The playoff field is set, led by the top-ranked Seahawks, who have resided in the top spot here for multiple weeks now. They might enter the tournament as the favorites to win Super Bowl LX — in the same stadium where they clinched the NFC’s top seed — but this feels like one of the more wide-open postseasons in years. The Broncos, with their 11-2 mark in one-score games, are the AFC’s top dogs.
There’s no Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson to frighten opponents. No Lions team to do the same. But also: Every playoff team seems to have a significant weakness that can’t be overlooked.
Seattle, New England, Chicago and Jacksonville all missed the playoffs a year ago. Those are four of your top six seeds. The Eagles won it all last year, and at their best, they’re capable of repeating — but they also sat many starters on Sunday, ceding the second seed to the Bears.
This might be a year where a lower seed makes some real noise. Everyone will rightfully nominate the Rams and Bills as natural party crashers, but don’t sleep on the Texans, Chargers and 49ers.
Playoff intrigue annually abounds, but there’s seemingly more of an “Anyone can win!” to this postseason field than any in recent memory.
On a programming note, the Power Rankings will keep rolling along in the postseason, although we’ll bid adieu to the 18 non-playoff teams next week. But fear not, we’ll see them again soon. The offseason is closer than you think.
