In the NFL, there is always pressure to win and win big.
However, throughout the league, there are teams with higher expectations than others, and with that in mind, here are the top ten teams I believe have the most pressure to the Super Bowl in 2024.
10. Jacksonville Jaguars
Do you hear the hype surrounding the Houston Texans this off-season? The same things were said about the Jacksonville Jaguars around this time last year.
Even though he was paid handsomely this summer, Trevor Lawrence still has a lot to prove that he is one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL and there has been some noise about coach Doug Pederson's job security if the Jags have another down year.
Expectations in Jacksonville should be a return to the post-season in 2024 at the very least.
9. Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins are in a weird spot.
They just paid Tua Tagovailoa probably more than he is worth, Tyreek Hill is 30 years old now, and Jaylen Waddle's new deal will soon kick in.
To add onto that, within the AFC East, the Bills are retooling on offence, there will be questions surrounding Aaron Rodgers and his Jets, as well as the Patriots are simply a non-factor in the division this season.
To go along with his contract, Tua's health will forever remain a question. This could be Miami's best chance to win a Lombardi trophy with their current core in tack.
8. Kansas City Chiefs
It's rare to have the reigning Super Bowl champions on a list like this, especially when they are the back-to-back champions.
However, when you have Patrick Mahomes on your team, there will always be pressure to win every year.
With Travis Kelce and Andy Reid closer to the end of their careers than the beginning, the Chiefs need to stack up as many titles as possible to leave a lasting legacy in this league and with a chance to be the first team to ever three-peat in NFL history it will not be a time to relax in KC with NFL immortality on the list.
7. Philadelphia Eagles
Which version of the Eagles can we expect in 2024? Two years ago, Jalen Hurts and Nick Sirianni were on the cusp of bringing another title to the city of brotherly love but just fell short to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Expectations in 2023 were set for another Super Bowl appearance and the Eagles lived up to the hype with a 10-1 start. As we all know now, the Eagles fell apart in the last month and a half of the year where they lost 6 of their last 7 games including a playoff blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
2024 will be a huge year in Philly. If this team continues to struggle, Sirianni will almost certainly be gone and questions will arise about the team's franchise QB, specifically if Hurts 2022 season was the outlier.
6. Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills have not been to an AFC championship game since 2020, and in the last two seasons, their Super Bowl dreams have ended on home field in the Divisional round.
With a quarterback of Josh Allen's caliber, that is unacceptable.
After shipping out Stefon Diggs, some have considered this a gap year. But with Josh Allen in his prime years, gap years should not exist. If the Bills are ever going to win a Super Bowl with Allen, it will have to be sooner rather than later.
5. New York Jets
Let's get this out of the way, the New York Jets are not winning the Super Bowl. But don't tell Aaron Rodgers that, Rodgers believes that the Jets are one of the handful of teams that has a shot at winning the championship this season, and if you are publicly going to state that, there will be some pressure.
If the Jets don't make the playoffs in 2024, there will be major changes within the orginzation and with Rodgers turning 41 in December, this may be the team's only chance at winning with the future Hall of Famer.
4. Baltimore Ravens
If Lamar Jackson & the Baltimore Ravens don't win a Super Bowl soon, the comparisons to James Harden's Houston Rockets may get louder. A dominant regular season team led by a player who is always in the league MVP conversation but comes up short in the post-season.
Jackson has the regular season hardware but truly shut up his doubters, he needs to add a Lombardi Trophy to his resume.
3. Cincinnati Bengals
In all likelihood, this is the last dance for the Bengals trio of Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins.
Higgins is scheduled to be a free agent in March, and Chase is eligible for a mega-extension that could be signed at any moment. More importantly for the Bengals Super Bowl chances, Joe Burrow's ability to stay healthy will always be a concern.
When Burrow is on the field, he is one of the top three at his position, and if he can play a full season in 2024, the Bengals are a legit threat to win the Super Bowl this season in potentially this final year of this era of Bengals football.
2. Dallas Cowboys
For the Dallas Cowboys, every year begins with pressure to win the Super Bowl, but 2024 feels like a new level of pressure.
Coach Mike McCarthy and quarterback Dak Prescott are both entering the final year of their contracts, not to mention their two young stars CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons will likely both be soon signing historic extensions that will hamper the Cowboys cap situation.
If 2024 ends much like the previous three Cowboys seasons, expect the Cowboys to have a new coach and quarterback duo in place for 2025.
San Francisco 49ers
I truly believe if the 49ers do not win the Super Bowl in 2024, it will never happen with this core.
Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, and George Kittle are getting older, Brandon Aiyuk is either getting paid or traded and lastly, I don't think the NFC can possibly be this weak for long.
If Kyle Shannan and the Niners ever get over the hump, I think this would have to be the year.
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