NFL’s new kickoff rules will be a challenge for teams before the season
The NFL is making a drastic change to kickoff rules to encourage more returns and improve player safety. Coaches and players say it’s a challenge.
One month has passed since the 2024 NFL Draft and preseason practice has begun across the NFL. With three months left until the regular season begins, who are the favorites to win the next Super Bowl?
Leading the odds are the two conference champions that faced off in the Super Bowl earlier this year: the reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs and 2024 runners-up San Francisco 49ers. Behind them are their conference championship game opponents – the Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions, respectively – but the list skews a bit from last year’s results after that.
Here are the full power rankings for the 2024 NFL season based on 2025 Super Bowl odds, courtesy of BetMGM.
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The reigning Super Bowl champions sit atop this list once again. This offseason, they signed tight end Travis Kelce to an extension, re-signed All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones and wide receiver Mecole Hardman and drafted speedster wideout Xavier Worthy in the first round of the draft. With quarterback Patrick Mahomes still under center, it’s a bad decision to count the Chiefs out. This year, they’ll be going for the three-peat.
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San Francisco is bringing back just about every member of the core that got them to the Super Bowl last year. Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is looking for an extension but is under contract, as is fellow wideout Deebo Samuel. Reigning Offensive Player of the Year and running back Christian McCaffrey just reset the record for contracts at the position with a two-year, $38 million deal. Quarterback Brock Purdy enters his third year having proven his rookie season wasn’t just a fluke. Defensively, the 49ers still have edge rusher Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner overwhelming opponents’ offenses. San Francisco will try once again to get over the hump in 2024.
The Ravens lost both of their top running backs to the Los Angeles Chargers in free agency, but they brought in free agent Derrick Henry to replace them. Second-year Keaton Mitchell will also return at some point after an ACL tear cut his impressive rookie campaign short. Baltimore saw many players walk in free agency this offseason in addition to their running backs – linebacker Patrick Queen, guard Kevin Zeitler and edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney, to name a few – but also saw impressive production from younger players like safety Kyle Hamilton and receiver Zay Flowers. The Ravens will look to re-establish themselves with a re-tooled core in 2024.
Things have never looked brighter in Detroit. The Lions are coming off of their first conference championship appearance since 1991 and were 30 minutes from their first Super Bowl appearance last year. Looking ahead to 2024, there is so much promise with the young players they’ve added to their roster in recent years. Quarterback Jared Goff, 29, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, 24, and offensive tackle Penei Sewell, 23, all signed big contract extensions this offeseason to keep them around through their respective primes. Meanwhile, running back Jahmyr Gibbs and safety Brian Branch look like possible stars heading into their sophomore seasons. Edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson has lived up to the hype, too. Detroit has a very bright future and hope to make another deep playoff run this year.
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Saquon Barkley scored three touchdowns on his debut for Philadelphia, leading the Eagles past the Green Bay Packers 34-29 on Frida
Saquon Barkley scored three touchdowns on his debut as the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Green Bay Packers 34-29 in the first NFL game played in South America.Ba
SAO PAULO (AP) — The host of the NFL’s first game in Brazil, soccer club Corinthians, was not keen on the green-dom
Ron Jenkins/APThe floodgates have opened for NFL franchises after the football league approved private equity to invest.Top 10 NFL teams are worth a combined $7