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Nine teams had clinched playoff berths by the end of Sunday’s action. In the spirit of being as pessimistic as possible around the holidays, Digest is here to throw all sorts of shade at the NFL’s most successful teams.
Here’s our ranking of the playoff teams so far, from least to most vulnerable:
1. New Orleans Saints
We’ll break down some of the Saints’ weaknesses when we talk about their victory over the Steelers in a later segment of Digest. They are no longer the team that won by 30-plus points in November, but no team in the NFL currently fits that description.
2. Los Angeles Rams
Blowing out the pitiful Cardinals doesn’t prove much, but it halts a two-game losing streak and positions the Rams to clinch a first-round bye with a win over the Niners next week. It’s still hard to get excited about a team that has lost to several of its most likely playoff opponents.
3. Los Angeles Chargers
It’s easy to write off Saturday night’s loss as evidence of some uncharacteristic offensive mistakes and the Lamar Jackson novelty factor. But beware a team with no home-field advantage and a massive road disadvantage if it ends up traveling to cold-weather cities and/or the East Coast.
Chargers fans should also be concerned that Philip Rivers joined the Old Quarterbacks Who Are Sick of Getting Hit Club on Saturday night, heaving up some poor throws while bracing for impact or crumpling a little too quickly in a collapsing pocket. Rivers doesn’t have the big-game cred of that club’s charter members. Speaking of whom…
4. New England Patriots
They beat the Bills by rushing 47 times for 273 yards while their opponent missed field goals, fumbled at the end of long completions, shanked punts and played like an obedient sparring partner that made sure the champ got to practice all of his moves. Tom Brady executed a Josh McCown game plan adequately.
Everything is just fine for the Patriots so long as they keep facing opponents who surrender as soon as the bus pulls into Foxborough. Fortunately for them, their Week 17 opponent (the Jets) and several likely postseason foes fit that description as well.
5. Chicago Bears
The Bears survived several unforced errors, including a playground blooper of an option lateral from Mitchell Trubisky to Tarik Cohen, thanks to a tip-drill interception and Nick Mullens attempting a Hail Mary instead of running for a first down late in the fourth quarter of a 14-9 victory.
The Bears are capable of blowing out their best opponents by two touchdowns or getting blown out by their worst. They have a chance to earn a first-round playoff bye next week in Minnesota against a Vikings team playing for its playoff life. Let’s see how they handle it.
6. Kansas City Chiefs: The NFL’s best team early in the season now looks a little too much like the 2012-16 Green Bay Packers. The Chiefs are too reliant on Patrick Mahomes to beat opponents with the highlight stick, just as the Packers got used to waiting around for Aaron Rodgers to do something dazzling. Their run defense has been porous for three weeks, Eric Fisher is getting tossed aside at left tackle, and Kelvin Benjamin remains the NFL’s best at nearly catching contested passes.
Of course, there’s nothing new about the Chiefs falling apart as the playoffs approach. They are just tumbling from a higher peak this time.
7. Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks, who clinched a wild-card berth by beating the Chiefs on Sunday night, are the anti-Bears: low ceiling, high floor, minimal self-destructive capability but less of a capacity for overwhelming opponents with sheer talent. They win by rushing effectively, avoiding penalties (just three against the Chiefs after 14 in the loss to the 49ers last week) and being just good enough at everything to hide the fact they aren’t great at anything.
The Seahawks are the kind of team that wins a playoff game, gains “momentum” and then gets beaten by a superior and rested opponent like the Saints because momentum is a silly, imaginary thing. But give the Seahawks credit: a playoff win seemed pretty far-fetched when they were 4-5 and facing a slate of “playoff teams” like the Packers and Panthers.
8. Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys are more “ordinary” than “vulnerable.” The Buccaneers were a perfect matchup for them—a turnover dispensary with no pass rush or run defense—but the Cowboys still gave them numerous second-half opportunities to climb back into the game before sealing a 27-20 win.
The Cowboys will lose in the playoffs to the first team that takes a lead on them and forces Dak Prescott to make quick decisions and throw accurate downfield passes. Seeing as the Seahawks are their likely first-round opponent, they may suffer that loss quickly.
9. Houston Texans
The Texans backdoor-clinched a playoff berth despite their loss to the Eagles, thanks to the Steelers loss (it’s a tangled tiebreaker jumble). They looked like a threat to the AFC powers a few weeks ago, but they revealed themselves in the Colts and Eagles losses to be the same old Texans: J.J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney, DeAndre Hopkins, Deshaun Watson, 49 randomly generated Madden players and a coaching staff committed to going exactly as far as four big stars can take them.
The Texans’ purpose in the playoffs will either be to lose to some wild-card team (the Steelers would probably beat them by 30 points) or narrowly squeak past an opponent so they can be offered as a sacrifice to the ghosts of Foxborough.
from Viral News Updates http://bit.ly/2rShhQ1
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