The 2023 NFL season has reached the halfway mark. With that, there is a better understanding of where teams stand in their conferences and divisions. At this point in the season, some teams pull away from the pack while others surge to the top after a slow start. This is the top five most intriguing and potentially dangerous teams in the NFL if any of these teams were to get hot:

5. Tennessee Titans: The short answer for the Titans is that as long as Mike Vrabel is the head coach, this team will be competitive no matter who is on this team. However, after his stellar debut, rookie quarterback Will Levis seems to be on a mission to prove every team that passed him up wrong. Levis threw for 238 yards and four touchdowns against the very Atlanta Falcons’ defense. This ranking  could easily be an overreaction, but, the summed reason previously stated, the Titans would have still made the list either way. If I were an NFL head coach, seeing Mike Vrabel finally having a quarterback would make me quite rerrified. The Titans have both Deandre Hopkins and Treylon Burks, who is a decent young target; of course they also have the king Derrick Henry. The Titans should be an interesting and exciting team for the rest of the season–don’t be surprised if they start giving the division-leading Jacksonville Jaguars a hard time going forward.

4. Los Angeles Chargers: The Chargers have easily one of the best rosters in the entire NFL–there is no denying that. Their coaching, however, has held this team back. The Chargers currently stand at 3-4L in the AFC west and have been their own worst enemy. The decisions made by this team’s coaching staff are rather astonishing (shoutout the Chargers ugly AFC wild card collapse last season). It is put up or shut up time for the Chargers–they have the horses to beat any team in the NFL, but they lack guidance to succeed. They are the true wild card of the NFL: one week they’re the best team in the league, and the next they are the dumbest team in the league.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers: Mike Tomlin, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and TJ Watt… that’s pretty much all to say about the Steelers. They have the best defense in the league (sorry San Francisco,) and have two of the best defensive players in Fitzpatrick and Watt. This defense has proven that they can carry the load if the offense is working; however, there have been flashes throughout the season where the Steeler offense has looked lethal. If they can replicate that lethal impact on offense, the Terrible Towels could be flying well into January.

2. Dallas Cowboys: When you look at the Cowboys roster, you see Super Bowl favorite; however, the reality is that this is a team that can steamroll their way to Las Vegas for Super Bowl LVIII, or implode and miss the playoffs. These two potential outcomes really come down to head coach Mike McCarthy and quarterback Dak Prescott. Dak has done better this season in limiting turnovers, but there have been flashes this season where he reverts to his old habits. As for the head coach, McCarthy has proven time and time again that he can’t handle the big moments. Sure, he has a Super Bowl as head coach of the Green Bay Packers, but he was carried by one of the greatest defenses in recent memory, along with Aaron Rodgers. The Cowboys have the makings to be the only team in the NFC who can take down the seemingly invincible Philadelphia Eagles.

1. New York Jets: Yes, the Jets are the most interesting and most dangerous team in the NFL. The Jets are currently 4-3W in the AFC East and can easily overtake the Buffalo Bills for the second place spot in the division. The Jets’ goal is simple–survive until Aaron Rodgers is healthy. In what many thought was a season ending achilles injury, the “baaaaaaad man” is already throwing again; the Jets just need to stay above or around .500 until Rodgers returns to lead the team. Even without Rodgers, as much as it may pain people to hear this, Zach Wilson has been great. Keep in mind, New York defeated the Bills and Philadelphia Eagles, and they should have beaten the Kansas City Chiefs if it weren’t for the horrendous officiating job to make sure Taylor Swift saw her boyfriend win a football game (you could write a whole column on Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce). To sum it up, despite not having Aaron Rodgers, the Jets have been able to take out some of the biggest powers in the NFL. If Aaron Rodgers can comeback in time for the playoffs even at 75%, the Jets can very easily be playing in Las Vegas for a Lombardi Trophy. The NFL should already be scared of the Jets, but the Jets with Aaron Rodgers? Forget it. They could steamroll the league and win their first Super Bowl since Joe Namath. That’s the take.