The NFL playoff picture is almost complete and soon the NFL

Comments · 95 Views

The NFL playoff picture is almost complete and soon the NFL

The NFL playoff picture is almost complete and soon the NFL playoffs will begin after the 2020 season. But this year, the league's playoff seeding sets up for a wilder postseason, with now three wild cards joining four division winners in the both the AFC and NFC tournaments toward Super Bowl 55.With teams seeded No. 1-7 in both conferences, now only oneteamgetsa bye along with home-field advantage in each conference. Another twist is the fact hosting the game doesn't come with the same advantage with teams varying from limited to no in-person attendance. While weather will be a factor, in the end, there should be a lot more even matchups than usual, setting up one of the most exciting NFL playoffs ever.Looking at who's positioned to be in the playoffs now in the AFC and NFC, here's a breakdown how teams might get a break with their opponents or run into an obstacle they would like to avoid on the postseason path:MORE: The referenced media source is mi sing and needs to be re-embedded.AFC Tyler Anderson Jersey playoff matchupsChiefs (13-1)Best po sible matchup: Steelers. The Steelers cannot run the ball well and don't have a deep pa sing game. Those are two elements needed to try to keep the Chiefs' offense off the field and also outscore them. Patrick Mahomes also will pick apart a blitzing defense that won't get to him. The Chiefs still hope this becomes the AFC title game, even though the chances of that are fading.Worst po sible matchup: Titans. The Titans are pesky. There's no way the Chiefs, after needing a big comeback to beat them in the AFC title game last year, want to deal with them again with a Super Bowl return on the line.The Titanscan run the ball well with Derrick Henry, and both A.J. Brown and Corey Davis can make big plays for Ryan Tannehill. The Titans are also capable of winning a shootout, despite how bad their defense will be against the Mahomes.Bills (11-3)Best po sible matchup: Browns. The Browns have a good run defense but have a weak pa s rush away from Myles Garrett and weak coverage away from Denzel Ward. The Bills don't care if they run the ball traditionally well when they have the big arm and strong legs of Josh Allen. Defensively, Baker Mayfield would be challenged by good coverage behind improving pre sure packages that capitalizes on mistakes.Worst po sible matchup: Colts. The Colts would stick with the run to work on the Bills' biggest defensive weakne s. They also can exploit the Bills' i sues in covering tight ends. Defensively, the Colts' zone defense would force Allen to sustain drives with short-to-intermediate pa ses.Steelers (11-3)Best po sible matchup: Tony Wolters Jersey Dolphins. The Steelers at this point need to face another defensive-minded team that leans toward trying to win low-scoring battles of attrition, because with Ben Roethlisberger's struggles, they're not equipped to win any kind of shootout.Worst po sible matchup: Ravens. The Steelers did beat the Ravens both times. But it wasn't easy, needing a big comeback in the first meeting and barely holding off a Lamar Jackson-le s offense in the second meeting. The Ravens are healthier and playing much better. It's hard to beat any team three times in a season. So Pittsburgh Pat Valaika Jersey doesn't want a No. 2 vs. No. 7 or No. 3 vs. No. 6 matchup to lead itto Baltimore.Titans (10-4)Best po sible matchup: Bills. There was evidence of this when Tannehill and Henry were too much for Buffalo to handle in the regular-season meeting. Similar to the Colts, they are built to exploit some of the Bills' shortcomings. One cannot ignore the 42-16 drubbing from October.Worst po sible matchup: Steelers. The Titans went down 24-7 at halftime in the regular-season meeting before falling just short with a rally in the second half. The Steelers can contain Henry and when that happens, Tannehill can struggle with pre sure. Plus, the Titans' secondary cannot cover the Steelers' receivers on shorter routes well.Browns (10-4)Best po sible matchup: Colts. The Browns beat the Colts 32-23 in October with a complete performance on offense, defense and special teams. Their improved run Chris Iannetta Jersey defense helps against Indianapolis and so does their willingne s to be run-heavy and work patiently with the intermediate pa sing game aroundMayfield.Worst po sible matchup: Bills. Adding to the flip side of this from above, Allen simply will outplay Mayfield when it comes down to it, po se sing more offensive firepower.Colts (10-4)Best po sible matchup: Bills. Adding to theflip side of the this from above, Frank Reich, Nick Sirianni and Matt Eberflus would game-plan well against Sean McDermott, Leslie Frazier and Brian Daboll. Jonathan Taylor would be tough to stop for the Bills' defense.Worst po sible matchup: Browns. Just like you can trust Allen over Mayfield, it's easy to trust Mayfield over Rivers in a rematch.Dolphins (10-5)Best po sible matchup: Steelers. The Steelers will need to grind out games in the playoffs, and with the better overall defense, can out-grind the Dolphins and make it tough on Tua Tagovailoa on the road.Worst po sible matchup: Steelers. What the? The Dolphins, at the same time, also would welcome facing the most inept offense in the AFC field that isn't them. They simply cannot hang with the Bills, Chiefs, Colts or Titans in a shootout.Ravens (9-5)Best po sible matchup: Bills. The Bills' defense isn't really built well to stop the running of Lamar Jackson, J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards. They also won't be able to cover Mark Andrews well. The Ravens' secondary can also make it tricky for Allen's targets, led by Stefon Diggs. An Allen-Jackson duel would be epic in a No. 2-No. 7 game.Worst po sible matchup: Titans. Remember the Titans took down the Patriots and Ravens back to back before falling short against the Chiefs in a surprise run to the AFC championship game. The Titans followed that up with a 30-24 overtime win, capping a big comeback this November. The referenced media source is mi sing and needs to be re-embedded.NFC playoff matchupsPackers (11-3)Best po sible matchup: Washington. Washington has a good pre sure defense and can force mistakes. But Aaron Rodgers wouldn't give them the chance with his hyper efficiency to exploit plenty of holes in Carlos Gonzalez Jersey WFT's back seven. There's also no chance WFT scores enough to beat Rodgers in the divisional round.Worst po sible matchup: Buccaneers. The Bucs demolished the Packers 38-20 in the first meeting. The rematch vs. Tom Brady wouldn't feel comfortable, either.Saints (11-4)Best po sible matchup: Buccaneers. The Saints rolled the Buccaneers twice with Sean Payton thoroughly out-coaching Bruce Arians and his staff. OK, we said it was hard to be
Comments