The NFL playoffs are about to get underway with simultaneously two prohibitive favorites to make it to Las Vegas for Super Bowl LVIII, but also feeling more wide open than previous years.
The Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers, the top seeds in the AFC and NFC respectively, seem to be on a Super Bowl collision course. However, there's an argument to be made for just about every other team that qualified for the playoffs that they have the pieces in place to play for the Lombardi next month.
Here's a breakdown of the one reason why every team in the NFL Playoffs has the potential to win the Super Bowl:
Baltimore Ravens: Complementary Dominant Football is The Foundation
The Ravens barnstormed to the AFC's No. 1 seed, while going 6-3 against fellow playoff teams throughout the 2023 campaign. Baltimore is certainly benefiting from 2019 MVP Lamar Jackson playing the best football of his career, but the Ravens finished No. 6 in total defense, held opponents to a league-low 16.5 points per game, and boast the No. 6 ranked total offense. the Ravens' brand of complementary football make them a Super Bowl favorite.
Buffalo Bills: Momentum Fueling Loaded Roster
Few teams enter the postseason riding more momentum than the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo has won five straight games to close out the regular season, since losing in overtime in Philadelphia on Nov. 26, and six out of their final seven games, overall. Josh Allen, over that span, is averaging 218.4 yards with 1.0 passing touchdown, 1.0 interception and 1.2 rushing touchdowns per game. Winning begets winning, and the Bills are doing a lot of that at exactly the right time.
Kansas City Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes
It is never a smart bet to bet against Patrick Mahomes. Even dragging the worst wide receiving corps of his career into the playoffs, Mahomes remains as dangerous as they come come January and February. While this will be the first postseason that Mahomes and the Chiefs will be forced to play a game away from the friendly confines of Arrowhead Stadium, the two-time MVP and two-time Super Bowl MVP is 11-3 in the playoffs.
Houston Texans: Playing with House Money
Teams with nothing to lose are dangerous teams. No one expected the Houston Texans to be here, as AFC South Champions, in head coach DeMeco Ryans and C.J. Stroud's rookie campaigns. But, thanks to a balanced offensive attack and an opportunistic defense with a knack for creating timely turnovers, Houston returns to the postseason after finishing 10-7. With nothing to lose, Ryans' Texans have the potential to at least play spoiler and perhaps more than that in these playoffs.
Cleveland Browns: Joe Flacco's Stability
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Cleveland might wind up living to regret the mammoth Deshaun Watson contract, for plenty of reasons. Perhaps the most vital over the next month is the stability Joe Flacco has brought the Browns' offense in a charge to the playoffs. The Browns are 4-1 in Flacco's five starts this season, with the 38-year-old veteran completing 60.3 percent of his passes for 1,616 yards with 13 touchdowns to eight interceptions. That kind of consistent quarterback play, buttressed by an attacking defense are the ingredients of a lengthy playoff run.
Miami Dolphins: Explosive, Innovative Offense
Mike McDaniel's offense is built on the kind of speed that puts a real tax on opposing secondaries. If Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are fully healthy, that's 2,813 yards and 17 touchdowns in the passing game alone. Few teams have the explosiveness to challenge Mahomes and the Chiefs, but if the Dolphins don't get frozen out by the predicted freezing weather and gusty winds on Saturday night, Miami can outscore just about anyone.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Built to Dominate Winter Conditions?
Suddenly, in the most important stretch of the season, the Steelers are playing 'Mike Tomlin football' with the playoffs looming. Sure, the Bengals and Seahawks rank No. 25 and 31 against the run, respectively, and the Ravens rested their starters, but Najee Harris ran roughshod for 312 yards and four touchdowns amid Pittsburgh's season-ending three game winning streak. If the Steelers' defense, without T.J. Watt, can hold up and Pittsburgh is able to prove that it can run the football effectively against elite defenses, this is going to be a difficult out.
San Francisco 49ers: The NFL's Most Talented Roster
No reason to overthink this one. There aren't many teams that include playmakers like Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and George Kittle on offense with Nick Bosa, Javon Hargrave, and Chase Young chasing quarterbacks backed by a secondary full of ballhawks. That's before even mentioning that Brock Purdy led all starting quarterbacks with a 113 passer rating while tossing 31 touchdowns. If the 49ers make it through the playoffs without suffering a major injury, there aren't many teams capable of beating them.
Dallas Cowboys: Loaded Defense
Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Tony Pollard and the Cowboys' offense garner the headlines and generate the fireworks in Arlington, but the Cowboys' biggest key to actually making a playoff run that includes a Super Bowl win is its talented defense. Micah Parsons is a Defensive Player of The Year favorite with 14 sacks, DaRon Bland intercepted nine interceptions while returning five for touchdowns. As a team, the Cowboys finished fifth in total defense, allowing just 299.7 yards per game, and only four teams surrendered more than Dallas' 18.5 points per game. Dallas might go as far this postseason as its defense can carry it.
Detroit Lions: Swarming Front-Seven
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There's a lot to like about the culture head coach Dan Campbell has built in Detroit, but the Lions' front-seven might hold the key for how long the franchise's return to the playoffs lasts might be along the front-seven. Aidan Hutchinson continues to seemingly get better each week, finishing with 11.5 sacks in 2023 while the rest of Detroit's front seven adds 18. Few things matter more in the postseason than pressuring the quarterback, and the Lions have excelled at that this season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Ascending Defense
Tampa Bay won the NFC South largely on the back of Baker Mayfield playing the best and most consistent football of his career, but Todd Bowles' defense was the catalyst for the Buccaneers winning five of six to close out the regular season. Over the final six games, Tampa has held opponents to just 16.3 points per game. If that level of defensive dominance holds, look out ...
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Philadelphia Eagles: Postseason Experience
The Eagles enter the postseason losing five of their final six games, with a fractured locker room, and dealing with injuries to quarterback Jalen Hurts and receivers A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith. Yet, momentum can be a fickle thing, and if the Eagles advance through the Wild Card game in Tampa Bay, Philadelphia can lean on experienced roster that includes 15 starters who were part of last season's run to the Super Bowl. Experience matters in the NFL Playoffs, and Philadelphia has plenty to lean on.
Los Angeles Rams: Sean McVay's Offense Peaking at Right Time
With two Super Bowl appearances, and one Lombardi Trophy, under his belt, Sean McVay is one of the game's best tacticians. Los Angeles won seven of its final eight games, and were held below 30 points in just four of those games. Quarterback Matthew Stafford has forged a strong chemistry with rookie receiver Puka Nacua while Cooper Kupp remains a masterful route-runner and the Rams consistently find ways to light up the scoreboard.
Green Bay Packers: Jordan Love's Ascension
Jordan Love answered the bell, and the remaining questions about his future in Green Bay, during his first season as the Packers' starting quarterback. Love was a catalyst to the Packers winning three in a row and six-of-eight to close out the season as an NFC Wild Card. Even with injuries wreaking havoc on his receiving corps, Love still passed for 4,159 yards with 32 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. Love enters the postseason having thrown seven touchdowns with just one interception over the final three games. If Love can continue to perform at such a high level, and protect the football, the Packers fit the mold of a team that can make a surprise run.
