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4. Denise & James Earl (#TeamAlabama)

Look, this mother/son team has so many personal issues that we recognize placing them this high in the rankings is probably questionable. They’re a little bit reminiscent of previous mother/son team Margie & Luke from three previous seasons of the race, actually. It feels like Denise & James Earl could have a blowup at any moment, and mistakes are going to bring on the blame game. Don’t be surprised to see this pair slide.

5 (tie). Logan & Chris (#ThePaparazzi) and Kelsey & Joey (#TheReporters

Neither of these teams did anything of notice during the first episode. In fact, they were both so bland that we’re lumping them together here, almost like one super media-savvy news-photo team. Either one of these teams could be good, but The Amazing Race has given us absolutely nothing to go on so far.

6. Justin & Diana (#TheGreenTeam)

Even though they struggled in the first leg, a lot of that was due to bad luck and circumstance rather than any true misstep on their part. They chose to try the Fast Forward and it backfired on them because it wasn’t available due to weather. From that point on, they worked hard to stay in the race and managed to come in ahead of two teams. Considering how far they were behind, you’ve got to give them credit. They also didn’t linger too long at the puzzle challenge when it wasn’t working for them, moving on to the footvolley Detour when it benefited them most. Since we know that they’ve done their own version of the Race, I feel like they’re prepared. Of all the lower ranked teams on our list, they’re the ones with the best chance to rise.

7. Ernest & Jin (#TheDancers)

The brothers are super entertaining and if their story about living out of a car is true, they could be the motivational story of the show. If they win a leg, we’re bound to see one stellar celebration dance. With that said, the duo seems as if they could be prone to struggle with challenges that require attention to detail, and we also worry that if they get lost, they could find themselves with an insurmountable deficit to make up. We’d be happy to be proven wrong, though!

8. Tiffany & Krista (#TheCheerleaders)

These former cheerleaders wanted to prove that they’re different than the stereotype. Unfortunately, their first leg didn’t go far in helping them to accomplish that goal. There was a lot of crying and whining from both women, and they seemed to be mighty demoralized by the end of the race. On the plus side, the karma police struck when they were able to finish the puzzle well ahead of #TeamTMZ, who had been badmouthing them behind their back earlier in the episode. They’ll melt down again at the slightest sign of strife, but good on them for hanging in there.

We’ll have the recap for Episode 2 live on Monday. See you then!

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