Top 10 Super Bowl Contenders: Lions seek redemption, Jets expectations SKY HIGH with Aaron Rodgers

Welcome in to a brand new hour of CBS sports HQ. We are starting three wide. We have a Pete Prisco joining us in just a moment. I'm Jacqueline D'Agostino, alongside Haley Sutton and Kyle Long. This is how we know that football is almost here. The vibes are good. We have all of our guys in studio just one week to go until we get the first NFL game. I can't wait. Are you excited? Yeah. So excited. The first one. I think it's Baltimore or Kansas City. Yes Prime time. I can't wait for that one. So many stars ready to bust out of that thing. Yeah, yeah. And it's also never too early to start thinking about the Super Bowl. Only 164 days away from Super Bowl 59 people. So the time is shrinking. But obviously it got us all thinking here at CBS sports HQ who would be playing in that game? Well, this guy knows a thing or two about these NFL teams. He's got our list here. This is Kyle Long's. I named a lot of teams. But if they get hot, all these teams have a chance. You're covering your bases. Everyone has a chance. So here's the initial ten team list. No surprise the Chiefs are up there at the top looking for their third straight Super Bowl. The first team in NFL history to do that. If they would accomplish it. The Lions, the Niners in the mix as well. The Packers Pete Prisco's maybe team sleeper team to keep an eye out for. But we're going to break all of this down right no. So let's start at that. Number two spot Kyle. We're talking the Lions here. You know they've had this renaissance under Dan Campbell. They brought in a lot of new pieces on defense which will obviously be a much improved defense from a year ago. Why? Number two for Detroit I just think about how close this Detroit Lions team came to playing in that Super Bowl against my second favorite team, the Kansas City Chiefs. And when they went on the road to the Bay area, they smacked him in the mouth early. A team that usually smacks people in the mouth is the San Francisco 49 ers. Detroit let it hang early and you could see that 17 point lead diminish in the second half. You can't have that stuff slip out of your hands. The Lions know it better than anybody. They got a really bright quarterback Jared Goff. They have a physical front on the offensive line. And I think that that will determine the style of play of the games that they're in. And when it comes down to these playoffs, you need to outphysical teams up front. The Detroit does it almost as well as anybody. Pete by the way, when I was looking at that list, I thought that was my power rankings for next week. You had so many teams on that list. I mean, one through 32, they said ten. I get a third of the league. I get to put a third of the league out there. I'm hedging my bets here, Pete. It's amazing. But look, when you talk about the Lions, we know they're going to be physical on that offensive line. They have a playmaker in their backfield with Gibbs who can really do a lot of things. Goff is underappreciated. I think he's always been that way. My one concern is you know, does Jamison Williams step up and become the star he is or can be because he hasn't shown that yet? I think the ability is there. But this is a big year for them. And the defensively. Where's the other pass rusher to go with Aidan Hutchinson? That's a concern. But I'm with you. I think this is a really talented team across the board. And we know what Dan Campbell they're going to be physical I will say this please Dan Campbell and I said it all along. You don't need to be as aggressive as you've been so far. Your team is good. Now please rein it in just a little bit there. Yeah. We're going to have to again check in on your power rankings when they do come out and then compare it to this top ten. Maybe Pete's like you know taking notes here on the side. Movie twins. Yeah. We're just inseparable. Exactly. We're going to stay with the big cat theme. And we're going to go to number five on your list. We're talking about the Bengals. And of course with the Bengals right now there's this you know drama going on if you will, with Jamaar Chase and Zach Taylor. And who is saying what. But fingers crossed for a healthy Joe Burrow. And if they stay that way this is a team that could go from being worst in the AFC North to potentially first and beyond that, and maybe a super Bowl contender. Kyle less is more. Coach Taylor, when you go and say that the guy is going to play week one, you know he's going to use that as leverage okay. So in that regard just mum's the word on Jamaar Chase because you're going to need this guy if they're going to play up to their position on my list. And I love the Cincinnati Bengals, obviously a huge Joe Burrow fan. I got to watch him go into Arrowhead Stadium and beat Patrick Mahomes with Jamar Chase. Jamar had about 200 plus yards. We had no answer for him and I just know the synergy these two guys have and when they're hot, they are hot. You can't even get near them. Forget about not touching them. You can't get near these guys. The Bengals, if they make a run, they're going to have an opportunity to be at the upper echelon of the NFL this year. Joe Burrow on a comeback tear here. After that injury last year. I'm looking for him to get some revenge. Yeah. Look, as long as Joe Burrow is on the field, I think they're the team to beat the division and it's a good division. We know that the Ravens are really good. I think the Browns can be good and the Steelers, if Russell Wilson plays, can be a decent football team. They improve the offensive line. We know that the memes, the first round pick has been banged up a little bit. We don't know if he'll start in week one, but they added veteran Trent Brown, who's a big, physical guy who can go in there and be a stopgap for a couple couple games if that has to happen. But that was the problem with the Bengals, the offensive line and you know this Kyle. They've never been physical enough. I think those additions will make them more physical. They'll protect Joe Burrow. They're going to score. And defensively they have a lot of players on that team with a lot of talent. I like what they do and we know they're going to be creative and scheme. So I'm with you. I think if Joe Burrow plays the entire season, they will push for the Super Bowl. Yeah, Pete, I love what you said about the offensive line. And yes, there's a lot of mass in that room now, and they've got a lot of guys that are well known. But I think the illusion of physicality will open things up on the back end for the Cincinnati Bengals. Obviously teams are going to be respecting the size of the busts that are breaking the huddle for Joe Burrow. So they're going to put a lot of guys in the box and then you know what happens when they put a lot of guys in the box against Joe Burrow. Tom Fornelli yesterday talking college football, saying the whoopsie daisy meter as a metric that he uses. Now, you were measuring butts with Kyle Long butts and elbows, kind of guy. Oh boy, I've seen it on film. A lot, guys. Okay, trust me, I know butts and I know elbows. The Bengals will open the season against the Patriots that game happening on CBS this next one guys as you know I'm a Cowboys fan. And it pains me to see the Texans on this list and not the Cowboys. But the realist in me knows why. I think C.J. Stroud and Demeco Ryans have just stepped in and really revitalized this Houston team. They're the best team in Texas right now. So, Kyle, while I am over here wallowing in self-pity, why the Texans at this spot? I'm big on the recency thing. It's like, what have you done for me lately? That's what a lot of people have told me in my life when I'm trying to recoup my reputation. And for the Texans, they've done a lot for me. Recently. C.J. Stroud and his boys have done a great job the past 12 months. On the offensive side of the ball, they retain Bobby Slowik. What do you need when you're the Houston Texans or when you're any team in the National Football League? That's an answer for Patrick Mahomes. The only answer you can try to get on Patrick Mahomes is more pressure. They went out and got Danielle Hunter this offseason. I love the moves from Demeco Ryans and his staff. This team's going to pick up where they left off and oh yeah Stefon Diggs is there okay. And he left a crater sized hole in Buffalo offensively. And he's going to be infusing this Houston Texans team. The only question is how are they going to spread out this volume. Stefon wants the ball a lot. But there's a lot of dudes in that room ready to get that football. Yeah. And another big issue for this team will be learning how to play with a target on your back. I mean they kind of surprised a lot of people last year. And it was fun to watch. And C.J. Stroud, it looks like he's going to be a star quarterback. I will say this. I mean, the way we talk about C.J. Stroud, we act like he threw 50 touchdown passes as a rookie. He threw 23. It's not like he got to 30. And I'm a big C.J. Stroud guy, but I think we need to slow it down just a little bit as this team learns how to play as a targeted team, that could be a problem for some young teams. I know they have some veterans on there, like Diggs. You mentioned him and that's another issue. How does he mix in with this team? You know when in Buffalo they were okay that he walked out the door that they traded him because they didn't care because they thought there was an issue there. He didn't do much in the last ten games of the season. And it might be addition by subtraction. And we wonder how that's going to impact what happens with C.J. Stroud when you have a wide receiver in your ear constantly saying, get me the football, Pete. The difference between Josh Allen and C.J. Stroud, in my opinion, is that Josh Allen is a guy that will try to appease his troops, and C.J. Stroud makes it very, very clear that he is the head man in charge. And when you come into his locker room, you do as he says and you will win some football games. So I think that's the distinction between those two groups. Not to take anything away from Josh. It's just a personality thing. Let's talk about Josh Allen and the bills because they are number seven on your list. And it felt like if there was any time to get the Chiefs, which we know the bills have struggled in the postseason against the Chiefs. It was last year, right. At least on paper. And when we talk about the bills Pete you know this. And Josh Allen specifically it's very polarizing. Whether he's great or overrated. But Kyle talk to us about Josh Allen and the bills coming in at number seven on this list as a Super Bowl. It comes down to this guy that's on the screen right now Josh Allen the comfort level he has playing the game of football. His style of play. There's really no way to scheme for him. If you get a free runner on the defensive line or the linebacker corps to go hit Josh Allen, he ain't going down. You need 2 or 3 homers back there on 17. He's bigger, badder, faster. And you know what? He's more of a competitor than you. I'm going to say it. The guy loves to compete and everybody saying that Matt Milano out. Stefon Diggs out. The bills aren't going to be able to compete. You know what. Show me something 17 I'm a huge fan of football and there's no brand of football I love more than a hot Josh Allen playing this game. Yeah. And all this talk about Josh Allen being overrated is absurd. And you know, spending time up there and talking to players on that team and Brandon being the general manager, they all laughed at it. They're good people. You know who keeps saying he's overrated? The people who thought he wasn't going to be good when he came out in the first place. It's absurd. The guy is a star. Look at the touchdowns that he he puts up on a yearly basis. Nobody does what he does in terms of touchdowns. Yes, he turns it over too much. That is a problem. But he's pressed at times because they've asked him to do too much. One thing he has done, he's lost about 10 to 12 pounds and it's noticeable. And when I asked him about it, he said, look, he just wanted to feel better. And he told Brandon. Brandon Beane said to him, well, that means you're going to run less than right. That means you're not going to do it. And he said, yeah, yeah, I won't run less than they said. Yeah. Until you become the on field psycho, you normally are, he's not going to change who he is. That's who he is. He's going to try and run over people. But he does have to take care of the football. Yeah, I think it was maybe a little jealousy. Those overrated statements. Haters. Yeah. Haters Yeah. They also said he was the biggest trash talker in that same anonymous Lamar can't play quarterback. It's like just turn the tape on you idiots. Okay, let's turn the tape on when it comes to the Eagles, because I'm sure they spend a lot of time in the film room this year. After A17 finish to the year last season. Obviously there was discussion about Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts wanting to be on the same page because that was missing last year. So why the Eagles on this list given all of the collapse and everything we saw this offseason? You know what? Collapse you can call it? Whatever you want this season. It's a marathon. Things happen. Sometimes you stub your toe on mile seven and the rest is really tough going for the Eagles. That's what happened. I remember predicting them to be undefeated, going into the Chiefs game last year, and it was dang near that. So when you take a look at this team, they didn't lose a lot of talent. They were able to add some more on the offensive side of the ball. They were able to retain their real stars, which in my opinion are the offensive tackles on this football team. Jordan Mailata, Lane Johnson and the real unique thing about this offensive line is you don't need to help either one of those guys. Granted, you're going to have to play Micah Parsons twice a year in the division. You're going to have to allocate some resources to get him slowed down. But for the most part, 90% of the time you're going to have a five man protection. You can get done the things you want to get done offensively. I think Jalen Hurts has a lot to prove as a quarterback. As you said late in the season, getting this team on the right page and him and Sirianni, I think will have success this year. And I think it comes down to this offensive front. Yeah. And I think there's some freshness to the group in terms of the coaching staff. You watch their offense. It was very stale and now they have a lot of movement and Kellen Moore will bring some pre-snap movement. Everybody in the league is doing it. The Eagles were last in the league last year in motion before the snap. And that's not a good thing. So I think some freshness will help the offense. There is concern about cam Jurgens in the middle of the line. It's a replacement for you know, arguably a Hall of Fame center, a guy who's probably going to go to the Hall of Fame. And Jason Kelce. And how do they transition there. And then the pass defense a year ago, they were dreadful. They couldn't stop anybody. They added a lot of guys. You know they drafted Quinyon Mitchell in the first round Isaiah Rogers is a guy who's getting a great you know had a great camp and probably will start at the other corner. But again there's questions back there. Can those guys hold up. So there are issues. But I think they'll be a better team than they were a year ago. They won't get off to that kind of start, but they'll be a better team. Yeah you mentioned that the secondary in there, we do want to mention James Bradberry suffered a lower leg injury in practice today. So he is out for what they're saying is 6 to 8 weeks. So something to consider. There another blow to the Eagles right before the season starts I got to change my list. Yeah maybe maybe the Ravens will then surpass the Eagles. Because right now they're at number nine. And this was a team that was just one game away from going to a Super Bowl. They had the two time MVP and Lamar Jackson. They add Derrick Henry. But there are some holes to fill there. Some questions on the offensive line. Why do they come in at number nine here for you Kyle I would say this. It's because of the guy that's been part of the MVP conversation the last six years. It's Lamar Jackson. It's the things that you know John Harbaugh stands for, the way that his football teams show up and play week in and week out. And it's you know honest to goodness this team plays their own brand of football. And if you've ever played the Baltimore Ravens, you know exactly what I'm talking about. And I think Lamar is really the head honcho there. And the guys fall in line as he goes. And the question for me was, were they going to be able to stop Kansas City, obviously in Baltimore last year? And they weren't, you know, Patrick threw some unguardable footballs, Travis Kelce made some ungodly catches. But at the end of the day, they're going to their way of taking away what the Chiefs have is getting a guy like Derrick Henry keeping the football out of the opposing team's hands, controlling the clock, controlling the line of scrimmage. And I do trust Lamar Jackson. I just need to see him make that next step. Once he does inevitably get into the playoffs this year, the Ravens do a great job of having jars on the shelf. And by that I mean, you know, when somebody leaves, they pull one down off the shelf and replace them because they do such a good job drafting. They always have replacement players ready to go. It's been their way for a long time. It was that way under Ozzie Newsome. It's that way under Eric DeCosta. But when you do that, there's questions. And one of those questions, some of those questions on that offensive line, you know, look, we know they want to run Derrick Henry I think he'll have the ability to do that playing in that style of offense with Lamar Jackson. But there are major questions on that offensive line. You could have three new starters up front and how they do it. They don't even haven't even settled on the starters yet. Here we are. You know, a week away. So that's a little concerning going into the season. And one more thing. Now that you have Derrick Henry, when you play a big game, you might want to run the ball. Remember they didn't run the ball at all against the Chiefs. They won't do that anymore. I don't think they'll have a very early chance to address that because that, of course, is the opening game of the NFL season next Thursday. So we're excited for that. Let's wrap up this list at number ten. We have the New York Jets, which is interesting to me. Kyle because they're a polarizing team in itself, because some people are saying like, no, they're not there yet. They're going to finish bottom of the division. Other people are saying they can win the division. You have them as a potential Super Bowl contender here. So convince everybody at home who's feeling a little skeptical about the Jets. If the offensive line that the New York Jets puts on the field week one is very similar to the offensive line, we see in week one of the regular season, not only will Aaron Rodgers be healthy, Aaron Rodgers will be massively successful in his comeback from injury. I've got them on this list because you can never count number eight out. I've seen there's another guy, I've seen it in person. He's ripped my heart out a few times. All right. So Aaron Rodgers when he's healthy he's got this vendetta against the rest of the National Football League. All the naysayers haters has kind of been the topic here. Yeah. So Aaron Rodgers get it together. And it all comes down to the guys they brought into that offensive line. Are they able to stay healthy I like the Fasano pick. He's got a lot of versatility. He can be depth at both tackle positions. Shoot. He can probably even play guard. Yeah. And it's health you know can they stay healthy on the offensive line. Can Aaron Rodgers stay healthy and prove to be what he was before the injury. Which I think he can. I'm with Kyle I think this team can push for a Super Bowl. There are some concerns I mentioned the offensive line also. Weapon number two. Who is it? You know Garrett Wilson is going to be a heck of a weapon on the outside. I'm talking about in the passing game. Who's going to be the other person that emerges in terms of the passing game? I know Mike Williams in there, but he's coming off an injury. He's not a burner. So they do have some issues, but as long as Aaron Rodgers can be Aaron Rodgers, they're going to be in contention. It's going to be a fun one guys. I'm excited for the NFL season to kick off. Excited. Excited to have Kyle Long with us for the ride this year. New podcast as well. Pushing the pile, pushing the pile. Check us out. We're on the network in like 45 minutes. Yeah, you and Mike maybe matching outfits throughout the throughout the podcast as well. All season long. That's crazy. All right. We're not going to we're not going to promo anything for Pete because he's here pretty much every day. But here we are excited for the NFL season to kick off that week. One coming your way September 8th. A lot of these teams we just talked about will be on that week one slate. Arizona at Buffalo, Houston at Indy and a few other