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Week 1 of the NFL season is this Thursday as the defending Super Bowl champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers play Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys. Tom Brady and the Buccaneers are the favorites to win the Super Bowl this season, as are the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, and Green Bay Packers. All of the top teams competing for the Super Bowl, late into the postseason, won't be a surprise. However, there are a few NFL teams that could be under the radar heading into the playoffs and could go from a wildcard team to a Super Bowl participant. It's no easy task since they will have to get past either Kansas City or Tampa Bay to do so, but the NFL is a league where you just need to sneak out one win.
Three darkhorse Super Bowl winners for 2021
#1 - Dallas Cowboys +3000
The Dallas Cowboys aren't longshots to win the Super Bowl, but they aren't talked about as serious contenders either. On paper, this roster has the talent to upset Tampa Bay in the NFC Championship. Once Dak Prescott shakes off his nagging injuries and gets into the swing of things, he should be a top-10 QB. His offense has more weapons than it did in 2020, but the defense is still piecing itself together. There's talent like Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence and Trevon Diggs. If the defense as a whole can be as disruptive as they should be, the Dallas Cowboys could come through as the #4 seed team and give Tom Brady a run for his money.
#2 - New England Patriots +3000
Even though they have the same odds as Dallas, the New England Patriots seem like bigger longshots. Rookie Mac Jones won the starting job, but no rookie QB has even won the Super Bowl. However, most rookies don't have Bill Belichick as their coach. The offense isn't great, but the Patriots have gone to the Super Bowl with less before. If Dont'a Hightower, Matt Judon, JC Jackson and the rookie LBs can play well this season, New England could be a wildcard team behind the Buffalo Bills. Mac Jones just needs to play efficiently through the postseason and let the RBs do the grunt work. When it comes to playing in the Super Bowl, Mac Jones will have to use the magic he had at Alabama to pull it off. It's not impossible, though.
#3 - Pittsburgh Steelers +4000
The Cleveland Browns have odds of +1600 and that makes them more of a potential contender than a darkhorse, otherwise they would be the choice here. The Pittsburgh Steelers went 11-0 last year before they got in their own way. Ben Roethlisberger will look to have one last playoff run before retiring and his team has the potential if everyone lives up to their potential. Rookie RB Najee Harris will have to be relied on to be a workhorse like Derrick Henry. Juju Smith-Schuster and James Washington need to be similar to their former selves, while the defense needs to make sure T.J. Watt is happy and the secondary doesn't blow up their entire season. Basically, the Steelers need to be like they were when they won their last Super Bowl with a stout defense and a great power run-pass combo.
Also Checkout: Complete NFL Week 1 TV Schedule
