Determining who are the best feeling fanbases in the NFL every week, is determined on a few things. How well they are set up for a playoff run, how well the team has been playing lately, and if they had an especially fun game like a blowout win or a comeback win. A surprising win can make a worse team feel better than the good team sneaking by an easy opponent.
Honorable Mention:
Chiefs: 24-10 win over the Seattle Seahawks. The Chiefs took care of business against a struggling Seahawks team that had lost four of their previous five games. Of course, solidly winning a game you were heavily favored in, is not a huge accomplishment in itself but they make the honorable mention list based on how the team is positioned. The offense is still fantastic as they are averaging 29.2 points per game, the second most in the NFL. Patrick Mahomes is still playing out of his mind, this week he decided to add a crazy rushing touchdown to his never ending reel of highlights. He might be well on his way to a second MVP. The Chiefs are tied with the Bills for the best record in the AFC, one of the main reasons why the Bills edged them out in this list is the Bills have the tiebreaker over them. But the Bills are playing the Bengals next week, so Chiefs fans are definitely pulling for a tiger attack next week. Overall, Chiefs Kindom are enjoying a pretty stressless win and are looking ahead at postseason possibilities, definitely one of the best feeling fan bases.
#3 Buffalo Bills
35-13 win over the Chicago Bears. Things were feeling pretty uncomfortable for Bill Mafia at halftime when they were losing 6-10. But in the second half, Josh Allen made sure all sweating was premature, by the time the game had reached 7:57, less than half way through the third quarter Josh Allen had led two touchdown drives to make the score 21-10, a comfortable two score lead. The Bills cruised from there as the Bears only briefly made the score 21-13 before the Bills tacked on two more touchdowns. Obviously, having Josh Allen and an offense explosive enough to make scoring 29 points in one half look easy, is a huge reason why Bills fans are so happy this week but maybe just as importantly for their postseason chances is how the defense is playing. The defense is now the second stingiest defenses in the NFL, their performance this week against the Bears being one of their finest. Justin Fields has the unique ability of burning a defense with his running ability, averaging an insane 115.2 rushing yards his last five games. This week the Bills absolutely shut him down, only letting the star running back quarterback run for 11 yards. The Bills are now just two games away from clinching the number one seed but of course they need to hold off the Bengals (1 game behind) and the Chiefs (same record but losses tie breaker). Bills Mafia has a lot going for them but their next week’s game against Bengals is massive to determine who gets the one seed, if the Bills win that one there is a good chance you’re going to see them again on the list.
#2 Dallas Cowboys
40-34 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. This was a big test, even with the Eagles missing Jalen Hurts, could the Cowboys get past their rivals? Initially things were not looking too great the Eagles scored a field goal on the opening possession and then Dak Prescott threw a pick six on his third pass of the day and just like that they were down 10-0. But then Dak Prescott and the Cowboys’ offense turned it on, scoring on eight of their final nine possessions to out score the Eagles 40-24 the rest of the way. Yes, the Eagles were missing Jalen Hurts, but they still have one of the best defenses in the NFL and the Cowboys cooked them for 419 yards. Yes, they let up 442 yards to backup quarterback Gardner Minshew but they also forced four turnovers and won the game. The entire game was not perfect, but it was still a huge win for a Cowboys team trying to show that they are a real contender in the NFC. The Cowboys offense has been molten hot during the second half of the season, over the last eight weeks, the Cowboys have scored 37.5 points per game, number one in the NFL over this stretch. The defense over the same stretch has slipped hard averaging 24.9 ppg which would be fifth worst if it was over the entire season. If it could get back to the defense of their first seven games where they were only letting up 14.9 points per game, the Cowboys could be a real force in the playoffs. Of course, the Cowboys’ fandom has very real reason for optimism, then your offense is playing this well and they still have lots of talent on the defensive side of the ball, it’s just a matter of bringing it together. This week they can enjoy a huge win over their rivals and one of the best teams in the NFL, in the Eagles.
#1 San Francisco 49ers
37-20 win over the Washington Commanders. Another game and another blowout win for the hottest team in the NFL. They have won eight games in a row, the longest streak in the NFL and are averaging winning by 16.6 points. That’s virtually half the season going undefeated and winning every game by an average of three scores. I feel like I don’t need to make any other arguments for why Niners fans are feeling particularly cheery but for the sake of completeness I will run through a few others. First, maybe most importantly, Mr. Irrelevant Brock Purdy is miles better than any reasonable expectation, he did throw a pick against the Commanders but he also completed a rock solid 68 percent of his passes for 234 yards and had two touchdowns for a 114.6 passer rating. Jimmy Garoppolo, in his ten games this year only reached that passer rating twice. This was his worst game over the last three, with his others being a 117.0 passer rating against Seattle and a fantastic 134.0 rating against Tampa Bay. Over this last three game stretch he is averaging a completion percentage of 69.6 for 212 yards per game with seven total touchdowns and only one interceptions. Just phenomenal play for a seventh round rookie, especially when you consider those were his first three career starts and they went 3-0. Of course, he is not doing it all by himself, the 49ers also own the best defense in the NFL, they are currently number one in yards allowed per game and easily number one in points allowed per game at 15.3 the second closest is the Bills at 17.5 then the Ravens at 18.1. The 49ers also own the third best turnover differential at plus eight. Nick Bosa is of course leading the charge, making a strong personal case for Defensive Player of the Year, he currently has the most sacks in the NFL at 17.5 and is coming off one of his better games against the Commanders where he had 7 tackles, 2 sacks, four QB hits, and a two point conversion stop. Offensively, outside of Purdy, George Kittle is looking like he is back to his All Pro form, having over 90 yards and two touchdowns in each of his last two games. Ultimately, you can almost pick any spot and the 49ers are doing great, they might be the most complete team in the NFL, and Niners fans are not complaining! With also being able to enjoy another blowout, they are the best feeling fan base in the NFL.