Are There Any Great NFL Playoff Bound Teams?

Joe Sargent. Getty Images.

I don't know about you, but each and every playoff bound team has flaws that make me think pretty much any team can beat them. Look up the official playoff picture seedings and tell me you don't see the NFL version of Ocean's 11 (plus 3). Just a bunch of frauds posing as good teams. The next sequel would be Ocean's 14 anyway. Who better than the NFL to have the script? 

Long gone are the days of clear cut conference favorites going into December led by Brady, Manny, Brees, Rodgers, and… even Mahomes? Josh Allen has balled, but the Bills haven't really capitalized on taking over the AFC and neither has Lamar Jackson. Perhaps Joe Burrow would have, but he's been hurt. Is Drake Maye really the class of the AFC? When in history have we ever seen a second-year Patriots quarterback come out of nowhere to begin the makings of a dynasty?

OK, don't answer that. 

It just feels like the playoff race is a good ole Mexican standoff with and every one of the 14-teams slated for the postseason at this point has an empty gun. I recently had a few blogs having fun with the Bears negative point differential and calling them fun frauds leaving many fellow fans angry with me so why not just take that energy to every team slated to make the postseason? Seems like a good bit of fun. So come one, come all. Here are some reasons your playoff team isn't really all that. 

AFC 

#1: Denver Broncos

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Last night's game to the severely downtrodden Washington Commanders sans Jayden Daniels could be viewed as a bad game the #1 seed in the AFC got away with. Even though they left a guy wide open that Mariota just misjudged how high he needed to throw it to him. The Bears get flak for barely beating crappy teams, but here are some inconvenient Bronco stats:

- Held just a 13-12 lead on the 1-11 Titans with 8:00 left in the game

- Trailed at one point in each of the last nine games played before winning them all

- Beat Jets 13-11

- Down 32-0 in 4th quarter to the Giants

- Scored 10 points vs the Raiders despite having a blocked punt and interception give them ball in opposing territory on back-to-back drives

- One bad pass away from losing to Commanders with Marcus Mariota (Commanders being one of just four teams to ever lose by 21-points or more four games in a row)

Their few decisive wins include beating the Jake Browning version of the Bengals, and the Cowboys which was a legitimate clobbering. They wore the best uniform in pro sports that game which I'd say is the key for this team, but I have to be fair and point out they wore Orange Crush in that Raiders game too. All in all this is a team that can beat anyone and be beat by anyone. And I mean anyone! 

#2: New England Patriots

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They play tonight so will be interesting to see how this goes vs a bad but frisky team with Jameis Winston. Like the Broncos, they have a 9-game winning streak with losses to Pittsburgh and…the Raiders???

That's all I need to hear. You can't be a serious team if you lose to the Raiders. The Raiders are not "any given Sunday" eligible. Even if it's your first game with a new coach. The only other team the Raiders beat are the Titans. If you can even call them a team. You can say the Patriots needed a few games to catch their stride in being good, but by rule you then also must give the Raiders a chance to catch their stride in being bad. 

Jokes aside - this really might be a new spawning of Tom Brady they have in Drake Maye. It's like when they update an action figure with a special skill the old #1 toy in the toy store had. Drake Maye is Brady with legs. But they have some schedule merchant issues themselves. During this nine-game win stretch they've played the Bengals pre-Burrow, the Jets, Falcons, Browns, Titans, Saints, and Panthers. 

Wins against the Bills and Bucs were statement games that absolutely should give fans reason to believe they can beat anyone. But as we discussed with the Raiders loss, they can not only lose to anyone, but to no ones too.

#3: Jacksonville Jaguars

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You're kidding, right? The Jags are #3? Credit Liam Coen here, because this is pretty much the same team, just a different day. No one believed this team was for real at any point this season. But after looking at things, they actually might be. And if wondering if the Jaguars might be for real isn't a sign that there are no real good teams, then I don't know what is.

The Jags worst loss was against the Bengals in the game Burrow got hurt. But they also eeked out a win vs the Raiders (30-29) which if you ask me is only slightly less impressive than their 25-3 victory against the Titans. But shit. 35-6 over the Chargers? A win over the Chiefs? 

I can't wait for a Chargers/Jags rematch in the playoffs. They have to put Al Michaels on the call no matter what the network is. Figure it out. Neutral fans need something to complain about. 

#4: Baltimore Ravens

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Baltimore Ravens opponents beaten this season: Browns. Dolphins. Vikings. Browns again. Jets. And their only real impressive win was vs the Bears. But go ahead and try to use that game as the "Lamar can't win big games" counter because he didn't even play in it. 14-points Sunday against the Bengals. This is the fewest allowed by the Bengals this season which includes a Browns game. 

Has to be infuriating as a Ravens fan to watch this team that really should have beaten the Bills to make the conference championship last year fail to take a stronghold this year. 

#5: Los Angeles Chargers

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We're about to find out about the Chargers down the stretch here, but I don't need to tell these fans anything they don't know about disappointment. Eagles (we'll see what team shows up), Chiefs, Cowboys, Texans, Broncos to end the season. Brutal. At least I think. Who knows? But now you have Herbert dealing with an injury as you go through this home-stretch. 

#6: Indianapolis Colts

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Excuse the bad joke but we're all kind of waiting for the horseshoe to drop here with this magical Daniel Jones season in a similar way it did with Darnold in Minnesota last year. And speaking of injuries, he's got his own broken bones he's dealing with too it appears. I guess that's the real worry with this team. Is the Irsay spirit bump over? They've lost three of their last four with their only win being against the Falcons. In their defense, they do beat teams they're supposed to beat. Rams, Steelers, Chiefs, Texans are their four losses. But the Daniel Jones magic is starting to fade. It feels like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade might be ending and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull might be starting. 

#7: Buffalo Bills

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If I'm buying an AFC conference champion future, I think I'm going with Buffalo. Josh Allen is every bit playing like Josh Allen, but the Falcons and Dolphins games just owns real estate in the back of the mind. On the other hand, the Dolphins have picked themselves up after that home beat down vs the Ravens on that Thursday night. And the way they took to the Steelers on the ground in Pittsburgh with multiple missing offensive lineman was impressive. So, the Bills might actually be in a decent spot. But much like the Ravens, it's disappointing to see them not at the top of a down conference. 

NFC

#1: Chicago Bears

Chicago Tribune. Getty Images.

Nine wins for the #1 seed Bears. 9 wins for the #7 seed 49ers. The Bears have the lowest chance of making the playoffs according to NFL.com out of any of the current seven holding down a spot at 76%. The -3 point differential and playing some truly awful teams going into Week 13 was countered by a beatdown of the Super Bowl Champion Eagles in their house with utter domination in the run game. But you could still argue the crazy wind neutralized this game a bit. I wouldn't call that a great argument. But whatever. The Bears still have tough opponents to end the season themselves - hence the lower playoff percentage - but if they do go in and beat Green Bay this week they will be every bit the Super Bowl contender as anyone else in the league. 

#2: Los Angeles Rams

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The Rams are probably my Buffalo Bills of the NFC. But losing to the Panthers is never a good look. Then again, like the Bills, they were incredibly close to making the Super Bowl last year and have quarterbacks playing at the highest level. Well - except for Sunday when Stafford relapsed into throwing back to back picks immediately after topping Tom Brady's record for most touchdowns thrown without an interception. 

#3: Philadelphia Eagles

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#4: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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This team started off hot and has cooled down considerably. Beating the Cardinals by three isn't impressive at all since doing so is pretty much a law of thermodynamics at this point. 1-3 in their last four and 2-5 in their last seven. Mike Evans injury is hurting them as I guess teams are just loading up on Emeka Egbuka now. The good news is they get the Saints, Falcons, Panthers, Dolphins, Panthers to end the season. AFC South division games are always ugly "who can lose it more" fests, but they have a chance to wake up and get ready for the playoffs. 

#5: Seattle Seahawks

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OK, upon further review this team feels pretty for real. Losses to the 49ers, Bucs when they were good, and Rams. That's it. Not bad for a #5 seed. And they just gave the Vikings their first shut out loss since 2007. But they haven't quite been able to take over the conference. Not yet, anyway. Can Darnold actually keep it going all the way through? That's the question. 

#6: Green Bay Packers

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Lost to the Browns. We're done here. Jordan Love is a guy that can make all the throws one game and then put up a stinker the next. 

#7: San Francisco 49ers

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OK, this is a good team. Sure, Purdy had those picks vs the Panthers in his first game back but they still took care of business. They also have wins vs the Seahawks and Rams. 

There's really no take away I want to give you to all this. Other than when everyone else is trying to figure out who the teams to beat are, sometimes it's fun to point out there really aren't any. And this lack of super powers is going to make for an absurdly fun rest of season and 2025 Playoffs. Every fan base has a reason to crap on one another. That's what fandom is all about. 

Here's to a roller coaster last month of the season.

@Stathole