- Max Greenberg
- Jan 13, 2022
The NFL regular season has finally come to an end, and now we are onto the playoffs. It is safe to say that this has been one of the craziest seasons in terms of which teams can contend for a Super Bowl because every team seems vulnerable in certain areas.
It is going to be extremely tough to predict a winner, because right when we think one thing about one team in a certain week, it quickly changes. But let’s look into the teams and see who might have the best chance of taking home the Lombardi Trophy.
In the AFC, let’s just get the Pittsburgh Steelers out of the way, because they realistically do not belong at the dance. It was a nice feel-good story to see Ben Roethlisberger’s career end the way it did in the regular season, but he just is not capable of taking his team to the promised land anymore.
His offensive line is not good either, and the Steelers’ rush defense is one of the worst in the league. It is hard to imagine them putting up much of a fight when they take the field on Sunday night.
The Las Vegas Raiders are a tough squad and really do embody the word “wildcard.” But with all of the turmoil, they have had to deal with, the on-field inconsistency, and their roster being far from the most talented, it is also tough to imagine them going far in these playoffs.
The New England Patriots are back in the mix, and despite them starting a rookie quarterback in Mac Jones, you know you can never count out the genius that is Bill Belichick. They also have a very winnable game against the Buffalo Bills, whose flaws on offense have been exposed this year. That might just be the most intriguing matchup on Wildcard weekend.
The Cincinnati Bengals are looking like the dark horse of the playoffs, and with elite talents such as Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, the rest of the receiving core that is the best in the NFL, and a stout defense, they might just be able to make some noise. But their lack of experience and lack of an offensive line might catch up to them at some point.
The Kansas City Chiefs look a lot better than they were early in the year, and they fought their way back to the second seed in the AFC. But their defense is suspect, their offense is prone to stalling out, and their momentum has tailed off as the regular season has come to a close. A third consecutive appearance in the big game might be tougher than it has been in previous years.
The top-seeded Tennessee Titans have momentum, they are starting to get fully healthy, and they are about to get Derrick Henry back in the lineup. But their offensive line is hard to watch sometimes, Julio Jones could go down with an injury at any point, and most importantly, they are tough to watch when they have a big lead or expectations on their shoulders.
The AFC is going to be a bloodbath, but the race is most likely to come down to the Bengals, Chiefs, and Titans. The NFC is much less interesting, as the only teams who seem capable of making it are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers.
The Philadelphia Eagles are just not very good and are winless against legitimate teams. They are likely to get destroyed by the Buccaneers on Sunday.
The Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys are similar in terms of losing momentum at the end of the regular season, especially the Cardinals, and both are likely to be hampered by poor coaching. I would not be scared of either team making much noise.
The San Francisco 49ers are a bit of a mystery, but they are fairly inconsistent. I see no reason to believe that a roster led by Jimmy Garoppolo can outlast other good rosters led by Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady.
The Los Angeles Rams are another talented team, but they have not seemed the same since losing to the Tennessee Titans in Week 9. Matthew Stafford’s ball security is also a huge question mark, so it is tough to imagine the Rams getting it done.
The Buccaneers have Tom Brady, who is who he is, but the injury to Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown debacle could limit their offense. Some will say that the Brown drama could hurt them, but that should be the least of their worries. A team with leadership that Brady and Bruce Arians provide can overcome that.
The Packers have Aaron Rodgers and a very talented roster. It is essentially the same situation as they were in last year, and based on their track record, I do not know if we can trust them.
Their recent performances in NFC Championship games have not been good, and Rodgers himself has not looked good in them. And with them potentially having to go through Brady again, history might repeat itself.
As you can see, every team has serious flaws that might be difficult to overcome. Hopefully, the playoffs will be as intense as the regular season, which was madness.
SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE
