Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs finally lost their first game of the 2024 NFL season in Week 11 after falling to the Buffalo Bills 30-21 at Highmark Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Due to this, former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady has a new No. 1 team in the league.
The Chiefs now own an overall record of 9-1, still good for first place in the AFC. However, the Bills (9-2) are right on their heels.
With their first loss of the season, Kansas City no longer holds sole possession of the best record in the NFL. The Detroit Lions, after blasting the Jacksonville Jaguars 52-6, have now won their last eight games and have tied the Chiefs in the standings at 9-1 as well.
On Thursday morning, Brady, now a commentator for Fox Sports, revealed his new top five NFL teams list following Week 11. Kansas City has topped these rankings for most of the season, but after falling to Buffalo, the seven-time Super Bowl winner has the Lions as his Super Bowl favorite.
"We have a new No. 1 for the first time all season," Brady said. "I can't believe I'm saying this. It's the Detroit Lions. Actually, after watching them, I can believe I'm saying it. They won their eighth straight game. They put up 52 points for the second time this season. What a bounce-back game from Jared Goff and the Lions' offense. Detroit is now the favorite to win Super Bowl 59. Let's see if they can stay hot on the road against the Colts this weekend."
Led by quarterback Jared Goff, the Lions have produced one of the better offenses in the NFL, averaging 394.7 total yards per game (ranked 3rd in the league), 242.5 passing yards (6th) and 152.2 rushing yards (3rd). They even boast the NFL's highest scoring average of 33.6 points per game.
It hasn't been just the offense for Detroit, as the defense has played well, too, even without star pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson. Dan Campbell and company allow just 94.8 yards on the ground (5th) and 17.7 points per game (5th). It has also forced 19 turnovers through ten games, tied for the fourth-most in the league.
The Lions have looked like one of the better all-around teams throughout the entire 2024 season, which is why they are now Brady's favorites to come out with a championship.
