NEW ORLEANS — The best quarterback usually wins.

It’s a football adage that is as true in the Patrick Mahomes Era as it was in the Bart Starr Era.

But there are other “best” paths to the Super Bowl than the one that the Chiefs use — as the Eagles have shown by winning the NFC three times since 2017.

Here are the NFL’s best position groups — three of which will be represented in Super Bowl 2025:

Best Quarterbacks: Chiefs

Let’s be honest: It’s all about the starter.

Once in a blue moon a Tom Brady or Kurt Warner emerges from lower on the depth chart — or a Jeff Hostetler or Nick Foles can keep a great team going after an injury — but most teams are doomed if the backup quarterback is needed.

So, Mahomes, a two-time MVP and three-time Super Bowl champion, makes the Chiefs the clear choice over the Bills, Ravens and Bengals quarterback rooms.

Mahomes’ 89 regular-season wins are the most by a quarterback before age 30 — even though he sat almost his entire rookie season. Add in a 16-3 record and 5-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio in the playoffs.

Carson Wentz, a former Pro Bowler with 94 career starts, is Mahomes’ third different backup in the past three years (Chad Henne and Blaine Gabbert).

Best Running Backs: Lions

The Lions became the first team in NFL history to have two running backs and two receivers each reach 1,000 yards from scrimmage.

The electric Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 1,412 yards on an average of 5.6 per carry. He led the NFL in rushing touchdowns (16) and touchdowns from scrimmage (20).

David Montgomery missed his second straight 1,000-yard rushing season because of a three-game injury absence, but he still finished with 755 and 12 touchdowns on the ground.

No disrespect to the Eagles’ Saquon Barkley, who became the eighth member of the 2,000-yard rushing club and is about to break Terrell Davis’ single-season records for rushing yards and yards from scrimmage (regular season and playoffs combined) in the Super Bowl.

Best тιԍнт Ends: Ravens

Avoid recency bias: Mark Andrews (55 catches for 673 yards and 11 touchdowns) is still one of the NFL’s best despite his fumble and dropped pᴀss in the AFC Championship game.

Are there better No. 1 options? Sure, the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce and 49ers’ George Kittle are all-timers, and the Lions’ Sam LaPorta (Second-Team All-Pro as a rookie in 2023) and Raiders’ Brock Bowers (First-Team All-Pro as a rookie in 2024) ensure the position’s future is bright.

What elevates the Ravens is that backup Isaiah Likely (42 for 477 and six) would start for about half the league, too. Add in third-stringer Charlie Kolar to get 18 total touchdown catches from one group.

Best Receivers: Bengals

There are a lot of great duos: Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams (Lions), Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison (Vikings), D.K. Metcalf and Jaxson Smith-Njigba (Seahawks), Drake London and Darnell Mooney (Falcons), A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith (Eagles) and Davante Adams and Garrett Wilson (Jets).

But Ja’Marr Chase won the receiver’s Triple Crown (127 catches for 1,708 yards and 17 touchdowns) while having to share targets with Tee Higgins (73 for 911 and 10 in just 12 games) and Andrei Iosivas (36 for 479 and six).

Higgins is arguably the best free agent at any position in 2025, so this trio’s days might be over.

Best Offensive Line: Eagles

Imagine losing a future Hall of Famer playing at a First-Team All-Pro level (center Jason Kelce) to retirement and still being the best.

Right tackle Lane Johnson, center Cam Jurgens and left guard Landon Dickerson were named Pro Bowlers. Johnson, a franchise icon, and solid left tackle Jordan Mailata have been bookends together since 2020.

Offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland’s magic touch is seen by his turning Jets draft bust Mekhi Becton into an overnight high-level right guard despite Becton’s unfamiliarity with the position.

The line is the reason for the success of the NFL’s most unstoppable play: The Tush Push.

Best Defensive Line: Steelers

Call them “defensive ends” or “outside linebackers.” You choose.

Bottom line: When combining edges with tackles to form a defensive line, no team compares to the Steelers, even when T.J. Watt has a relative “down year” of 11.5 sacks. Alex Highsmith added six sacks in 11 games on the other side.

And defensive tackle Cam Heyward enjoyed a renaissance in his age-35 season, making First-Team All-Pro for the first time in three years after recording eight sacks and a remarkable 11 pᴀsses defended.

The Steelers boasted Pro Football Focus’ No. 1 defensive line — and it wasn’t close.

Best Inside Linebackers: Commanders

How did the Commanders go from 4-13 to 12-5 and the NFC Championship game in one year’s time?

By changing owners, head coaches and quarterbacks.

But the fourth-biggest move might have been signing free agents Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu — both of whom were named Second-Team All-Pros. It was Wagner’s 11th straight season as a First- or Second-Team All-Pro, and his play rubbed off on Luvu (career-high eight sacks).

Best Secondary: Eagles

A longtime weakness for the Eagles now is one of their biggest strengths, even with $38 million man James Bradberry sidelined

How did that happen? In one offseason, the Eagles signed ballhawk C.J. Gardner-Johnson (six interceptions) and hit home runs on first- and second-round draft picks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean.

Six-time Pro Bowler Darius Slay still had enough left in the tank to be a good No. 2 cornerback as Mitchell stepped into the lockdown role.

The Eagles allowed the fewest pᴀssing yards and fewest net yards per pᴀss in the NFL, tied for sixth-fewest touchdowns allowed and ranked 12th in interceptions.

Specialists: Cowboys

Brandon Aubrey’s strong leg put the Cowboys in scoring position just after crossing midfield. He made 85.1 percent of his field goals, including 11 of 14 from 50-plus yards.

The Cowboys were the only team in the NFL with three punt or kickoff return touchdowns. Two belonged to KaVontae Turpin.

Bryan Anger ranked 11th by averaging 42 net yards on 62 punts.