NFC Elite Do Battle in NFL Week 12 Minus Their King

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Our top five NFC Elite teams are all but guaranteed playoff spots, so the battles of NFL Week 12 will prove supremacy. Is anyone mighty enough to challenge the king?

Prepare for the intense sports debate that only sibling rivalry can conjure. Seesaw Sports, where Dan Salem and Todd Salem throw down on the NFL, MLB, NBA and more. Only on BuzzChomp. Two brothers from New York yell, scream and debate sports.

 

NFL Week 12 is the point of the season that’s Thanksgiving week. How fun! This year, Thanksgiving games are all about NFC elite contenders. The Thanksgiving slate holds three games, all of which contain main NFC contenders for the title, minus the king of course.

Things start off with Detroit hosting Green Bay. The Lions are the rare squad that has lived up to preseason expectations in a major way. Many people thought they would make a leap this season, and they have done just that. The Lions are all but locks for the postseason, even just 12 weeks into an 18-week season. They hold a 2.5-game lead in the NFC North, and the conference’s wildcard competition is essentially a barren wasteland. Even the Giants are still alive!

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Game two sees Dallas hosting Washington. The Cowboys are similarly set up for postseason play, with a chance of winning the NFC East and an almost guaranteed fallback of grabbing the conference’s top wildcard spot if they don’t. Dallas has the top point differential in the NFC, the best defense in the conference, and no real weakness in terms of offense, defense, or special teams. If they don’t stop on the Commanders, shame.

The nightcap on Thanksgiving pits San Francisco against Seattle. The 49ers have had their downturn this season; Seattle has struggled for consistency. Even still, both teams are shoe-ins for playoff football because there just aren’t any other options this year to fill the seven-team field. Do any of these four teams pose a serious threat to King Philadelphia? The NFC Elite are practically etched in stone and the playoff field appears set. Who is good enough to challenge the Eagles?

 

NFL Week 12: NFC Elite Prove Supremacy

 

Todd Salem: 49ers Are Coming For NFC

Even after a three-game slide, San Francisco feels like an elite contender. They have the goods to push for the NFC title. With the fewest points allowed in the NFC and the best offense in all of football according to DVOA, nothing comes easy versus the 49ers. 

The Seahawks have more work to do to be thought of in this upper echelon, but a Thanksgiving win would be a start. Seattle has actually been outscored thus far this season, and they don’t really excel at anything. But as the old adage goes, if they just get in, anything can happen. Along with Detroit and Dallas, these four make up four of the top five teams in the conference. Unless Philadelphia is the simple answer and this is all moot, one of these four teams is likely playing in the Super Bowl come February.

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I think we would both agree Dallas and San Francisco are real. Let me know if I’m overstepping, but we likely also agree that Seattle is a flimsy contender at best. That just leaves Detroit as the enigma. Including this week’s game, the Lions will be favored in every game the rest of the way except for Week 17 at Dallas. They might cruise to 13 wins. And yet! 

I still can’t get there with them. The defense grades out well but doesn’t pass the sniff test. To me, the Lions are a tier below the NFC’s three best. Am I being too stingy? Too slow to adjust my expectations? Maybe so, but the bottom line is I would not be surprised if any of San Francisco, Dallas, or the aforementioned Eagles represented the NFC in the Super Bowl. However, I would be very surprised if Detroit earns that distinction.

 

 

Dan Salem: Elite Eagles Are Unstoppable

I casually tossed it out a week or so ago that I expected a Super Bowl rematch. Nothing has altered that thinking since and Philadelphia is certainly solidifying itself as the best team in the NFC, if not in all of football. The Eagles are the simple answer, but the NFL Playoffs are rarely simple. That’s why our NFL Week 12 matchups are critical!

Every single one of the top five NFC teams has slipped up this season, so the real question is, who has done it multiple times? Seattle, San Francisco and Detroit have all looked awful more than once. Only Dallas and Philadelphia have managed only a single true blemish thus far. Sure, the Cowboys have lost more than once, but nothing that warrants embarrassment. The same cannot be said of the other three NFC power teams.

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San Francisco is a legitimate Super Bowl contender, but their ability to fall on their face and stay there has scared me off completely. What’s stopping the Seahawks from embarrassing them on Thanksgiving day? Not a whole lot, except that Seattle has been equally hot and cold. The Lions have been humiliated several times as well, most recently by the Baltimore Ravens. If great defense can stomp them into irrelevance, then the playoffs are going to be over quickly in Detroit.

I expect an upset or two in the playoffs, but no one should be beating Philadelphia. Only a great defense has given them a loss this season. Or did the Eagles beat themselves? No matter, I’m excited for Cowboys, Lions, 49ers, and Eagles. No one else truly matters in the NFC, and NFL Week 12 will make that blatantly obvious.

 

Meet our Writers:

Dan Salem is Lead Editor and Co-owner of BuzzChomp. He’s an award winning Actor, Director and Producer. Visit M Square Productions for his film work, or get lost in his old-school comedy on Pillow Talk TV. You can follow him on X, TikTok and Instagram. His latest film ‘Alone’ is now on Amazon.

Todd Salem is a Staff Writer and Contributing Editor at BuzzChomp. He’s also a champion of fantasy football and fantasy baseball, dominating leagues for over two decades. Comment below on his unfiltered opinions.

NFL Week 12 Photo Credits: fox19.com, and bleacherreport.com via Getty Images

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