Signs I watch for to determine super bowl contention:
1) At least decent QB play w/ very few TO's.
2) LOS domination. It is just so hard to win against playoff teams/QB's if you're getting beat up front. Foles does not win that super bowl against the Pats if the Pats had a better DFront. He had all day. And you need to be at least decent on both sides of the ball. Thing is, a dominant DLine is what mostly beats playoff Qb's. Brady laughs at teams who try to beat him w/ coverage. Pay attention next time and see the snarky smirk on his face when others try to beat him w/ coverage.
3) An O that can control the clock. Quick strike O's mostly lose to teams in the playoffs as their D gets gassed. ATL is the most recent example of this, though there were most definitely other factors. Brady does it w/ a short passing game, most teams do it w/ a consistent running game. Either way, gotta be able to use up clock to keep the D fresh.
4) S's. Man, your last line of D is just so important. Need a guy back there who can fly, cut off the deep stuff, and w/ the instincts to know where to be.
5) Playmakers. And that's on O and on D. Need some game changers. That's why I was happy w/ the Tavon acquisition. He's the guy that touches the ball 2-8 times/game, but makes a difference. I'm hoping Jaylon can be that guy on D. He's shown signs, and man can that guy fly!!!
I know, there are many other factors, and the more weaknesses you have the harder it is to win it all. However, it all starts up front.