NFL preview 2017: NFC points to consider

Going into 2017, most believe the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks are the most likely teams to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LII. Green Bay reached the NFC Championship Game last season before falling to the Atlanta Falcons, the same team that beat the Seahawks a week prior.

So why only a little love for the Falcons? For starters, it is very hard to get to the Super Bowl in consecutive seasons. The Seahawks did it in 2013 and 2014, but outside of that instance, there has not been another since the 2003-04 New England Patriots.

Seattle has the best defense in the league, especially after adding Sheldon Richardson on Friday afternoon in a trade with the New York Jets. Richardson joins a front seven that is loaded with talent, including Frank Clark, Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril, K.J. Wright and Bobby Wagner. All this in front of a secondary that remains elite with the presences of Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas.

So who can challenge that group? It appears three teams have the offensive capability to cause problems; the Packers, Falcons and Dallas Cowboys.

Dallas has perhaps the best weaponry in the game this side of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Cowboys have an embarrassment of riches on the best offensive line in football, headlined by Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and Zack Martin. Behind them stands Ezekiel Elliott, who led the league in rushing as a rookie. Dak Prescott enters his second year as one of the best up-and-coming quarterbacks in football. He should only improve with a healthy Dez Bryant to compliment Jason Witten and Cole Beasley.

The Packers don’t have that amount of talent around the quarterback, but they don’t need it with Aaron Rodgers under center. Rodgers remains the most dangerous player going, having put forth another MVP-caliber campaign in 2016. While he finished as runner-up to Matt Ryan, Rodgers is a devastating force, something Dallas found out in the NFC Divisional round last year. With Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb on the outside, and Martellus Bennett working the middle, Rodgers is primed for another MVP run. Factor in rookie running back Jamaal Williams alongside Ty Montgomery, and there is reason to believe Titletown could be celebrating come February.

Finally, the Falcons. Atlanta is the only NFC team that can match the firepower of Dallas. Ryan is coming off his aforementioned MVP campaign, and has a stable of talent behind him in Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman. On the outside, Julio Jones presides as one of the top three wide receivers in the game. The underrated aspect of Atlanta is the defense, which is considerably better than Green Bay’s or Dallas’. The talent level is terrific with Deion Jones, Desmond Trufant, Vic Beasley, Grady Jarrett, Dontari Poe and Robert Alford.

The NFC is the better conference, and it should come as no surprise that it produces a quartet of teams that should all challenge for a championship.