It’s unusual for a franchise to win a Super Bowl, but not enter the next year as the team to beat. Denver is in that boat this season as Peyton Manning has retired and Brock Osweiler decided to quarterback in Houston. The Broncos will still have a dominating defense, but the question marks on offense has the team entering camp well down the list in the leagues power rankings.
One team that seemed to get better and had little change over the off season is Arizona. The Cardinals have terrific talent on both sides of the ball and good depth, but they must win the big games and with New England on the schedule to open the regular season, it could be a changing of the guard at the top after week one.
Carolina lost in the Super Bowl and have lost their top corner Josh Norman, but with Cam Newton showing he’s one of the best leaders in football and the return of star wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin, the Panthers will enter the preseason number three in the power rankings and if they find a quality replacement in the secondary, becoming number one by season’s end isn’t out of the question.
It was looking like a big year for the Pittsburgh Steelers, especially on offense, but the year-long suspension to wide receiver Martavis Bryant has put a damper on the team and its fans. Ben Roethlisberger will need to have a special year for this team to make a run at the Super Bowl, but pressure is nothing new for ‘Big Ben,’ and with a solid showing from the defense, it could be special.
Every year an NFL team comes from back of the pack to make some noise and this year has a couple contenders for this role. Oakland hasn’t made the playoffs in awhile and it may be another year, but the Raiders have all the makings of a team ready to breakthrough for a big season. Offense is the key and with a solid group of weapons, quarterback Derek Carr just needs to limit mistakes for this franchise to finally have a winning season.
