Kansas City Chiefs (14-2) – The Chiefs finish the 2020 season as the #1 seed in the AFC and should be the favorite to repeat as Super Bowl Champions. The Chiefs possess a top 10 offense, top 10 defense and the best player in the NFL in QB Patrick Mahomes. Combine those assets with one of the better coaching staffs in the NFL (HC Andy Reid and DC Steve Spagnuolo) and you get nothing but fire. I don’t want to discount players like Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, Chris Jones, Tyrann Mathieu, Mecole Hardman, etc. but this team’s success is tied to Patrick Mahomes. When the team around him doesn’t play well he’s there to lift them to victory and when Mahomes is on his game the Chiefs dominate. I said it a few weeks ago and it bares repeating. It’s going to take a near perfect effort to elminate Kansas City from the playoffs. Not going to happen as the Chiefs repeat and become 2-time Super Bowl Champs.
Seattle Seahawks (12-4) – As with the Chiefs the Seahawks chances to win a Super Bowl rest on QB Russell Wilson’s shoulders. The Seahawks defense is playing better since aquiring DE Carlos Dunlap from the Bengals. S Jamal Adams set a record for sacks from the S position. RB Chris Carson is running the ball well and there isn’t much left to say when it comes to explsoive playmaking WR DK Metcalf or the always reliable Tyler Lockett. The one glaring problem for Seattle is the piss poor pass protection provided by the Seahawks OL. Seattle is lucky to have a mobile QB like Wilson because no other QB in the league would be as successful behind C as Wilson has been. I believe Russell Wilson is good enough to overcome the OL issues and whatever holes opposing offenses can find in his defense. Seattle is my pick to win the NFC and go onto lose to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
New Orleans Saints (12-4) – The Saints jump way up on my list for one reason. Drew Brees has played better football in the games since returning from his rib injury than I’ve seen him play in at least 2 years. Brees has been pushing the ball downfield consistently which will be essential at some point during the playoffs. The Saints have two quality WR’s in Micheal Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. They also possess one of the most explosive all around backs in football in Mr. 6, Alvin Kamara. The New Orleans defense has steadily improved all season and stepped up big time during Drew Brees absence. Losing LB Kwon Alexander was a blow but not one the defense can’t overcome. DE’s Cameron Jordan and Marcus Davenport can heat up the QB off the edge and as long as a defense can rush the passer they have the ability to dominate in today’s NFL. The Saints are the NFC’s most complete team.
Cleveland Browns (11-5) – I had a hard time with the last spot but I’m going with the Browns. I dislike QB Baker Mayfield as a person and hated the way he handled the Hugh Jackson situation. However, Mayfield is finally starting to play the way I thought he would coming out of Oklahoma. After an up and down start to his career he finally generated the consistent play needed to lead Cleveland to a playoff berth. He did it without star WR Odell Beckham Jr.(although he hasn’t played like one in 3 plus years) who was lost early in the year to a torn ACL. Jarvis Landry has played like a #1 WR in Beckham’s absence and WR Donovan Peoples-Jones improved over the course of the year. TE Austin Hooper is one of two very good pass catching TE’s the team employs. RB’s Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt are the best 1-2 punch in the league and the most talented. The defense is solid and can defend the run and pass. DE Myles Garrett is the best player on the team and one of the league’s premier pass rushers. As long as Baker Mayfield protects the football and avoids looking like he did in his first game against the Steelers this year the Browns could give the Chiefs a run for their money if they were to meet in the playoffs. The Cleveland Browns along with the Chiefs and Saints are one of the most complete teams in the NFL.
The Rest – The NFC’s #1 seeded Green Bay Packers had another great regular season behind elite QB Aaron Rodgers but they still lack a real compliment to WR Davante Adams and overall just aren’t physical enough . The Titans are solid up and down the roster and have the best RB in the NFL as well as an underrated QB and a young stud WR, AJ Brown. However, the Titans defense has got to be a huge concern for coach Mike Vrabel. They have gotten steadily worse over the course of the season and were absolutely torched by the Packers and Browns late in the year. The Buffalo Bills went 13-3 and have to have their fans excited for this year and beyond. QB Josh Allen is playing at an elite level and WR Stefon Diggs was the trade of the decade. I really like RB’s Zach Moss and Devin Singletary (neither are involved enough) and reliable target SWR Cole Beasley has been huge for Allen’s development. DT Ed Oliver is a solid player in the middle of the defense and CB Tre’Davious White is excellent in the secondary. LB Tremaine Edmunds is also a nice player but I don’t think the defense has many if any elite players (except for White) and showed a penchant for blowing big leads this year. The Indianpolis Colts have had a nice year. QB Philip Rivers first year in Indy was a success and TY Hilton is a solid veteran presence in the WR room. Rookie RB Johnathan Taylor is part of a good crop of young RBs but I don’t belive the Colts have enough on offense to hang with the better teams in the AFC. DeForrest Buckner, Darius Leonard and Justin Houston lead a very good and disciplined defensive unit. The Steelers went 12-4 and were the the last undeafted team in the NFL but lost their first game and have since looked out of sorts. Out of sync in the pass game and a nonexistent run game have caused the Steelers problems offensively. The Steelers got a big comeback win over the Colts to help fend off the Browns and win the North. They opened up the offense and Big Ben delivered. The Steelers have playmakers at the WR spots but lack a true differnce maker in the backfield. The defense lost OLB Bud Dupree but should be able to overcome the loss as TJ Watt is the NFL’s best pass rusher. The Steelers lack of a run game may cost them in January, if the passing game can’t come together. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers went 11-5 and Tom Brady is in the playoffs while the Patriots are not. However, I watched a lot of slow starts offensively that cost the Bucs the W time and again during the regular season. Besides one game against the LA Chargers earlier this season Tom Brady has not impressed me. Look beyond the passing yardage. Brady utilized the check down and short passing game with his usual precision but when it came to pressing the ball downfield something was off. Was it timing with his WRs, a new offense, pressure or some combination of all of those? The Bucs run game was forgotten about at points this year but they have two RBs who can take over a game if needed. Ronald Jones came into his own this season and the additions of WR Antonio Brown and RB Leonard Fournette were almost unfair. WR Mike Evans may miss the first round of the playoffs but with TE Rob Gronkowski playing better and the Bucs plethora of other receiving options they have more than enough to compensate for the potential loss of Evans. You can’t run on the Bucs #1 rated run defense, period. LB’s Devin White and Lavonte David are the best duo in the NFL but the pass defense has been atrocious. That’s odd for a team that can put as much pressure on the QB as the Bucs defense can but blown assignments have been a customary occurrence in the secondary. If the coaching staff doesn’t correct that this week the Bucs could be eliminated earlier than you think. The Ravens, Rams and Bears make up the rest of the playoff teams and the fact I haven’t commented on their chances should tell you something.
*You can go to the home page and click on the latest Now On The Clock Podcast episode to hear predictions and our thoughts on the NFL Playoffs.
