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As another great football season comes to an end, it's time to begin filling that void in your life as we take a look at Sportskeeda's top 5 teams of the year:
The standard of play in 2020-21 was high across both conferences and just about every division, which made it tough to choose just five standout teams. However on balance, these were the five best teams of the 2020 NFL season.
In descending order:
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5. New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints make the list at number 5. They won the NFC South for the fourth season running but were beaten by rivals Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Saints success stories of 2020: It was no doubt a disappointing end for the Saints, especially considering they had already bested Tampa twice during the regular season (including a blowout 38-3 win in November), but there was still plenty to cheer about down in the Bayou:
Alvin Kamara posted a career year. The elusive running back finished with 1,688-yards from scrimmage and 21 TDs (1st in the NFL). Latavius Murray and Taysom Hill continue to add big value as power backs, while Trey Hendrickson emerged as a legitimate threat on pass-rush (13.5 sacks; T-2nd in NFL). Cam Jordan and Demario Davis continued their dominant form on the defensive line. C.J. Gardner-Johnson stepped up and became a real menace on defense, too, and - when they were all fit - the Saints' young-looking offensive line proved to be one of the very best in the league (ranked 8th by PFF).
New Orleans has a few issues to address heading into the offseason: the franchise is way over the cap limit at present (though Drew Brees's announcement that he is taking a veteran's pay cut last week of $1 million per year helped them out no end there), but if this was a signal that Brees is set to retire, of course, they will need to stitch that somehow.
Sean Payton really does dream up some of the most imaginative offensive plays in the league though, so whoever gets the job behind the line next year, expect to see the Saints continue to compete at the very top, especially if Michael Thomas is back fit and raring to go -- I still don't think we got to see the Saints play their best game last year; they could have gone all the way with a kinder injury record.
Also Read: Who is Aaron Rodgers' girlfriend, Shailene Woodley?
4. Buffalo Bills
AFC East champions, the Buffalo Bills enter the list at number 4. After dominating the AFC East, losing only three games (just one at home), and ending the regular season on a six-game winning streak, Josh Allen and the team came up just short as they went down to last year's Super Bowl champion, the Kansas City Chiefs, in the AFC Conference championship, 38-24.
Bills success stories of 2020: QB Josh Allen was incredible all year and was quite rightly in the discussion for league MVP. He finished the year with 4,544-yards passing (5th in NFL), 37 TD passes (5th in NFL) and a QB rating of 81.7 (3rd in NFL). He also racked up 421 yards on the ground and 8 TDs rushing.
A big reason for Allen's success in the passing game was the great form of wideout Stefon Diggs, who joined the Bills from the Vikings during the offseason. Diggs felt underutilized in a Minnesota offense that relies heavily on star back Dalvin Cook and wasted little time in showing former coach Mike Zimmer exactly what he was missing, notching 288 yards receiving and 2 TDs by Week 3! Diggs went on to amass 1,535 yards receiving yards for the year, which led the NFL.
The Bills were also dominant in pass coverage (T-3rd in the NFL with 15 picks; T-7th best coverage grade on PFF): Tre'Davious White continued to dominate and was one of the best outside corners in the league. PFF ranks White in eighth place overall for both his coverage grade and forced incompletion rate (21.1%). Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde proved once again to be one of the top safety combos in the league, too.
Heading into next season, the Bills could certainly look to add a more dominant power back to the offense to compliment the scantly Singletary, and if the franchise truly wants to knock the Chiefs off their perch as AFC Conference champions, they may need to strengthen the pass-rush department, too. Nonetheless, the Bills are poised and will be ready to strike back in 2021-22.
3. Kansas City Chiefs
At number 3 on the list is the Kansas City Chiefs, the AFC West division winner and AFC Conference champion.
The Chiefs may have fallen short at the final hurdle on Sunday against Tampa, but clearly the franchise still possesses one of the very best teams in the NFL, if not the best. The loss in the Super Bowl cannot overshadow the success and progress that the team has made in the past three seasons.
Chiefs success stories in 2020: Of course Patrick Mahomes continued to raise the QB bar in the NFL. The Texas Tech graduate threw for 4,740-yards (2nd in NFL), 38 TDs (T-4th in NFL), and posted a QB rating of 82.9 (2nd in NFL). Last year's Super Bowl MVP may have suffered defeat in the Chiefs' title defense on Sunday, but he did go down swinging, despite a brutal onslaught from the Tampa pass rush. Mahomes may have come up short against Brady in the Super Bowl but he's still the face of the NFL moving forward.
Then there was the dynamic receiving duo of Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill. Kelce broke the single-season record for most receiving yards ever by a tight end (1,416- yards; 1st among tight ends; 2nd among all receivers). Tyreek Hill ended the year with 1,276-yards and 15 TDs (2nd in NFL). To get the job done on Sunday, it's worth mentioning the Buccs had to double-team both players in coverage for the entirety of the contest.
The Chiefs do have a few issues to address during the offseason. It will be of some concern to coach Andy Reed that his offensive line fell apart without Eric Fisher at OT against Tampa. The signing of Le'Veon Bell from the Jets doesn't appear to have worked out (he didn't get a snap vs. the Bucs), and rookie sensation Clyde Edwards-Helaire needs support in the running back role to prevent getting burnt out/injured. And finally, the Chiefs don't seem to have a lot of quality depth at wide receiver. There were some big catches dropped on Sunday and adding some more firepower for Mahomes to aim at can only be a good thing going forward.
The Chiefs will be there or thereabouts once again next year.
Also Read: Aaron Rodgers’ net worth, salary, endorsements and more
2. Green Bay Packers
At number 2 on the list is the Green Bay Packers. The NFC North division champions won six straight to close out the regular season, humbled the Rams in the Divisional round, but came up short against eventual Super Bowl winners, the Buccaneers, in the Conference championship (26-31).
Packers success stories in 2020: The reason the Packers came in ahead of the Chiefs on our list is purely down to analytics and data. First and foremost, Green Bay can boast league MVP Aaron Rodgers among their ranks. The Packers' legend finished the year with 48 TD passes (1st in the NFL) and a QB rating of 84.4 (1st in the NFL).
Then, of course, there was Davante Adams. The wideout missed a large chunk of the 2019-20 campaign with a turf toe injury but wasted little time in getting down to business in Wisconsin in 2020. Adams finished with 1,374-yards (5th in the NFL) and a whopping 15 TDs (1st in the NFL among receivers).
Then there's Green Bay’s secondary to be considered, led by the NFL’s most valuable cornerback, Jaire Alexander, and most valuable safety, Adrian Amos. The Packers boast the 2nd best coverage unit in the NFL as per PFF grade (Rams 1st). Along with posting the best coverage grades, Alexander and Amos also finished the year as top-ranking players in PFF WAR, Alexander, in particular, had an incredible year, allowing just 21.5 yards per game, second only to Rams' Jalen Ramsey.
The Packers were also T-6th in the NFL on pass rushes, averaging 2.6 sacks per game. Za'Darius Smith was the lead troublemaker for opposition quarterbacks as he posted 12.5 sacks this year (T-3rd in the NFL).
The list goes on. Green Bay had a great campaign and was unfortunate not to make the Super Bowl. .
Regardless, assuming Rodgers remains in the green and yellow, the Packers will be back in with another shot at glory next year. The franchise needs to add some more quality depth to the wideout position during the offseason, however, other than that, the Packers have an elite group of players capable of hoisting the Lombardi trophy next season.
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Unsurprisingly, the top spot on the list belongs to the Super Bowl Champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Buccaneers success stories in 2020: Head coach Bruce Arians went all in for a title charge, recruiting the likes of Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Leonard Fournette and Antonio Brown. It paid off. Three of these players got off to slow starts this year but came good when it mattered most. Brown, Fournette and Gronkowski each got in on the action with TDs in the Super Bowl against the Chiefs with the wide receiver and running back accounting for a touchdown each and the tight end catching two passes in the endzone from Brady. Speaking of Brady, the seven-time Super Bowl champion finished the evening with 3 TD passes to his name and, crucially, no picks.
In retrospect, Arians should also be credited for a hugely successful 2020 NFL Draft for the Bucs that saw the likes of OT Tristan Wirfs (the highest-graded player in Super Bowl LV) and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. join the team and make a big impact this season.
The Buccaneers already had star quality at wideout with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, and on pass rush/coverage, too, in Lavonte David, Shaq Barrett, Jason Pierre-Paul and Devin White. Ryan Jensen once again showed what an outstanding center he is. The Bucs had talent all over, and the addition of the aforementioned seasoned veterans just took this gifted group to the next level. That's why they'll all be sporting shiny new rings on the first day of training camp later in the year.
The Buccaneers have a few players coming to the end of their contracts, most notably Shaq Barrett and Chris Godwin, but the team's most recent triumph in the Super Bowl may convince both of them to sign on the dotted line.
The scariest thing is the Buccaneers are only going to get better with a full preseason under their belts and a few new additions.
What do you think of our top 5 picks for the best teams in the NFL this year? Agree or disagree? Have your say in the comments section below:
