its roster. Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Andy Reid have been here before, and they always figure it out. History shows us that Kansas City turns it on in November and December. The slow starts don’t matter when January rolls around, and there are signs that they are starting to hit their stride.
They’re only three games back of Denver with half the season left, and they have the tiebreakers in the division. At a glance, it may not seem like it, but the AFC West is still very much in play because Mahomes is still Mahomes, and when the stakes get higher, the defense always seems to tighten up.
Their experience matters more than any regular-season record.
You want to point to their struggles? Fine. But remember, this is the same core that has made the playoffs every single year, knows how to win in the postseason, and thrives when everyone starts doubting them.
Pretender: Denver Broncos
Bo Nix is still a young quarterback and has shown a propensity for the immature mistakes that signal playoff defenses are going to expose him when it matters.
Look, Denver has really expedited its rebuild. Bo Nix needs time, but here they are with one of the best records in the 2025 NFL season. Credit where credit is due.
That’s impressive for a regular-season story, but he’s still learning, and playoff defenses are a completely different animal.
What happens when the coverages get more complex, the pressure schemes start coming from angles he hasn’t seen yet, and the margins get razor-thin?
And let’s be real about their schedule. They’ve been beating up on struggling teams all season. Winning games in September and October against bottom-feeders doesn’t mean you’re ready for playoff intensity in January.
Broncos fans. Enjoy the good times while they last, because reality is coming.
Contender: Baltimore Ravens
After a brutal start to the season, the Baltimore Ravens are coming back and look primed to make a playoff run against the odds.
For starters, Lamar Jackson being healthy changes absolutely everything.
And here’s what no one’s talking about… their defense has looked elite again. After a rough start where they were giving up points and yards in bunches, this unit has really started to lock it down.
Baltimore is getting back to that physical, dominant Ravens defense we’re used to seeing, and that makes them even more dangerous come playoff time.
Yes, that’s their worst start since 2018.
But the context matters here.
Lamar Jackson missed time with a hamstring injury that completely derailed their early season, and now he’s back, mobile, and the engine that makes this entire offense run. When he’s healthy and moving, the Ravens are a completely different team.
And there is more good news for Baltimore, too. The AFC North is still well in reach, with its rivals floundering. Pittsburgh is reeling… and now the Steelers and Baltimore are neck and neck for the division title. If Baltimore can keep its hot streak rolling, and the Steelers continue to stumble, suddenly the Ravens are division champs hosting a playoff game.
This is a team that is getting healthy and trending up at exactly the right time. Bet against them if you want, but smart money says that’s a mistake.
Pretender: New England Patriots
Drake Maye has been phenomenal, no question. He’s made clutch throws and won games they had no business winning… Most recently, the statement was a win over Tampa Bay 28 to 23 as underdogs.
People are crowning them as legit contenders this 2025 NFL season, but we think it is time to pump the brakes. Being a year ahead of schedule is great for a rebuilding team, but it doesn’t mean you’re ready to win a Super Bowl. This is still just the first year of the Mike Vrabel era after all!
And it’s not just about Maye. The roster around him isn’t ready for playoff football yet. They don’t have the depth, they don’t have the playoff experience, and they don’t have the weapons to go toe-to-toe with elite defenses over four quarters when everything tightens up.
This is a feel-good story, and it bodes well for New England’s future. But if you think they’re making a deep playoff run this year, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.
Contender: Philadelphia Eagles
The defending Super Bowl champions are sitting with the number one seed in the NFC, and they’re proving that championship experience matters more than style points, despite all the mindless chatter in the media trying to pick holes in their team.
This isn’t a team riding a soft schedule or fluky wins this 2025 NFL season. They’re beating playoff-caliber opponents in hostile environments. When the game gets tight and physical, they don’t flinch because they’ve been there before and they know exactly what it takes to get back to the top.
The real question here is whether they can lock down the number one seed in the NFC.
Home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and an extra week to rest and prepare is critical in that uber-competitive conference.
In any case, Philadelphia is in the driver’s seat, and with the way they’re playing, they’re not giving it up.
Pretender: Los Angeles Chargers
Injuries decimate their offensive line, and it’s showing up at the worst possible times. Justin Herbert can’t stay protected, and when games get tight, the mistakes come in bunches. His untimely interceptions have become a pattern, and that’s not something you can live with in the playoffs.
The Chargers always look good in the regular season. They always find a way to get into the playoff picture. And then they always, always, find a way to blow it when it matters.
This wild card cushion feels safe now, but give it a few weeks, and we’ll see one of two things happen. Either the Chargers will be the Chargers, and we’ll all be shaking our heads, wondering how they managed to blow their lead and miss the playoffs… Or they’ll sneak in and get smoked in the first round!
They just aren’t a serious contender… not yet.
Contender: Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions just retook the NFC North, and with Dan Campbell calling plays and the way this roster is built, I don’t think they are letting go anytime soon.
Detroit’s roster is stacked from top to bottom this 2025 NFL season. The offensive line dominates, the defensive line gets after the quarterback, they’ve got weapons all over the field, and Dan Campbell has them well-coached. There’s no glaring weakness to attack, no obvious flaw that playoff teams can exploit. When you have that kind of balance, you’re ready to play January football.
They hit a little hiccup earlier in the year, but that’s football. Every team goes through adversity. What matters is how you respond, and Detroit responded by retaking the division lead and getting right back on track.
This is a Super Bowl team. The talent is there, the coaching is there, and the mentality is there. If you’re betting on the NFC, Detroit needs to be at the top of your list. They’ve got everything you need to win it all.
Pretender: Green Bay Packers
It has been a rough go of it the last couple of weeks for Green Bay.
At the center of that is Jordan Love. Their franchise quarterback is in a funk and can’t move the ball with any level of consistency.
As a result, the team can’t score, and the entire offense looks stuck.
It isn’t all Love’s fault, though. The play-calling feels predictable, the execution is sloppy, and, well, nothing is clicking.
When your offense can barely crack double digits at home against playoff teams, you’re not a contender this season in the NFL; you’re a first-round exit waiting to happen in 2025.
And that is if they are lucky! Because the division is slipping away, and there is real reason to believe that they are too broken to fix it now.
Contender: Seattle Seahawks
For the first time in a long time, there is a lot to be excited about in Seattle.
Mike Macdonald has brought the old Ravens defensive blueprint to Seattle, Jaxon Smith-Njigba is having a breakout season.
Let’s start with Macdonald. He was Baltimore’s defensive coordinator from 2022 to 2023, and his 2023 Ravens defense was historic. They were near the top of the charts in nearly every key defensive.
Now he’s bringing that same energy and elite defense to the Pacific Northwest. The Seahawks are flying around, creating havoc, and playing with a physicality that will pay off in spades come playoff time.
And then there’s JSN. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is leading the entire NFL with over 1,000 receiving yards through Week 11. He was the first player to reach that milestone this season. He’s got six games with 100-plus yards, most in the league, and he was named NFC Offensive Player of the Month in October. This is the breakout season Seattle was waiting for when they drafted him, and he’s becoming the true number one weapon they need.
Seattle is playing some of the best football in the league right now. They’re balanced, they’re well-coached, and they’re trending in the right direction at exactly the right time. Don’t sleep on these Seahawks, they’re the real deal.
Pretender: San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers were the preseason favorites in the NFC, limping through a crowded division and hoping to stay healthy.
Injuries have derailed this roster all season long. Every week, it’s someone new on the injury report, every week, they’re down another key player, and there’s no end in sight. Brandon Aiyuk, Brock Purdy, Nick Bosa… now Fred Warner?
The effort and performance have been impressive, but you can’t sustain a Super Bowl run when you can’t keep your stars on the field. At some point, the depth runs out, and you’re just trying to survive instead of trying to win.
Preseason expectations don’t matter in November. What matters is who’s healthy, who’s playing their best football, and who’s built for the long haul. Right now, San Francisco is none of those things. They’re in a complex division, and they’re trending the wrong way at the wrong time and just trying to hang on and hope they can make it to January in one piece. That’s not a contender, that’s a pretender hoping for a miracle.
