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NFL contenders and pretenders after Week 3

By Rucker Haringey

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 22: Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers runs out on the field during warm ups prior to the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Levi's Stadium on September 22, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 22: Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers runs out on the field during warm ups prior to the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Levi's Stadium on September 22, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images) /
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ORCHARD PARK, NY – SEPTEMBER 22: Buffalo Bills Quarterback Josh Allen (17) runs with the ball during the second half of the NFL game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills on September 22, 2019, at New Era Field in Orchard Park, NY. (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ORCHARD PARK, NY – SEPTEMBER 22: Buffalo Bills Quarterback Josh Allen (17) runs with the ball during the second half of the NFL game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills on September 22, 2019, at New Era Field in Orchard Park, NY. (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

The Pretenders

It’s important to remember here that this piece is judging teams based on the standard of being Super Bowl contenders. Branding these two franchises as “contenders” doesn’t mean they’re going to finish 4-12. In fact, both teams could easily make the playoffs on the back of their strong starts. It just means they aren’t going to contend for a Super Bowl berth this season.

Buffalo Bills

The Bills have taken advantage of a pretty soft schedule in the early going. Winning three in a row in the NFL is never easy, but Buffalo’s wins over the Giants, Jets and Bengals aren’t impressive as a group. Sean McDermott’s team will really find out who they are next week when they host New England.

The inconsistency of Allen at quarterback remains the team’s biggest question. He can make phenomenal plays with his feet. On occasion, he also makes some throws that really wow fans and scouts alike. His penchant for really bad throws continues to limit his ceiling though. That also means the Bills can’t be considered legitimate Super Bowl contenders until he eliminates those from his game.

Buffalo is heading in the right direction under McDermott, but it’s much too soon to consider them real Super Bowl contenders. As such, they have to be rated as pretenders instead.

San Francisco 49ers

The Niners are also beneficiaries of a pretty soft early schedule. They do deserve credit for winning road games at Tampa Bay and Cincinnati regardless of how you feel about those teams. A narrow win over the Steelers at home without Ben Roethlisberger doesn’t do much to raise San Francisco’s stock.

The fact that Jimmy Garoppolo has already thrown four interceptions on the season is a big reason why the 49ers find themselves as pretenders. Kyle Shanahan can put his quarterback in a great position to succeed, but he’s got to execute at a high level to overcome some of the other roster weaknesses. He has some intriguing young skill players at his disposal, but it’s not a high level group.

Next. NFL Week 4: Odds for each game. dark

The San Francisco defense does deserve a special mention here for wreaking more havoc than anyone expected this season. The unit isn’t perfect, but they really compete. That’s going to give this team a shot to make the playoffs and maybe they can even win a game. They’re still not ready to make a Super Bowl run yet. Shanahan’s group is a year away from becoming legitimate contenders.

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