The best NFL teams at each position including where Eagles have edge over Chiefs
NEW ORLEANS — The best quarterback usually wins.It’s a football adage that is as true in the Patrick Mahomes Era as it was in the Bart Starr Era.But there are other “best” paths to the Super Bowl than the one that the Chiefs use — as the Eagles have shown by winning the NFC three times since 2017.Here are the NFL’s best position groups — three of which will be represented in Super Bowl 2025:Let’s be honest: It’s all about the starter.Once in a blue moon a Tom Brady or Kurt Warner emerges from lower on the depth chart — or a Jeff Hostetler or Nick Foles can keep a great team going after an injury — but most teams are doomed if the backup quarterback is needed.So, Mahomes, a two-time MVP and three-time Super Bowl champion, makes the Chiefs the clear choice over the Bills, Ravens and Bengals quarterback rooms.Mahomes’ 89 regular-season wins are the most by a quarterback before age 30 — even though he sat almost his entire rookie season.Add in a 16-3 record and 5-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio in the playoffs.Carson Wentz, a former Pro Bowler with 94 career starts, is Mahomes’ third different backup in the past three years (Chad Henne and Blaine Gabbert).The Lions became the first team in NFL history to have two running backs and two receivers each reach 1,000 yards from scrimmage.The electric Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 1,412 yards on an average of 5.6 per carry.
He led the NFL in rushing touchdowns (16) and touchdowns from scrimmage (20).David Montgomery missed his second straight 1,000-yard rushing season because of a three-game injury absence, but he still finished with 755 and 12 touchdowns on the ground.No disrespect to the Eagles’ Saquon Barkley, who became the eighth member of the 2,000-yard rushing club and is about to break Terrell Davis’ single-season records for rushing yards and yards from scrimmage (regular season and playoffs combined) in the Super Bowl.Avoid recency bias: Mark Andrews (55 catches for 673 yards and 11 to...