LogFAQs > #957995882

The Vikings did own the league's toughest schedule. They went 0-4 against the AFC West, which could prove to be an issue in what would be an unexpected SB matchup, but that means they went 10-2 against everyone in their conference, including allowing just 44 points in four games against other NFC playoff teams. The Vikings defense turned things around to sit just outside of the Top 10, a remarkable achievement given they were in the 20s until a late season surge. HB Dion Lewis, coming off of an underwhelming first season with Minnesota, had a sneaky great campaign. Former MVP QB Josh Portis is the issue here. He threw for a career high in passing yards (2611) but had a career worst passer rating (68.4) and rushing yards as a starter (590). If he continues to be a liability, it would be hard to see the Vikings winning more than one game.

The Orcas had the #6 O, #11 D, and a + 87 point differential. They beat the Vikings and lost to the Rams and 49ers by a combined six points, so they can hang with the rest. They "only" went 9-7 partially due to bad luck but also because they had a stretch in the season to where injuries and inconsistency took ahold, and adjustments just didn't yield wins. They seemed to right the ship once the defense came closer to full health and QB Chris Leak and WR Antonio Brown regained their connection, but they lost HB LaMarkus Coker who was having the best most productive season of his career. They will now turn to former Top 10 pick Jonathan Stewart who passed his first test against the Bucs. They were unfortunately set up against the Rams in the wild card round, so they should be the underdog. They did only lose by one in their previous match, and they completely shut down the Rams offense. Regardless, it will be a difficult playoff path despite how good they have shown to be this season.

Look, I know that the 49ers own the conference's top seed, but they are much more flawed team than just about every other playoff team. HB Thomas Rawls had a highly productive season out of nowhere, though I guess it shouldn't be a surprise given that San Fran is a HB factory. However, he had a sub-4 YPC, and we've seen teams completely neutralize him and subsequently the entire 49ers offense. Former Top 10 pick Mitchell Trubisky ended up with a passer rating around 10th, but he struggled to connect with anyone that wasn't Lance Leggett. Virtually half of his passing yards (2135 was good for 20th in the league) went to him. Leggett's 1030 were almost 800 more than the next person (TE Martellus Bennett with 286). I'm not sure that I have ever seen that before. They largely got to where they are on the backs of their defense. The ranking doesn't do them quite justice as they were without three of their top defenders for most of the season, but they were wrecking havoc with everyone, highlighted by OLB Ryan Shazier, a Def Player of the Year and MVP threat. While history has shown that first round byes typically lead to playoff success, we've seen multiple examples in recent seasons of bye teams losing their first game. The 49ers could be potentially matched up against the Rams or Orcas and struggled against them this season.

This is an uncharacterstic Broncos playoff team. Normally an elite defensive and rushing team, they are led on offense by QB DeShone Kizer, and their defense had many peaks and valleys to ultimately land in the bottom half of playoff teams. They haven't won a playoff game since losing the S10 SB. They are matched up against the inferior Titans, so they are in a good position to end that streak, but they were also just embarrased by the Bears, and despite all the issues the Titans have, they do have Vince Young and Brian Cushing leading their respective units.

Nine of the 12 playoff teams had point differentials of 40 or more. The Broncos ended with +24. The final team on this ranking had +14. The Titans had a -6. That obviously isn't S4 Falcons territory, but it, alongside having the #11 O and alarmingly the #29 D, shows that the Titans were extremely lucky to get into the playoffs. 8 of their 10 wins were against sub.-500 teams. It is good news that one of the two exceptions was their first round opponent in the Broncos, but the entirety of this offense depends on the Vince Young to Mike Evans connection and Young to do work on his 36-year-old legs. The Broncos have their own issues to where it wouldn't be a shock to me that the Titans win, but it would be absolutely stunning if the Titans move beyond the divisional round.

The Eagles are not the worst playoff team, but the team they will be trotting out, their 4-6 record since starting 6-0, and their two wins against above.-500 teams just makes it hard for me to believe in their chances this season. The fears of what would happen to Ted Ginn when Chris Leak was removed indeed came to life as despite starting all 16 games, he is mirred in the lowest rec, yards, and TD output since his rookie season, with his rec and TD totals (51 and 5 respectively) registering as career lows. QB Ryan Perrilloux has helped lead a team to a SB victory before (Broncos in S9), but he's limited in what he can do, and the situation in Denver was substantially better there in terms of of OL, HB, and defense. HB Tevin Coleman is a marginally better runner than Cornell Brockington and a substantially worse receiver out of the backfield, so despite the OL having its best seaso maybe ever in franchise history, I just don't see them scoring the necessary points against their NFC playoff opponents. After a strong start, the defense regressed to the mean, and injuries at LB didn't help matters. OLB Christian Kirksey is probable, but everyone else has returned, so maybe they can catch lightning in a bottle once, but to expect it multiple times is something I don't envision.
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