Aside from Tampa Bay choosing not to rest their starters, the final week of the NFL season went pretty much as I expected. While I am sorry to see Miami fail to make the playoffs, I am overjoyed that the Browns finally get to return to the playoffs.
Final Team Power Rankings [Last week's position]
1. Green Bay Packers (13-3) [2] : They did their job against the Bears, and now get to rest up for next week
2. New Orleans Saints (12-4) [3] : Even with Taysom Hill playing for most of the game, the Saints still slaughtered the Panthers. They are definitely a threat to the Packers to win the conference.
3. Baltimore Ravens (11-5) [4] : They completely dominated the Bengals. They are definitely the strongest wildcard among the playoff teams.
4. Buffalo Bills (13-3) [6] : They scored the most points in team history and had the greatest margin of victory in over thirty years. What a momentum boost into the playoffs!
5. Kansas City Chiefs (14-2) [1] : Don't read too much into their drop this week. They took it easy, while teams below them needed strong victories. The Chiefs are still the favorite in the AFC.
6. Tampa Bay Bucs (11-5) [7] : They played the starters when they didn't need to, and showed up well. Perhaps they wanted to discover if they have solved the offensive problems that made them so inconsistent throughout the season? We'll see during the playoffs.
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) [5] : Again, not a surprise that they would slide, but Mason Rudolph actually played the Browns tougher than I thought. Don't count out Pittsburgh just yet.
8. Indianapolis Colts (11-5) [9] : Big victory over the Jags, but that's not too tough
9. Seattle Seahawks (12-4) [8] : They would have been higher if they hadn't allowed that late score by the 49ers
10. Los Angeles Rams (10-6) [11] : They held Kyler Murray and the Cardinals to a single score. That was a great defensive performance!
11. Miami Dolphins (10-6) [10] : They missed the playoffs, but they have nothing to be ashamed of for this season (other than perhaps allowing Buffalo to score 56 points against them)
12. Tennessee Titans (11-5) [12] : Where was the defense in their battle with Houston? Doesn't look good for the AFC South champs.
13. Arizona Cardinals (8-8) [13]
14. Cleveland Browns (11-5) [15]
15. Chicago Bears (8-8) [14]
16. Washington (7-9) [16]
Playoffs - Wildcard round
For the first time ever, we have two triple headers to open the NFL playoffs
Saturday games
#7 Indianapolis Colts at #2 Buffalo Bills : Buffalo will get to have fans at the game for the first time all season. Talk about a motivator! Not that Josh Allen needs one -- he's been putting up some fantastic numbers most of the season. Philip Rivers is good, but remember the knock against him when he was in San Diego -- he had trouble winning playoff games. Look for history to repeat itself. BILLS, 31-24
#6 Los Angeles Rams at #3 Seattle Seahawks : These two always play each other tough, and I expect this might be the closest game. The Rams have a tough defense, but Russell Wilson and the Seahawks offense have been posting some great numbers. While defense oftens wins championships, the difficulties of the Rams offense recently has to make me favor the Seahawks. SEAHAWKS, 27-24
#5 Tampa Bay Bucs at #4 Washington : The Bucs looked good last week, but no trace of the offensive miscommunications that have troubled them throughout the season. Are they gone for good? I'm not sure. I am sure that, no matter how well Alex Smith plays for Washington, Tom Brady will engineer something better. When it comes to the playoffs, there is no active QB more dangerous than Brady. BUCS, 24-16
Sunday games
#5 Baltimore Ravens at #4 Tennessee Titans : The Titans won the AFC South, but they had a boost from a 5-1 divisional record. Outside the division, they weren't as great. The Ravens might be the strongest wildcard team in the playoffs, and definitely play a tougher brand of football than the Titans. RAVENS, 27-20
#7 Chicago Bears at #2 New Orleans Saints : Yeah, my Bears made the playoffs! Yikes, they have to play the Saints. Advantage to the Bears - Alvin Kamara will likely not play. Of course, that didn't bother them last week. I think a healthy mix of Drew Brees passes and Taysom Hill runs will keep the Bears defense off-center, and allow the Saints to continue marching to the Conference Championship. SAINTS, 31-20
#6 Cleveland Browns at #3 Pittsburgh Steelers : A rematch of last week that will look nothing like last week, as Big Ben will be back under center. They might do better with Mason Rudolph, though, as the Browns secondary have a pretty good idea of how Big Ben thinks. They anticipate his throws well, and the Steelers still have a weak running game, so they have to rely on the passing game. That need may be their undoing. BROWNS, 17-13
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