Labar: These are the NFL Teams Under the Most Pressure

By Abby Labar
Sportmoney Columnist

It has begun. The fantasy football draft party planning, arguments over whether or not the preseason matters, and the belief that THIS is the year that your team is going to the Super Bowl (unless you’re from North Carolina like me and the Panthers are supposed to be your team). It’s also this time of year that we speculate and preview the season from every angle we possibly can as journalists. So it’s my turn…and I thought, hey let’s be different per usual, or at least try to be, all the while sparking up a good passionate conversation and debate. 

After covering the NFL for the first time last season (college football and NHL have consumed most of my fall/winters in the last decade), we will give this a whirl in regard to my personal thoughts (supported by factual research of course) on which team in each division has the most pressure and highest expectations weighing on them in 2024. 

AFC East: New York Jets
With question marks surrounding a Bills team (especially their offense) that has sat atop this division in each of the last four seasons, there is a realistic opportunity for someone to dethrone Buffalo. Don’t come at me Bills Mafia. With that in mind and the small window that they have to win with an aging Aaron Rodgers, there should be limited excuses for the New York Jets. They spent money this offseason on skill players to support a healthy return for Rodgers, in addition to shoring up the offensive line. It’s what he’s always wanted and could never get out of the Packers, right? So if the Jets can continue to keep Rodgers happy and healthy, the time is quite literally now for the Jets. 

NFC East: Dallas Cowboys
Offseason drama, CeeDee Lamb holdout, Dak Prescott contract year, Mike McCarthy hot seat….need I say more?

AFC North: Pittsburgh Steelers
Mike Tomlin, we’re looking at you. Pittsburgh turned our heads last season, which had us eyeing their offseason moves that quite frankly, weren’t that hard to keep up with after they flooded headlines by inking Tomlin to an extension and bringing in quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. Wilson has something serious to prove this season and Tomlin, well it seems like he always has something to prove especially entering his 18th season still without a losing record. Their defense last year gave up the fifth-fewest points in the NFL and although the QB position was inconsistent, Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren got it done on the ground. The team has the supporting cast, which showed with what they addressed this summer – it’s now up to the stars and one of the NFL’s winningest head coaches to do their jobs the way they’re getting paid to. 

NFC North: Green Bay Packers
I struggled with this division. Obviously there are high expectations for the Lions, but since there really isn’t any room for improvement because they are THAT good, we don’t have to restate the obvious that there is going to be pressure on Detroit to continue winning. Then there are da Bears, who have been the talk of the town this offseason. But there is something about this Packers squad that makes me look at all of these teams and zone in on Green Bay to have more heightened pressure than the others.

When you talk about that window of opportunity to win, the Packers are starting to see their way into that window. Jordan Love is comfortable in the system and has the money now to show the organization believes in him after signing a four-year extension this offseason. A young core of playmakers surrounding Love will continue to develop and grow. Not to mention the chemistry and a level of confidence they can build off of following last year's nine-win season. There is no better time to capitalize on this type of momentum than now, and a unique sense of excitement comes with this type of a team that’s on the rise. They may not have as much to lose as the Lions, but they have a whole lot of potential to work toward, and that isn’t something you get every year. 

AFC South: Houston Texans
Not many of us had the Texans winning the AFC South title on our bingo cards last year, but low and behold. Similar to the Steelers, now we see the potential and the expectations skyrocket. After the team saw what C.J. Stroud and Co. were capable of, they went out and handled business to get better – with the most notable offensive additions being Stefon Diggs and Joe Mixon. They’re matched up against such an easy division that if they aren’t pacing, then there will be some serious question marks and criticism. In his second season, eyes will be on how teams handle Stroud and how Stroud handles higher pressure to compete and win with his new assets after proving himself during his rookie campaign. 

NFC South: Atlanta Falcons
Oh the NFC South. I feel like we’re really just identifying who we expect to be the most improved team. When you look at the offseason moves, the Atlanta Falcons are the most intriguing and seem to be the team that brought in the most to make the necessary changes. While they aren’t winning a Super Bowl, they’re making improvements for both the current and the future simultaneously, and it’ll be interesting to see how that comes together this year under Raheem Morris and his new coaching staff.

The addition of Kirk Cousins obviously turned heads, and eyes are on how he returns from the Achilles’ injury. But he’s got talent in rookie Michael Penix Jr. to back him, as well as support on offense from young and hungry playmakers. So expectation and pressure doesn’t seem crazy high for any of the teams in this division, but I think the Falcons deserve the most for what they committed to doing to make the team and organization better for right now and in the years to come. 

AFC West: Los Angeles Chargers
This is another division where I could find arguments for a few teams. And I did because my friends and I debated this one when I told them what I was writing this week. With the Chiefs staying atop the division, I’m going a similar route I did with the NFC North: Who holds the most pressure to compete with KC. The videos and antics flooding social media have all of our eyes on the Harbaugh hype.

Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers have simply set themselves up with high expectations going into the season as a result. But when you’re talking about one of the most intelligent coaching minds of our time, of course there will be naysayers hoping for a fall – and that in itself adds pressure. If you’re looking at any of the other teams, there’s an easy path for the Chargers to finish second in the division and they have minimal excuses not to. Justin Herbert proved his worth under lackluster coaching, so now he has an opportunity to exceed his potential under good coaching. If they can avoid the injury bug, they’ll be counting many more wins this year. 

NFC West: San Francisco 49ers
They’ve been oh-so-close and that makes this year feel even more like it’s do or die if they don’t win a Super Bowl. Regardless of Brock Purdy being just 24 years old, their window of opportunity to capitalize on his prime is now. Surrounded by a plethora of veteran players that have still got it, they’re racing against the clock, too. The Christian McCafferys and George Kittles are crushing it at their age, but it’s only a matter of time before production could go down and injuries begin to occur more often. With a creative Kyle Shanahan at the helm, this has to be the year they get over the hump.