NFL: 5 most likely teams to reach the NFC Championship game

This team made it to the Super Bowl last season, so why not do it again?

Of course, the San Francisco 49ers find themselves on this list. This team went from having the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft to playing in Super Bowl 54 in the same league year. How does that even happen? It happens when your starting quarterback is healthy and you draft a pass-rushing phenom with the No. 2 overall selection out of a college football blue-blood.

With a similar cast of characters featuring quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, defensive end Nick Bosa and tight end George Kittle, San Francisco should make the playoffs again in 2020, regardless of if the 49ers succumb to a Super Bowl hangover or not. This team is too talented and well-coached to be anything worse than the seventh-best team in the NFC. Will that be enough to get back?

San Francisco does have to play in arguably the toughest division in football in the NFC West. The Seattle Seahawks should be a playoff team as well, the Arizona Cardinals might be a Wild Card team and the Los Angeles Rams should still push for a playoff spot, even if their Super Bowl window has been slammed shut for the time being. The 49ers will be up against it this season.

Besides fighting off a potential Super Bowl hangover and playing in a tough division, the biggest challenge for the 49ers to overcome is complacency. Last year’s team was great, but that was last year’s team. There is a reason the NFC hasn’t had a team play in back-to-back conference championship games since 2013-14. However, the 49ers have a good shot of doing that this year.