With three weeks remaining in the 2024 NFL season, 17 teams remain either in playoff spots or within one game of those positions.

Technically, any of them could still win the Vince Lombardi Trophy. All but one will fail, though.

Last week, we gave you one good reason why each potential playoff team could win Super Bowl 59. Now, let's do the opposite.

AFC East

Buffalo Bills: The defense

The Buffalo Bills' defensive unit has surrendered 79 points in the last two weeks alone, and it registered just a single takeaway in those eight quarters. Earlier this year, we saw it get gashed by the Ravens.

There's still plenty of talent there, though, and the high-powered offense can do a lot of the heavy lifting. But we know the Bills are vulnerable at times defensively and that could easily be their downfall.

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens: The pass defense

I was tempted to go with legendary kicker Justin Tucker, who has been somewhat of a mess, but let's give him the benefit of the doubt and focus on a Baltimore pass defense that has been roasted in coverage quite consistently this year.

It has given up the second-highest passing yardage total in football while intercepting just eight passes, and the unit as a whole hasn't recorded multiple takeaways in a game since Week 7.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Inconsistency on offense

The Steelers haven't scored between 20 and 26 points in each of their last five games. They've fallen short of that range three times and exceeded it twice, with the two 27-plus-point outings coming against sub-.500 opponents.

With George Pickens potentially still unavailable or far from 100 percent, can anyone really expect this team to put up strong offensive performances more than four weeks in a row come January? It's hard to imagine.

AFC South

Houston Texans: The offensive line

The reality is that C.J. Stroud is the primary reason the Texans can and won't win the Super Bowl.

The second-year quarterback has the talent and weaponry to make it happen, but it just hasn't been working for a guy with an abysmal 80.9 passer rating since Week 7. And a lot of that falls on an offensive line that has been a mess outside of the tackle spots.

The Houston defense has shined more often than not and generated oodles of takeaways, but something's been wrong with the O-line, and it has a lot to do with a line that placed 27th in Pro Football Focus' latest leaguewide offensive line rankings.

AFC West

Denver Broncos: Bo Nix

The defense has been awesome and the weapons and protection are there for the rookie quarterback. The problem is...he's a rookie quarterback—one who has thrown five interceptions in two games this month.

A rookie signal-caller has never won the Super Bowl as a starter, and Nix is highly unlikely to change that with a team that is probably still a year away.

Kansas City Chiefs: The entire offense

Another thing that's never happened? A team winning three consecutive Super Bowls.

The Chiefs can make it happen this year, but it's hard to believe they can sustain it all considering how often they've gotten lucky despite inconsistent and generally sloppy play offensively.

A now-injured Patrick Mahomes is having the worst season of his career, and he lacks support at offensive tackle, wide receiver and even in the offensive backfield.

Put it all together and it's not too surprising that they haven't scored more than 30 points in a game all season.

Los Angeles Chargers: They can't beat quality opponents

A Week 15 blowout loss to the Buccaneers makes the Bolts 0-4 this year against first-place teams and 1-5 against opponents that currently have winning records.

An offense that has scored exactly 17 points in three consecutive games lacks firepower, and the defense appears to be overrated based on a soft overall schedule.

This team isn't Super Bowl-ready.

NFC East

Philadelphia Eagles: The passing game

This feels like a stretch considering the talent there and the performance the Eagles got from Jalen Hurts and Co. against Pittsburgh on Sunday.

That said, the defense has been consistently awesome and Saquon Barkley and the offensive line are killing it.

However, Philadelphia's primary potential downfall is a lack of consistency through the air, where it struggled a tad in November and early December as well as for much of last season.

Washington Commanders: Jayden Daniels

Just like with Stroud in Houston and Nix in Denver, this is the case of a team relying heavily on a young quarterback to either make or break things.

Right now, though, considering Daniels' play plummeted in November and he's coming off an eight-sack mess in Week 15, it's difficult to envision the rookie signal-caller suddenly taking a flawed Washington team close to Super Bowl LIX.

NFC North

Detroit Lions: Injuries, particularly on defense

Losing Aidan Hutchinson was one thing. Now throw in Alim McNeill to go with Kyle Peko, Mekhi Wingo, Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport, John Cominsky, Alex Anzalone, Derrick Barnes, Malcolm Rodriguez, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Carlton Davis III, Ennis Rakestraw Jr., Khalil Dorsey and Ifeatu Melifonwu. Oh, and David Montgomery now on offense.

It's tough to come back from that, especially if you've already given up the fourth-most 20-plus-yard plays in the NFL and there's evidence you peaked midway through the season.

Green Bay Packers: The path is hell

Even with just four losses, the Packers have dug too deep a hole in the wildly strong NFC North.

Considering how little this team has been tested in big spots, it's hard to imagine it keeping it together to win multiple consecutive road playoff games against teams such as Philadelphia, Detroit or Minnesota.

And because Green Bay is almost certain to finish third in the division, all three wins will be a necessity.

Minnesota Vikings: Offensive mistakes

Sam Darnold has been a revelation, but he's thrown 11 interceptions and committed a third-to-league-high 19 turnover-worthy plays, according to PFF. Meanwhile, the Vikings' sack-allowed rate (9.1 percent) is the seventh-worst mark in the league.

Like the path mentioned above for the Packers, that's likely to become a huge problem in January and/or February.

NFC South

Atlanta Falcons: Michael Penix Jr.

Have I mentioned that a rookie quarterback has never led his team to a Super Bowl victory?

The odds of Penix doing so with a defensively flawed team already playing catchup in December are slim to none.

(Editor's note: The team announced it is benching Cousins in favor of Michael Penix Jr.)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Turnovers

The experienced and resilient Bucs are surging at the right time, but they've still turned the ball over eight times during their current four-game winning streak. And Baker Mayfield and Co. went on a similar giveaway spree in October.

You can get away with that against teams such as the Giants, Panthers and Raiders; not so much against teams like the Eagles, Lions, Vikings and Packers.

NFC West

Arizona Cardinals: Inconsistent Kyler Murray

For the Cards to stand a chance to make a surprise run this early in their rebuild, they need Kyler Murray to be consistently awesome. And that simply hasn't been the case at all.

The quarterback, who has an 80.6 passer rating the last five weeks, has posted a rating in the 90s just three times in 14 games. Even if the Cardinals somehow sneak into the playoffs, he'll inevitably put together a dud pretty quickly.

Los Angeles Rams: Inconsistent defense

In their last five games, the Rams have surrendered 22, 37, 14, 42 and six points. Just one performance between 15 and 36, and none in their last four.

This team has lacked consistency in general, but the post-Aaron Donald era defense just doesn't have the ability to hold up for Matthew Stafford and Co. on a remotely consistent basis.

Seattle Seahawks: There's nothing they do great

The Seahawks don't dominate through the air or on the ground, they don't limit turnovers on offense or generate a ton of takeaways or pressure on defense, and they don't protect the passer very well. They don't stop the run, or make/allow an extreme number of splash plays.

They are who they are, and that ain't a Super Bowl threat. That was on full display Sunday against Green Bay.