ClutchPoints
The NFL playoffs are finally here, as the best 14 teams will face off to crown a new Super Bowl champion. Entering the Wild Card Weekend, there are plenty of exciting matchups that should make for great games – see how the AFC and NFC playoff brackets shake out in ClutchPoints’ NFL Playoff Power Rankings.
The Seattle Seahawks earned a much-needed bye week, as they are the top seed in the NFC playoff picture. On the heels of a thrilling Week 18 win over the San Francisco 49ers, locking up both the NFC West and the top seed in the NFC means a lot for this team.
Sam Darnold has been playing inspired football over the past few weeks, and the two-headed tandem of Zach Charbonnet and Kenneth Walker has helped anchor offensive coordinator Klink Kubiak’s offense perfectly. A slight-susecptible defense could be this team’s ticket to an early exit, but this is one of the most well-rounded teams in the entire playoff picture.
Sliding in as the fifth seed in the NFC, the Los Angeles Rams check in as the second-best team in ClutchPoints’ NFL Playoff Power Rankings. While it is likely a surprise seeing the Rams this high up, it remains to be seen if another NFL team can compete with the offensive firepower that the Rams have, but only when they are all healthy.
Welcoming Davante Adams back for LAR’s Wild Card matchup with the Carolina Panthers would help this offense get back to full strength, as he is a missing piece in the red zone. But without Adams, Matthew Stafford and Puka Nacua still form one of the league’s best QB-WR tandems, with the Rams’ defense showing signs of peaking just at the right time, especially with their pass rush.
The top seed in the AFC finds itself third in the NFL Playoff Power Rankings, as the Denver Broncos were not seen as a preseason contender for the top spot in their conference. Comfortably winning the AFC West, Bo Nix has been en fuego in Sean Payton’s offense, finishing as the QB7 in fantasy football for the second straight season.
But while the offense earns the headlines, it is Vance Joseph’s defense that is this team’s calling card, as only the Houston Texans allow fewer yards per game than the Broncos (278.2). That, paired with being the only defense in the league to allow fewer than 30 touchdowns all year, will be a big reason why they can pull out a few ugly games this postseason, getting down and dirty and relying on a strong defensive secondary to lock down opposing pass catchers.
Drake Maye’s MVP hype train has pushed the New England Patriots into the two seed in the AFC, and they have looked very strong as they head into the postseason. Maye’s sophomore season in the NFL saw massive growth across the board, throwing 16 more...
