Playoff Power Rankings: Can a Wild Card Team Win the Super Bowl?

Written by Ben Slavin

The regular season is over, and all eyes are set on Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis in only five weeks. Twelve teams remain standing, all fighting for the right to play in that game. But do you really have a chance of winning the Super Bowl as a wild card team? Or if you clinched a bye, does getting a week off really help you get to the big game? Well, the NFL Playoffs are a different animal. It's a new season. It's put up or shut up time for the Bills, Chiefs, Eagles, Falcons, Jaguars, Panthers, Patriots, Rams, Saints, Steelers, Titans, and Vikings. Here, we tell you who has the best odds at winning Super Bowl LII through the NFL Playoffs. 

1. New England Patriots

This is probably the most mortal the Patriots have looked in a while. Their front seven has seemingly lost all of its talent to questionable free-agent decisions and injuries. The o-line still isn’t great and will likely struggle greatly to teams with great defenses like the Jaguars. The secondary is talented but is still prone to far too many missed coverages and miscommunications. And the receivers dearly miss Julian Edelman, Malcolm Mitchell, and a healthy Chris Hogan. But they’re still the Patriots. Tom Brady will still carve up every defense that is bold enough to throw zones at him. Bill Belichick will still find every team’s weaknesses and orchestrate their demise with it. Plus anyone who tells you they’re looking forward to a January trip to Foxborough is lying. And that bye-week is looking ever-important with Mitchell due back and many players banged up. The Patriots, despite their flaws, are still clearly the class of the league.

2. Minnesota Vikings

Too many people are sleeping on the Vikings. A lot of it has to do with the guy they have at quarterback, but anyone who still says Case Keenum isn’t good doesn’t know football. Keenum has been great this year, and not everything is because of his supporting cast. Although, the players he has around him certainly haven’t hurt. Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen form a top-three wide receiver duo in the league and the backs are top-notch too. Neither Jerick McKinnon or Latavius Murray are superstars, but they mesh perfectly and together make one of the top running-back situations in the league. A massive improvement from last year, the offensive line is a big reason why Keenum, McKinnon, and Murray have succeeded. On the other side of the ball, the defense has no weaknesses and is more than capable of locking down any opponent. The Vikings have a great shot at being the first team to play the Super Bowl in their own stadium. SKOL!

3. New Orleans Saints

The Saints have achieved the type of balance they were sorely lacking the past few seasons. Since the magical Super Bowl run in 2010, it’s been Drew Brees and the passing attack setting records with no running game and a defense setting the wrong kind of records. That trend appeared set to continue this year, but an amazing draft class and solid free agency have given the Saints new life. The Saints have a chance to steal both the Offensive Rookie of the Year award and its defensive counterpart with two players who aren’t just the best rookies, but among the best of all players at their respective positions. Alvin Kamara, a massive draft steal, is virtually impossible to tackle while Marshon Lattimore is a cornerback already capable of locking down the elite receivers of the league. The massive improvements, coupled with the steadiness of Drew Brees, have the Saints in a position where they can go anywhere and beat anyone.

4. Los Angeles Rams

What a turnaround it has been for the Rams. They went from one of the most boring teams with a terrible coach to one of the most exciting with a Coach of the Year candidate. What Sean McVay has done with Jared Goff and Todd Gurley is unbelievable. Both were coming off terrible years and now Gurley has a legitimate shot in a wide-open MVP race while Goff is the frontrunner in the Comeback Player of the Year race. McVay isn’t the only great coach on the staff, though. Hiring Wade Phillips away from the Broncos was brilliant. It’s no surprise that the vaunted Broncos defense has regressed this year, although part of that likely has to do with age and the futility of their offense and special teams. Phillips inherited some great players and has done a great job coaching up the young Rams defense. However, the Rams drop a little after the loss of Greg Zuerlein. Most probably didn’t even blink an eye at that news, but Zuerlein was possibly the best kicker in the league whose name doesn’t begin with Justin and end with Tucker. The value of having a kicker who can consistently make kicks from 50+ yards and actually make the supposed gimmes cannot be overstated. Just ask the Chargers, Bucs, and about half the NFL.  

5. Pittsburgh Steelers

A lot of people were probably expecting the Steelers to be higher. They see an explosive offense with great players and are enamored with the talent and name of Juju Smith-Schuster. Those same people are probably forgetting that we have seen this same thing the past few years from the Steelers now. The Steelers look good but not great in the regular season, taking a few games off against inferior opponents. Then they heat up at the end of the year and everyone thinks this year is different, that they will beat the Patriots. Well, this year is not different. Right before the playoffs, one of the Big 3 Bs gets hurt. Check. Antonio Brown went down against those nasty Patriots and now opposing defenses have one less superstar to key in on. Is he coming back for the the playoffs? Yes. Will he be the same? Probably not. And the Steelers cannot afford any uncertainty with a defense that gives up home run plays weekly. That same defense that gets carved up yearly by Brady and Co. Sorry Steelers fans, but you’re still second in the AFC.

6. Carolina Panthers

Super Cam has returned to put the Panthers on his back and turn them into an opponent no one wants to see come January. What Cam Newton is able to do with inconsistent running backs, an injured tight end, and a non-existent wide receiver core is nothing short of remarkable. The offensive line is solid but is made to look worse by wideouts who take hours to get open. Rookie Christian McCaffrey has yet to show the big-play running ability that made him a top-ten pick, but is already one of the most steady receiving options out of the backfield in the league. The other back, Jonathan Stewart, has recently started to pick up a head of steam, but his age is obviously starting to catch up with him. On offense, Newton is everything for the Panthers. On the other side of the ball, the Panthers feature a great defense, although one not on the level of Minnesota or Jacksonville. Under new defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, the Panthers have become one of the most blitz-happy teams in the league. This leaves them vulnerable to the quick passing game and the occasional big play when the rush fails to get there. The defense is good enough to stop opposing offenses, but not enough to win games on their own, so the Panthers fate lies in the enormous hands of Super Cam.

7. Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars are absolutely loaded at every position except one. That position just happens to be the most important one -- quarterback --, where Blake Bortles seems intent on ruining this season for his teammates. It’s amazing how these no-name wide receivers are able to fill in for studs Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns by getting open on nearly every play. Unfortunately, Bortles hits the grass and opponents as often as he hits open receivers. That’s a shame because the rest of the team is more than capable of winning a Super Bowl. Leonard Fournette is another superb rookie, but his stats don’t do him justice because he faces an eight-man box on every play. The defense is quite possibly an all-time great unit with no weaknesses. The front four is dominant at each position and has led to the awesome and well-deserved nickname Sacksonville. The linebackers fly under the radar because the rest of the defense produces more highlight-worthy plays, but are great players in their own right. The secondary features the best cornerback tandem we have seen in a long time and two quality safeties. But, a Week 16 matchup with Kyle Shanahan showed the defense is beatable and provided a blueprint for future opponents. The Jaguars really should be at the top of the list, but Bortles, and to some degree Shanahan, has them lurking in the middle of the pack.

8. Philadelphia Eagles

It’s tough not to feel bad for the Eagles. They were flying high through 14 weeks and then it all came crashing down. MVP frontrunner Carson Wentz was in the midst of another brilliant game when an end zone dive sprouted a torn ACL and finished season. Since then, the Eagles have clearly not been the same. Nick Foles is a quality quarterback, but one nowhere near the level of Wentz. Wentz’s injury has made the Eagles receivers go from terrifying threesome to overpaid tall guy, fast guy, and receiver who can’t catch. The defense has also regressed some. The secondary is a major liability who can’t comprehend the rocket science of double moves. Don’t completely count these Eagles out though. All opponents are going to have to travel to frigid Philadelphia and the roster still has quite a bit of talent. The running backs are deep and complementary while the front seven is ferocious and led by the monster Fletcher Cox. It’s sad that the Eagles were robbed of their best chance at a Lombardi Trophy in a long time, but don’t expect them to just roll over and die.

9. Atlanta Falcons

What a fall from grace for the Falcons. Last year they were everyone’s darlings, an electric offense and capable defense. They rode that to the Super Bowl and a 25 point third quarter lead in the big game. And then the meme-worthy collapse began. The first overtime loss in Super Bowl history ensued and a horrific case of Super Bowl Hangover followed. Now they look nothing like the extraordinary team of a year ago despite retaining all their key roster pieces and making draft and free-agency improvements. All the magic is gone. The biggest reason for that is not the Super Bowl Hangover, but the loss of wizard offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. Shanahan’s replacement, Steve Sarkisian, has been dreadful, somehow unable to get someone as dominant as Julio Jones the ball consistently. It’s unbelievable that a team with this much talent and recent success is this non-threatening, but here we are. I kept thinking the Falcons were a sleeping giant just waiting to figure it out and go on a tear, but that appears as likely as Falcons fans getting some Chick-Fil-A.

10. Kansas City Chiefs

12 weeks ago, most pundits were racing to put the Chiefs at the top of lists like these and claim that they saw this coming first. Casual frontrunners found their new favorite team after the Falcons’ collapse. Well here we are now. The Chiefs are back to their role as the Toronto Raptors of the NFL -- good in the regular season, but a complete non-threat against serious competition in the postseason. Last year, Tyreek Hill brought a consistent big play threat to their offense and now they have doubled down with electric rookie running back Kareem Hunt. It’s no coincidence that during the Chiefs 5-0 start, Hunt looked like an MVP candidate and during their ensuing 1-6 stretch he was largely removed from their offense. Hunt, however, is not the X-factor for the Chiefs. That would be Alex Smith. Good ol’ Captain Checkdown looked to have completely switched his game up during the magical start. Maybe it was the motivation of the Chiefs drafting his eventual successor in Patrick Mahomes or maybe he was finally given the weapons to play that way. The following games proved the former to be true as Smith went back to 3-yard screens over 50-yard bombs and appeared to be in danger of losing his job to Mahomes. There isn’t much to talk about with the Chiefs defense. They’re bad. The only thing they can do is force the occasional turnover. The end. If the Chiefs want to go anywhere in the postseason, they need to recapture the magic of the early-season team because with that defense every game is going to be a shootout.

11. Tennessee Titans

The Titans are so boring. They’re solid in every area while excelling in none. Derrick Henry, their most exciting player, is buried behind Demarco “3.6 yards per carry yet I somehow still get all the important touches” Murray. Every game they’re intent in getting into a field goal fest. On offense, Marcus Mariota for some reason thought the way to get as much attention as Jameis Winston is to commit as many turnovers as Jameis Winston. The offensive line never took the next step everyone expected into being as dominant as the Cowboys’ line. And the defense is as mediocre as they come with a good pass rush, and mediocre everything else. Hopefully, if we’re lucky, Adoree’ Jackson will take a punt, kickoff, interception, or fumble to the house. Or maybe he’ll score a touchdown off a catch or rush. The guy really does everything. I plea to the Chiefs to mercifully eliminate the Titans in the Wild-Card Round for the sake of the viewers.

12. Buffalo Bills

The Bills are one of those teams that try to out-execute you because they can’t outperform you. They rarely enter a game as the more talented team, but Sean McDermott has done a fantastic job making his team the more disciplined. Unfortunately, the playoffs are a time when you need talent. Every team comes as close as possible to perfectly executing their gameplan in the postseason, so the Bills won’t be able out-execute anyone. And, most importantly, only the best teams in the league make the playoffs, so the talent deficit will be large in every game for the Bills. Plus, as the six seed, there will be zero games in Buffalo. Worst of all, the Bills themselves are a mess. They clearly didn’t expect to make the playoffs this year, as they traded away players for picks. And they obviously hate their quarterback, benching him for a rookie who threw five picks in a half. Nothing seems to favor the Bills, but they have continued to prove everyone wrong this year, so maybe there’s a chance.

Picture credit: https://www.sbnation.com/nfl-playoffs