As the 2023 NFL season draws closer to its end, the top teams in the league have begun to separate themselves from the rest of the field.
This will become even more apparent during the playoffs, but those are still three weeks away.
After 15 weeks of games, it’s obvious who the best teams are based on their respective win-loss records, overall standing, and point differential.
As such, ESPN “First Take” analyst Stephen A. Smith ranked his top-five teams before a pivotal three-week stretch: The San Francisco 49ers, the Baltimore Ravens, the Detroit Lions, the Miami Dolphins, and the Buffalo Bills – in that order.
How’d @stephenasmith do this week? 👀 pic.twitter.com/fhhZjlpBTp
— First Take (@FirstTake) December 19, 2023
The first two teams make sense, as the 49ers and Ravens have the two best records in their respective conferences at 11-3 and rank first and third in point differential.
The Lions and Dolphins are also contenders considering both have 10-4 records, both should win their divisions and both have a high point differential.
The fifth spot is probably the most controversial because of who the list left out.
The Bills look vastly improved since their Week 13 bye with two consecutive wins over the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys but remain technically outside the AFC playoff field with an 8-6 record.
It’s also a bit surprising that Smith didn’t include the Cowboys or Philadelphia Eagles.
Those two teams have a better record than the Bills and are both vying for the NFC East title and potentially a top-3 seed in the NFC.
However, Dallas and Philadelphia looked awful this past week and are trending down at the wrong point in the season.
The bottom of Smith’s list could very well change in the coming weeks.
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