The 2019 regular season was wrapped up, but Sportsnet’s NFL Power Rankings aren’t going anywhere.
Ahead of every round of the playoffs, we’ll rank each of the remaining teams from best to worst and, like during the regular season, have a theme for each edition.
This week: Good news and bad news for all 12 playoff teams.
1) Baltimore Ravens
The good news: Lamar Jackson. With the league’s MVP under centre, the sky is the limit for this Ravens team – which FiveThirtyEight gives a 46 per cent chance of winning the Super Bowl.
The bad news: Mark Ingram’s injury status. As well as Jackson has played this season, Ingram has been a huge part of an offence that set the record for most rushing yards in a season. Ingram is dealing with a calf injury suffered in Week 16, and his status is up in the air more than a week before Baltimore kicks off its post-season.
2) San Francisco 49ers
The good news: The NFC goes through San Francisco. A first-round bye and home-field advantage through the playoffs obviously gives the 49ers a distinct advantage in the NFC, but winning by a literal inch on Sunday night will be especially sweet for a team that has dealt with a ton of injuries throughout the season.
The bad news: The Niners are banged up. Actually, they’re not just banged up – they’ve been ravaged by injuries. San Francisco has placed 15 players on injured reserve so far this season, including starting centre Weston Richburg and star linebacker Kwon Alexander. They’re also dealing with a pair of key defensive injuries as they await the divisional round as both safety Jaquiski Tartt and pass rusher Dee Ford are questionable.
3) New Orleans Saints
The good news: The Saints offence is firing on all cylinders. New Orleans has won six of its last seven games dating back to Nov. 17, and are scoring an average of more than 36 points per game over that span – including 46 points in the only game they’ve lost over the last eight weeks.
The bad news: They don’t have the week off. While the Saints are heavy favourites to win at home over the Minnesota Vikings, Drew Brees and Company surely would’ve preferred a week off instead – and had it not been for a Packers’ last-second game-winning field goal in Detroit, the Saints would be watching the wild-card games from their couches.
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4) Kansas City Chiefs
The good news: A first-round bye. The prospect of wild-card weekend off was one that seemed unlikely for K.C. heading into Week 17, as the Chiefs would need a win and the Patriots to lose at home to the Dolphins. We all know how that turned out. Now the Chiefs get a crucial weekend off before hosting a divisional game.
The bad news: The offence still hasn’t found its stride. This could also be viewed as good news because it could mean the best is yet to come for Patrick Mahomes and his band of dynamic playmakers. Mahomes has thrown for less than 200 yards in three of the last six games, and the running game failed to produce a 500-yard rusher this season – although Damien Williams’ 124-yard outburst last week is promising.
5) Green Bay Packers
The good news: They’ve got Aaron Rodgers. It hasn’t been the best statistical season for the future Hall of Famer – although he has thrown 26 TDs to just four interceptions – but we all know what Rodgers can do, and that should strike fear into every other playoff team.
The bad news: The Packers don’t feel like contenders. Don’t get me wrong, 13 wins is an incredible achievement in the NFL no matter which way you slice it, but this Green Bay team doesn’t create the same excitement as past Rodgers-led Packer teams. Maybe it’s because the offence isn’t as explosive as we’re used to; it could be the bend-but-don’t-break nature of the defence; or maybe we can’t shake Week 17’s unconvincing win in Detroit, or the no-shows in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Whatever it is, something about this team doesn’t feel championship calibre. Now we wait for Rodgers to inevitably prove us wrong.
6) New England Patriots
The good news: Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are money at home in the playoffs. Since Brady took over as the starting quarterback in New England, the Patriots are an astounding 20-3 at home in the post-season and haven’t lost a playoff game at Gillette Stadium since the 2012 AFC Championship against the Baltimore Ravens, who went on to win the Super Bowl that year. Remarkably, the Patriots have played just three wild-card games at home in that time with a record of 2-1 on the first weekend of the playoffs.
The bad news: They just lost to the Dolphins. At home! What more needs to be said?
7) Seattle Seahawks
The good news: The Seahawks have already won in Philadelphia this season. Seattle travelled to the City of Brotherly Love in Week 12, stifled Carson Wentz and the Eagles offence and improved its road record at the time to a perfect 6-0. Seattle is one of the league’s best road teams, having won all but one of their away games this season.
The bad news: The Seahawks and Eagles are very different teams now then they were in Week 12. Seattle will field an entirely different set of running backs than the group that racked up 174 yards on the ground on Nov. 24 as both Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny have suffered season-ending injuries. On the flip side, the Eagles offence had arguably its worst performance of the season against Seattle, but is now on a roll having racked up more than 400 yards in each of the last four games.
8) Houston Texans
The good news: That they lost in Week 17 (I know, but bear with me here). If it feels like the Texans have been wildly inconsistent this season, it’s because they have been; just when you think Houston is hitting its stride the team loses in befuddling fashion. But there’s been some consistency to their inconsistency: the Texans have followed a bizarre one loss-two win pattern all season long. Look for yourself. Losing to the Titans in Week 17 can only mean one thing: two straight wins and a trip to the AFC title game is in the cards!
The bad news: Will Fuller’s unpredictable health. While the Texans offence is in good hands with Deshaun Watson, DeAndre Hopkins and Carlos Hyde (Low-key trade-of-the-season candidate), the health of their No. 2 receiver has dictated the success of the passing game – and the difference with Fuller in the lineup and without him is pretty stark.
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Fuller enters wild-card weekend dealing with a groin injury and has been limited in practice so far this week. If No. 15 misses the game, the smothering Bills secondary gets the upper hand.
9) Tennessee Titans
The good news: The Titans have one of the hottest offences in the NFL right now. In the 10 games the historically resurgent Ryan Tannehill has started, the Titans are averaging 30.4 points per game, 406.2 yards per game and 6.9 yards per play – which would rank second, third and first, respectively, in the league this season.
The bad news: Ryan Tannehill has never won a game at Gillette Stadium. His former division rivals have caused Tannehill some headaches in the past, as the 31-year-old went 0-6 in New England during his time with Miami with five TDs, 10 interceptions, a 60.9 per cent completion rate, plus he was sacked 24 times and posted a QB rating of 70. Of course, those losses came with the Dolphins… but those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
10) Minnesota Vikings
The good news: Star running back Dalvin Cook says he’s “ready to go.” The most important part of the Vikings offence has missed Minnesota’s last two games, and will be a welcome return after Kirk Cousins and the offence struggled in a big way without No. 33 in Week 16’s NFC North-deciding clash.
The bad news: The Vikings have to travel to New Orleans. A pedestrian road team (the Vikings were 4-4 away from home), Mike Zimmer’s team kicks their post-season off in one of the league’s toughest places to play against a team that hasn’t forgotten Jan. 14, 2018 – The Minneapolis Miracle.
11) Buffalo Bills
The good news: They’re on the road. While New Era Field is a great place to watch a football game and has often fuelled the Bills to unlikely wins in the past, the 2019 team has been better on the road. Buffalo is 6-2 away from home this season, and the team’s biggest statement wins – on Thanksgiving in Dallas and on SNF in Pittsburgh – both came away from Orchard Park.
The bad news: The return of J.J. Watt. Houston’s defence has struggled to get to opposing quarterbacks in the time since the star defensive end was injured at the end of October and finished the season with just 31 sacks, the fourth-lowest total in the league. But the return of Watt changes everything for the Texans defence, from rushing the passer to stopping the run to defending the pass.
12) Philadelphia Eagles
The good news: Carson Wentz is playing arguably the best football of his career. No. 11 enters Wild Card Weekend having thrown for nearly 1,200 yards, seven TDs, no interceptions, and completing more than 67 per cent of his passes over Philadelphia’s four-game winning streak – and he’s helped a group of former practice squad players lift the Eagles offence to heights it hasn’t seen all season.
The bad news: The bad injury luck continues. As the NFC East champions prepare for a home clash with the Seahawks, rookie running back Miles Sanders is dealing with an ankle injury, all-star guard Brandon Brooks is out for the playoffs and the status of star tight end Zach Ertz is still up in the air. And that’s not even the half of it – just look at Wednesday’s injury report!
