After thrashing the Jacksonville Jaguars 52-6 – putting up 24 unanswered points in the second half in the process – are the Detroit Lions now favourites to win the Super Bowl?
The Lions are one of just four NFL franchises to have never reached the showpiece event but look the real deal this season under Dan Campbell.
The win over the Jags took their record to 9-1 atop the NFC North, and with a trip to the 5-6 Colts to come on Sunday they are looking great.
Detroit‘s winning margin of 46 points on Sunday was the largest in franchise history, and it handed Jacksonville their biggest-ever defeat. The Lions also set a franchise record in total yards with 645, the third most in the NFL in the past 20 years, while allowing 170 by the Jaguars, a 475-yard margin that was the third largest in league history.
Here’s how the rest of the challengers are shaping up.
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Chiefs finally lose
Also on 9-1 now are the Kansas City Chiefs after the reigning champs were undone 30-21 in Buffalo.
The Chiefs had won 15 straight, including playoffs, since they fell 20-14 to the Las Vegas Raiders in the week before Christmas 2023.
“The undefeated thing was cool. But that’s not our ultimate goal. So we’ll keep building toward that,” star quarterback Patrick Mahomes said.
“That’s a good football team. Nothing to hang your head on losing to them,” he added. “We feel like we can play better. So we’ll get back to work and try to use this as a spark so we can be a better football team in the end.”
The Chiefs have won the last two Super Bowls and you’d be a fool to write them off now…right?
Could this be the Bills’ year?
That win took Buffalo to 9-2. The franchise who lost four Super Bowls in a row in the 1990s have been there or thereabouts since they drafted Josh Allen in 2018 and look as formidable as ever.
The AFC Championship game could lead them back to facing the Chiefs, who have beaten them three times in the playoffs in recent years.
9-2, baby!#KCvsBUF | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/izmTK1Wi33
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 18, 2024
The Bills have won six straight games and moved closer to their fifth straight AFC East title. They are 9-2 or better through 11 games for the sixth time in team history and the first since 1992.
“No statement,” coach Sean McDermott said of the win’s significance. “This is not the finish line.”
Lamar = a chance for the Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens went down 18-16 to the Pittsburgh Steelers but remain in with a shout thanks to the mesmeric play of quarterback Lamar Jackson.
He leads the NFL in quarterback rating and touchdown passes, while masterfully running the league’s most potent offense. But Jackson is now 1-4 as a starter against the Steelers. He has won more NFL MVP awards (two) than victories against Pittsburgh.
Expect things to return to normal when the Ravens face the 7-3 LA Chargers on Monday night.
