With the stage set for a star-studded NFL playoff, it’s high time for an overview of who the contenders and pretenders are across the league.
In the American Football Conference (AFC), there appear to be two tiers of competition. The top three seeds: the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, and Cincinnati Bengals, have separated themselves as the top dogs of the conference. They all come into the playoffs with top 10 scoring offences and boasting winning streaks of at least five straight games. MVP front-runner Patrick Mahomes and his Chiefs secured the number one seed in the AFC and the first-round bye that comes along with it. They’re looking to return to their third Super Bowl in the past four years, with their most recent appearance in 2021 ending in a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Bills and Bengals finished second and third respectively, which matched each of them up against their own divisional rivals. The Bills’ banged-up secondary barely survived the Miami Dolphins in an AFC East clash that ended in a final score of 34-31, while the Bengals squared off against a Lamar Jackson-less Baltimore Ravens squad that same night. They were powered to victory by a miraculous goal-line forced fumble that was returned for a touchdown. The Bills and Bengals are set to face each other in the divisional round on Sunday.
The Los Angeles Chargers were another team to keep an eye on in the AFC until they were upset by the Jacksonville Jaguars. The star-power of Justin Herbert and Austin Ekeler gave them a 27-0 lead to begin the game, however their shortcomings caught up to them in the second half. Their young defense couldn’t hold up forever in the tough crucible of a playoff atmosphere. Plus, the conservative style of play-calling by offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi hindered their explosive offence from expanding on their lead. The Jaguars lead by Trevor Lawrence pulled off the third largest comeback in NFL playoff history, and will roll into Kansas City as underdogs to take on the Chiefs.
On the other side of the league, the National Football Conference (NFC) is much murkier. From top to bottom, it is not as strong as the competitors in the AFC, with three out of the seven NFC playoff teams having a negative point differential in the regular season. The third and fourth seeds were never true contenders. The Minnesota Vikings’ negative point differential and bottom-three defence sunk them against the New York Giants, while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished with an 8-9 record and only squeaked into the playoffs because the rest of their division was even worse than them. They got dismantled by the Dallas Cowboys 31-14. Only the top two seeds, the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers feel like consistent juggernauts who would have a shot at taking down whoever comes out on top of the AFC. The Eagles earned the top seed in the conference with a record of 14-3, but they were 14-1 when led by quarterback Jalen Hurts. The dual-threat style of Hurts had its neck-and-neck with Mahomes in the MVP race before a shoulder strain knocked him out of play for two weeks. There are no true holes in the team as they finished with both a top-10 offence and defence.
The 49ers grabbed the second seed as the hottest team in football, entering the playoffs on a 10-game win streak. They are defined by their defence which is the best in football by almost every metric. Defensive captain Nick Bosa led the league in sacks with 18.5, while the rest of the front seven stifled the run, allowing the fewest rushing yards per game in the NFL. The defence will look to continue to play at this elite level as they hunt for their franchise’s sixth Super Bowl. A developing story for them this year has been their quarterbacks. Sophomore starter Trey Lance went down with a season-ending injury in week two and veteran backup Jimmy Garoppolo broke his foot in week 13. Fortunately, rookie quarterback Brock Purdy has stepped up and exceeded expectations. Purdy was the final selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, earning him the honourable title of “Mr. Irrelevant,” but since he has started he has been everything but. In his five starts, he has a record of 5-0, with over 1300 yards passing and 13 touchdowns. A rookie quarterback has never won the Super Bowl as the starter, so his poise and composure will be put to the test as he looks to be the first. The 49ers took down their rival, the Seattle Seahawks, and will face the Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round.
Those Cowboys are intriguing as a Super Bowl dark horse. They boast a top five offence and defence, with a well-constructed roster that is built for the playoffs. However, their X-factor is quarterback Dak Prescott. He has the ability to be great, but his mental errors and questionable decision-making could easily be the Cowboys’ downfall. Last year it was his mental blunder that sent them packing in the playoffs against the 49ers, and this year he leads the league in interceptions with 15. If he can keep it together, they are a massive threat to take down the Eagles and 49ers, but if he falls apart it won’t be a surprise to see them head home early.
The winners of the AFC and NFC will face off in the 57th Super Bowl on Feb. 12.
