Playoff Field Taking Shape
After Week 15 we are getting a clear idea about the contenders and the pretenders in the NFL. Let’s take a look at the power rankings for the top five teams in each conference still in postseason contention. All playoff-eligible teams will have accompanying Super Bowl odds in parentheses and we will also see what the NFL point spreads are on their upcoming games this week.
AFC Power Rankings
Kansas City Chiefs (13-1, +175) – Patrick Mahomes is the NFL’s new king and why wouldn’t his team be listed at the top of the AFC heap? There is little doubt the defending Super Bowl champs will be getting a first-round bye to lick their wounds and get ready to feast on whichever team draws the short straw and advances to meet them in the second round. Kansas City is currently listed as 10-point favorites over the Falcons this week.
Buffalo Bills (11-3, +1200) – Josh Allen is a rising star and anyone who took shots at the 6’5” Wyoming product is sitting silently now. The Bills defense has not been quite as good as many suspected heading into this season but the addition of Stefon Diggs to the offense has more than compensated for that slight regression. The Bills Mafia has finally found the enforcers they need to defend their turf.
Pittsburgh Steelers (11-2, +1200) – The Steelers will most likely be 12-2 by the time this gets published, as a Monday night date with the Bengals looms. Pittsburgh was the last undefeated team in the league but was unceremoniously dumped by Washington and followed that up with another setback to the emerging Buffalo Bills. The Steelers are being listed as 2 ½ point favorites over the Colts this week.
Indianapolis Colts (10-4, +3300) – Phillip Rivers left his longtime home in San Diego for the midwestern feel of Indianapolis and it’s worked out just fine for both parties. The Colts needed a bona fide quarterback and they got one with the 39-year-old Pro Bowler. Currently in a death struggle with Tennessee for AFC South supremacy, the Colts are 2 ½ point underdogs to the Steelers this week in what should be a marquee matchup.
Tennessee Titans (10-4, +2800) – With all due respect to the upstart Cleveland Browns, we have to give a slight edge to the Titans, a team that went all the way to the AFC Championship game last year before they bowed to the Chiefs. Ryan Tannehill’s career has made a Lazarus-like comeback and the Titans are a tough out for any opponent. Tennessee is being listed as 3 ½ point road underdogs to the Packers this week.
NFC Power Rankings
Green Bay Packers (11-3, +600) – The Packers are the favorites to dethrone the Chiefs this season as Super Bowl champs but that will be a tall task to be sure. Aaron Rodgers has been playing like a man possessed, and that might have something to do with the Packers drafting quarterback Jordan Love in the first-round as the heir-apparent to the throne. Needless to say, Rodgers isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon but the similarities between this situation and his own when waiting for Brett Favre to cede the reins is striking. The Packers are 3 ½ point home favorites over the Titans in Week 16.
New Orleans Saints (10-4, +800) – Drew Brees is another aging veteran leading his team to the promised land but he had been doing so on the sidelines after suffering several broken ribs and a collapsed lung against the 49ers in Week 10. He recently returned to action in a 32-29 loss to Kansas City which might have been a Super Bowl preview. The Saints are currently installed as seven-point favorites over the Vikings in a special Friday night matchup.
Seattle Seahawks (10-4, +1200) – Ironically, the team known for bone-jarring defenses in the past has one of the most porous this season. Yet, the offense led by Russell Wilson is so prolific that they have been able to overcome their defensive shortcomings. The Seahawks have won four of their last five but will be tested this weekend when they face the LA Rams as two-point home favorites.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-4, +1200) – What a difference a quarterback makes, right? The Bucs have been on the outside looking in when the playoffs start for over a decade but now that Tom Terrific is pulling the levers in the Sunshine State, a postseason spot is there’s for the taking. The Bucs rallied from 17 points down to claim a 31-27 decision over the Falcons last week and are being dealt as 8 ½ point road dogs against the Lions this week.
Arizona Cardinals (8-6, +6000) – While many would put the Rams somewhere in the top five, it’s simply too difficult to do so after they lost to the worst team in football this past week. If you didn’t know, Los Angeles dropped a 23-20 decision to the Jets which makes the Cardinals the better team. That might be black and white logic at work but Kyler Murray is the real deal and will make noise in the postseason, just you wait. Arizona has been installed as 3 ½ point favorites over the 49ers on Saturday.