The playoffs have arrived! This years playoff field is absolutely wide open, especially on the NFC side, but who is the best? Take a peek into the all-knowing crystal ball as Charles McDonald ranks all of the teams in the 2019 playoffs.
12. Philadelphia Eagles
This isnt a slight on the Eagles in general, theyre just so banged up its hard to see them go on a run. In addition to Pro Bowl guard Brandon Brooks recently having his season ended due to injury, DeSean Jackson, Ronald Darby, Alshon Jeffery, Malik Jackson and Darren Sproles have been put on injured reserve. Zach Ertz missed the season finale against the Giants with a rib injury and it seems like almost the entire team has been on the injury report at some point. At full strength, the Eagles can be one of the best teams in the league, but they arent anywhere close to full strength right now.
Maybe if Carson Wentz unleashes his inner Nick Foles the Eagles can go on a run. As things stand now, they shouldnt be a favorite to beat Seattle in the wild-card round. Eagles fans should be feeling optimistic about 2020, though. If Doug Pederson and Wentz were able to scrape together a playoff season, with some help from an underwhelming Cowboys team, then the goal for next season should be a Super Bowl run.
11. Houston Texans
Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins are excellent, but how good are the Texans as a whole? Their defense ranks last in yards per play (6.1), tied with the 2-14 Cincinnati Bengals. Getting J.J. Watt back will help, but this team hasnt been all that impressive to close the season.
Lets skip over the Week 17 game against Tennessee when all of their important players were sitting out. The Texans needed four interceptions by Jameis Winston, including one that went back for a touchdown to barely squeak by the Buccaneers, 23-20. Houston was blown out by the Broncos, 38-24, and got decimated by the Ravens, 41-7. They did manage to beat the Patriots, 28-22, but they also barely beat the Jacoby Brissett-led Indianapolis Colts, 20-17.
Houston certainly has the top-end talent to go on a playoff run, but the entirety of their team isnt playing well right now.
10. Tennessee Titans
Kneel before our one true king, Ryan Tannehill.
In all seriousness, where are you supposed to rank the Titans? They legitimately look like one of the better teams in the NFL right now. Tannehill is setting the league on fire, rookie wide receiver A.J. Brown has been unstoppable in recent weeks, and the defense is just good enough at forcing turnovers to make them interesting on that side of the ball.
Still, this is a team that finished 9-7 and barely snuck into the playoffs. Even though the Texans beat them when both teams played their starting units, the Titans are playing better football over the past month.
9. Buffalo Bills
The Bills defense is good enough to carry them to a wild-card victory over the Texans, but their offense might hold them back in the long run.
Second-year quarterback Josh Allen has made strides this year, but hes still a below-average quarterback. His yards per attempt (6.7), passer rating (85.3), and quarterback rating (45.8) all rank 24th or worse among qualifying QBs this year. He does have the physical skills to make the necessary plays to keep Buffalo in a game, but he doesnt consistently create enough positive plays for them to go on a playoff run.
8. Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings had one of the best passing attacks in the league this year, and one of the better pass defenses, but managed to only get the sixth seed in a rough NFC.
Kirk Cousins had his best season, finishing in the top 10 of most pass efficiency stats, but this team still feels untrustworthy. Star receiver Adam Thielen has been dealing with injuries all season and head coach Mike Zimmer can be a little too reliant on running the ball.
Cousins hasnt been a quarterback that shines in the biggest moments, but he has a strong foundation of offensive coaching to lean on as the Vikings try to make an improbable run as a six seed Kevin Stefanski and (maybe more importantly) Gary Kubiak have been a tremendous pairing.
7. Seattle Seahawks
Seattle has had such a weird season. Theyve played in tight games all the way through the season. Whether its the Bengals or the 49ers, the Seahawks play exactly to the level of their competition.
Thats a bit troubling when it comes to projecting this teams postseason performance.
