Contender means contender for the title imo. Otherwise the question wouldn't make sense. The thing with the NFL is, you just have one thing to go for. No one talks about division championships or winning the Conference after a couple of years.
The thing with the NFL (or any american pro sports for that matter), there is no relegation to a lower league to avoid, no UEFA league places in the standings to achieve and no league cup to play. So there are 31 losers every year. But since there are so many teams waiting longer for an SB win than the Cowboys and they had alot of winning seasons since 96 you couldn't even call them "losers".
But as far as NFL standards go, for the quarter of a century, they unfortunately are. The title isn't even close. But the wins guarantee fans keep tuning in. Like me. So far the season has been fun.