This season we've teamed up with Nat Coombs as the official partner of The Nat Coombs Show.

As the excitement builds check out Nat's view of the season ahead...

The 2024 NFL season is wide open, with a host of teams boasting plausible Super Bowl credentials. And an even greater list with a punchers chance of putting together a run and becoming serious contenders.

It’s one of the many things we love about the game. Most of the 32 teams roll into December with some kind of shot at one of the 14 playoff spots. Compared to basketball, baseball, or indeed European football, in a condensed season, pretty much every one of the 17 regular season games an NFL team plays matters.

Throw in the breakneck pace of Redzone...

Where every Sunday night between 18:00 & midnight we’re carried across America, zipping from game to game, picking up every touchdown as they’re scored. And, it’s no surprise that the NFL has become one of the most dominant sports in the world, not to mention one of the fastest growing in the UK. You just can’t take your eyes off if for a second.

And it’s as egalitarian a sporting league as you’ll find. First up there’s the Draft, where annually the best college football players are matched with an NFL team, the franchises with the worst records the season before getting first dibs on the ready to play superstars. So, if you stink the joint up right now, you can turn things around pretty quickly.

Then there’s the salary cap, where every team has the same wage ceiling prohibits the mismatch. We see in so many other sports, where the richest tend to dominate.

It's what makes Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs all the more remarkable. Teams are not meant to dominate, to win back-to-back Super Bowls, let alone be the pre-season faves for the threepeat. Yet here we are, the Chiefs set up as the all-new dynasty, taking the baton seamlessly from Brady/Belichick. And the New England Patriots, and once again looking strong this time around.

Like those remarkable New England teams for the first two decades of the century. The Chiefs boast the best quarterback in the game (Mahomes) who can magic plays out of nothing. Alongside a brilliant head coach, Andy Reid, one of the most innovative offensive minds in the business. It’s a powerful tandem indeed, and the rest of the league will be terrified to learn they’ve added plenty of weapons in the off season.

Of course, there are serious contenders to the Reid/Mahomes’ throne...

Reigning MVP Lamar Jackson & the Baltimore Ravens will surely be in the mix. Whilst the intriguing Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets feels like the ultimate boom or bust type gig. Josh Allen at the Bills, and Joe Burrow with the Bengals, both perennial contenders in recent years, will most likely have a stack of chips at the final table.

Upstart young gun teams including last seasons surprised package the Houston Texans, and their remarkable young QB CJ Stroud. Who last year posted one of the great rookie seasons we’ve ever seen are drawing a lot of buzz. As are every neutral’s favourite team the Detroit Lions who will ride their underdog swagger once again into this year.

The 49’ers will try and rebound from their Super Bowl hangover. Their QB, the underestimated Brock Purdy, consistently proving his doubters wrong. The Packers have done it again, unearthing another highly talented QB in Jordan Love. Whist the Eagles can’t be discounted, not least because of their brilliant front office. The team that put together player rosters – who continue to play chess. Where other GM’s seemingly are on the checkers tip.

But here’s the thing...

As I look through each division I could make a credible argument for most teams, if they hit their upside slipstream. This rookie QB plays out of his skin, these written off veterans go for once last dance, these unsung heroes defy expectation? Playoffs here we come. We’ve seen it so many times before, and it means that most years, the league is impossible to call. Rarely does the dominant team in the regular season go on to win the big show. And almost always there are teams that no-one saw coming forcing themselves into the reckoning.So, whether you’re brand new to the sport, or a seasoned veteran, sit back, (try to relax) and enjoy the ride.

*And if you want a hand picking a team, check out our PlayBook series on The Nat Coombs Show podcast feed, where we break down the history and the season expectations for each of the 32 NFL teams.

The road to New Orleans starts here!

Nat