Playoff Implications

Well, the regular season’s over. Twelve teams have survived the NFL’s 16 game grind to make it into this year’s playoff tournament. As badly as the rest of the 20 non playoff teams in the league wanted to be participants in the coveted post season, they are now making tee times on their favorite golf courses, while the real season, with the really good teams, is now about to begin.

We now know that the 50th Super Bowl will be made up of one of this year’s six AFC playoff teams (Denver, New England, Cincinnati, Houston, Kansas City and Pittsburgh) playing against one of the six NFC teams (Carolina, Arizona, Minnesota, Washington, Green Bay and Seattle). And that means the best, most meaningful football games of the season are about to be played in these next few weeks.

One of these six NFC teams will play in the Super Bowl, while five of them will lose their last game of the season. Here is a little bit of insight into this year’s teams.

Carolina –

The Panthers were the NFL’s best team during the regular season, with only one loss to the non-playoff Atlanta Falcons in their 15th game marring an otherwise perfect season. Possessors of a strong defense with a potent, high scoring offense (the closest thing you can get to a one-man team) led by likely MVP Cam Newton, the Panthers have all of the characteristics and qualifications of a Super Bowl champion. You get the feeling if they are down by less than a touchdown with one possession left, Cam Newton will lead this team up the field to get the winning score.

They might have a weakness though. Come playoff time, the one man team can sometimes be stopped by a solid defensive team that can create that defensive scheme to stop that exact one man team.

Arizona –

The Cardinals have that exact type of high powered, modern day NFL well balanced offense that can steamroll through the playoffs. Quarterback Carson Palmer is not afraid to stretch the entire field with deep throws. The Cardinals averaged about 30 points a game and convincingly won most of their games down the stretch of the second half of the season. They only lost three games out of 16, the second best record in all of football. They’ve got a good defense too.

The only thing that scares you is their last game of the regular season. They, who were red hot before the game, were absolutely crushed by an even hotter Seattle team 30 to 6. The seemingly invincible team might not be so unbeatable.

Minnesota –

The Vikings have a really good, bend but don’t break defense. The Central Division champs run the ball effectively with Adrian Peterson and they get enough third down conversion plays from QB Teddy Bridgewater to move the chains, but they are KIND of one dimensional. The only problem is, teams that play the conservative rushing game offense in the passing oriented NFL of 2016 usually turns out to be the type of team that makes the playoffs, but doesn’t go very far.

Washington –

The Red Skins of this year have gone from a team that was a 5 and 7 joke in a division where no one was playing .500 football to a respectable 9 and 7 division champion who won their last four games in a row and seemed like they were one of the better teams in the league, especially on offense. Teams that got really good down the stretch and made the playoffs at 9 and 7 HAVE continued the hot streak and made it to the Super Bowl (think the Arizona Cardinals of the 2008 season). Could this year’s Red Skins go from an NFL joke to a Super Bowl? That’s why the odds are 30 to 1 against them.

Green Bay –

The Packers started the year 6 and 0. They finished the year 10 and 6. That makes them a team that lost six of their last ten games including getting thumped pretty badly in their last two games against fellow playoff teams the Cardinals and the Vikings. Their offensive line can’t block well for either their rushing game and their passing game. Their defense is only a couple of plays a game better than your league average team. They are totally ripe to get beat. But they have quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who knows how to win games all on his own. IF he gets enough time to make the plays.
Seattle –

The Seahawks have been playing like a powerhouse down the stretch. After starting the season 2 and 4, they pillaged their way through the rest of the season, winning eight of their last ten games. They REALLY started playing well when they let Russell Wilson play the quarterback position confidently and freely. The Seahawks went from being a ball control, running game oriented offense to a free wheeling offensive juggernaut down the stretch. And they still have their Super Bowl experienced defense. They are jelling at the right time. They are a team to be reckoned with in these playoffs.

And the same goes with the six AFC Teams.

Denver –

The Broncos started the season 7 and 0. They were winning games without a lot of offense (even though they have Peyton Manning at quarterback), but with a great defense. Then they lost a few, won a few, and Manning got hurt and they seemed like they were no longer going to be led by the future Hall of Fame QB. Manning seemed like a shell of his former self. The defense kept them right there in the playoff hunt, and they were just about to lose their last game of the year and fall to a Wild Card team, when Manning got better and led them to a number one seed clinching victory. Can Peyton Manning lead the Donks to a Super Bowl championship in his last hurrah? I’ve seen great stories like this played out before.

New England –

The defending Super Bowl champion Patriots were in the driver’s seat and practically guaranteed to be the number one seed in the AFC. They started the year 10 and 0 and seemed destined to finish with something around a 14 and 2 record and the pole position seed in the playoffs. They had a bunch of injuries, but lots of teams get those in the second half of the season. They still had Tom Brady. Then they up and lost their last two games of the year and ended up as the number two seed at 12 and 4. They’ve got Brady, Belichick and the rest of the team back again. They are good enough to win it. Who knows if they have another championship in them. No matter what it looks like, you never can count this team out.

Cinncinati –

The Bengals also looked strong and unbeaten early and faltered some down the stretch when their quarterback Andy Dalton got injured. They have solid football players on both sides of the ball, especially in the trenches. They have the type of players that are good enough to win a Super Bowl. BUT, the NFL champions of today are led by quarterbacks who play the position well enough to WIN a championship. If Andy Dalton were healthy, they MIGHT have someone who can be JUST good enough to do that. But he’s not healthy, and even if he plays, he still might not be good enough (he’s 0 and 4 in his playoff career). The Bengals, in this playoffs, go as far as their quarterbacking takes them.

Houston –

The Texans started the year 2 and 5 and seemed out of it completely. Then they won seven of their last nine and won their division championship. Their last three games of the year, their defense allowed ten, six and six points in overpowering wins that clinched them their division championship. The J.J. Watt led defense was probably the best defense in all of football, especially during the second half of the season. Their defense is good enough to win, so they will go as far as their quarterback play takes them also.

Kansas City –

All the Chiefs did was lose five of their first six games, then have their star running back get injured and lost for the season, and be completely counted out as a playoff contender, just before running off a string of ten straight wins to finish as the fifth seed and a wild card team. They play championship caliber defense and get just enough quality quarterback play from Alex Smith to be just good enough to win all of these games down the stretch. To win a championship, a team needs to become good enough to be unbeatable in all of their playoff games. Is that this year’s Chiefs team, or will they have enough moxie when ALL of the teams they meet are also of championship caliber?

Pittsburgh –

The Steelers developed into the most potent offense in the entire AFC, if not the entire league. They have the best wide receiver in all of football in Antonio Brown, and they have a Super Bowl winning caliber of quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger to get the ball to him or any of their other solid wide receivers. Their defense can stop other teams on occasion and they can possibly outscore anyone. While several of the other teams will only go as far as their quarterbacks take them, the Steelers will go as far as their defense takes THEM.

All of the teams in this year’s tournament have their strengths and their weaknesses. Some have more than others. When they get this far, the best teams can lose if they play lousy, just like the lowest seeded teams can beat the higher seeds if they play a near perfect game. It all comes down to how well coached and prepared they all are. And then, it comes down to who makes the big plays when they are needed. Last year, the entire season came down to one team (the Patriots) making one big defensive play on the goal line while the other team (the Seahawks) was unable to make theirs.

And no one knows who will make those plays until they play it on the field. All the way through the playoffs.