2018 NFL Postseason Power Rankings

Written by Ben Slavin

The NFL regular season is officially over. Twelve teams have advanced to the playoffs while the other 20 will be watching from their couches like the rest of us. To find out the 12 who made it, many of the Week 17 games were filled with drama. The two Pennsylvania teams, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, needed a win and some help to get in. The Eagles got what they needed, while the Steelers are now one of the best teams in a while to have their season cut short. Now, let’s get into this special final edition of power rankings.

This week, the rankings are very different. Rankings are based solely on who has the best chance to win the Super Bowl, not who has the best record or played the best recently. Schedule, number of home or road games, and overall talent will all be considered.

12. Seattle Seahawks

In a year where there aren’t many of them, Seattle sticks out to me as a team that doesn’t belong. The only thing the defense has going for them is they’re well-coached and opportunistic, but outside of that, they’re just plain bad. Shut down their run game and the offense crumbles. The scheme is still basic and oftentimes resorts to asking Russell Wilson to scramble around for 5 seconds before throwing a dime to a covered receiver. With only a couple stars on the roster (Wilson, Bobby Wagner, and maybe Frank Clark), the Seahawks are the least threatening team in the postseason.

11. Houston Texans

I have never been sold on the Texans from the season’s start and they’ve done absolutely nothing to change my mind. They have studs all over the field, on defense especially, but still fail to impress weekly. Another team with a poor offensive scheme, the Texans demand greatness from Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins to score. That’s going to be hard to maintain in the playoffs against great defenses. The Texans have a great defense themselves, though, there’s a clear formula to shred them. With a great offensive line that can handle J.J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney, and Whitney Mercilus, opposing quarterbacks will have plenty of time to dismantle the weak secondary. The Texans also drew a horrific Wild Card matchup for them in the Colts, so expect to see an early exit and disappointed fans in Houston.

10. Philadelphia Eagles

This is where the rankings really get tough because I think any of these teams could legitimately win the Super Bowl. Philadelphia did not have the best season and snuck into the playoffs on the last day of the season, but no one should want to see them. They appear to have all their swag back from last year, and Nick Foles is on his Super Bowl MVP level. Fletcher Cox and the defensive line are back to being monsters while the offensive line is back to being the Great Wall of Philadelphia. The Eagles are clearly not the most talented team left, but a shocking run like last years should not be ruled out.

9. Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers are a great team who really got screwed by the playoff system. They are tied for the best record in the AFC, so they should earn a first-round bye, right? Wrong. Because the NFL still thinks giving the first four seeds to division winners is logical, the Chargers are relegated to the 5 seed. Now, they have to play a road Wild Card game against a Baltimore team they match up horribly against and who just pounded them two weeks ago. If they can beat Baltimore, Los Angeles could conceivably go play anywhere and come out victorious.

8. Dallas Cowboys

Dallas has a great formula to win playoff games -- a top five defense to get teams off the field and a great running back to control the clock. Even Dak Prescott has looked much better recently. Amari Cooper’s arrival has obviously been a big part of that, but in a Week 17 game without Cooper and Ezekiel Elliott, Prescott shredded the Giants. If he can do that consistently, the Cowboys have as good of a shot at a championship as anybody. We saw a few weeks ago the Cowboys can match up with the best teams when they beat the Saints. That seemed like a perfect game for Dallas and they’re going to need more of those to beat the best teams in the NFC.

7. Indianapolis Colts

The Colts slot in just ahead of the Cowboys because they are in the easier conference, not because Indy beat Dallas earlier in the year. If the Colts were in a better seed than 6, they’d be just as dangerous as any team in the AFC. Now, they’re going to have to play all their games on the road, and in tough environments like Arrowhead and Foxborough, which makes getting to the Super Bowl becomes much more difficult. The Colts are still going to be a threat because they have one of the best offensive lines in the sport protecting Andrew Luck. If Luck is given time, he will dice up any defense in the league. Indianapolis’ defense has also played pretty well recently given how little was expected coming into the year. Nobody wants to play the Colts, but with only road games looming, a deep run will be difficult. 

6. Kansas City Chiefs

If the Chiefs still had Kareem Hunt and a healthy Sammy Watkins, they’d be much higher on this list. Since they lost those two, the offense has stuttered. Tyreek Hill’s battled through injuries and defenses have started to double him and Travis Kelce. With no other difference-making weapons, soon-to-be-MVP Patrick Mahomes has had to do everything himself. He’s fully capable of that, but doing that drive after drive is impossible. It’s not like there’s a strong defense to help him either. K.C.’s defense either sacks the quarterback on a key play, forces a turnover, or allows points. For Kansas City to win it all, Mahomes is going to have to go full 2011 Aaron Rodgers.

5. New England Patriots

For the first time in a while, the Patriots seem seriously vulnerable. For years, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick could cover up any holes on the roster, but now Brady is closer to one of those holes than he is a cover for them. That doesn’t mean New England should be counted out, though. Belichick showed his genius by anticipating Brady’s decline and implementing a run first system. Sony Michel and the run game are enough to keep the offense flowing. The defense is also solid and will capitalize on any mistakes made by opponents. Don’t count out the Patriots, but don’t pencil them in for the Super Bowl like we usually do, either.

4. Baltimore Ravens

This is where I was going to slot whoever won the AFC North. Both the Steelers and Ravens would be my AFC Super Bowl favorite if they made it. Since it’s the Ravens, here they are. Baltimore is one-of-a-kind in the league today. Most teams want to spread you out and win a shootout, while Baltimore wants to hold the ball and pound you. The talent they assembled fits that philosophy perfectly. Rush attempt after rush attempt by Lamar Jackson and Gus Edwards behind an offensive line of maulers will tire you out. They also have the perfect defense to get opponents off the field and give the ball back to their offense. The only question for Baltimore is whether Jackson and his weapons can come up with the big passing play when needed.

3. Los Angeles Rams

As you can see by the top three teams all residing in the NFC, I expect the NFC representative to take home the trophy. Up until their bye, it looked like the Rams would be run-away Super Bowl favorites, not the Saints. Since then, they’ve showed more weakness than you’d like to see. Cooper Kupp’s injury has had a bigger impact on the offense than anticipated. Jared Goff is not the type of quarterback to put the team on his back, despite what many have said. There’s also a weakness on the interior offensive line, which will come up huge in the postseason. The defense has tightened up recently and possesses the best player in the league (that’s right, I said it). Aaron Donald is going to need to be beyond amazing for the Rams to defeat the Saints or Bears. Luckily for L.A., for him, that’s possible.

2. Chicago Bears

Seeing the Bears this high might surprise some, but I’ve been high on them all season. With the best defense in the league, they match up better with the other contenders than explosive offenses like the L.A. teams and Kansas City. Khalil Mack, Eddie Jackson, Akiem Hicks, and everybody else are capable of making any game into a 17-13 affair, exactly the type of game Chicago is best in. The one thing holding them back is Mitchell Trubisky. Trubisky can run as well as any quarterback in the league, but his passing is a lot more sporadic than you’d like to see at the game’s most important position. Even though they aren’t getting the national attention they deserve, the Bears are as dangerous as anyone in the league.

1. New Orleans Saints

As much as I hate to admit it, the Saints are the best team in the league. No one else matches their excellence in all three phases. Offensively, they’ve got a top-tier player at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver all being orchestrated by play-calling genius Sean Payton. Their defense gets nowhere near the credit it deserves. After a rough start, they turned it around and are now at minimum at top-10 unit in the league. Then you got my man Taysom Hill doing everything on special teams. Not to mention, New Orleans has home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Saints should be the heavy favorites to take home the Lombardi Trophy this year.