With the NFL play-offs upon us, Paul Higham takes you through the 12 teams chasing their Super Bowl dreams and their chances of glory.
The serious stuff starts here in the NFL as the play-offs begin with wildcard weekend, so let's look at how things stand, who's playing who and what chances our 12 hopefuls have of making the Super Bowl..
NFL play-off standings and schedule
NFC: 1.Saints 2.Rams 3.Bears 4.Cowboys 5.Seahawks 6.Eagles
AFC: 1.Chiefs 2.Patriots 3.Texans 4.Ravens 5.Chargers 6.Colts
Schedule
Saturday January 5 - Colts @ Texans, Seahawks @ Cowboys
Sunday January 6 – Chargers @ Ravens, Eagles @ Bears
Saturday January 12 – TBC @ Chiefs, TBC @ Rams
Sunday January 13 – TBC @ Patriots, TBC @ Saints
Sunday January 20 – Conference Championships
Sunday February 4 - Super Bowl
NFC play-offs
New Orleans Saints (13-3)
The NFL’s best record resides in New Orleans despite the Saints resting many of their stars and losing their final game of the regular season – before that they’d been the second-best scorers at home, with the Superdome having one of the best hoe field advantages in the league.
The jury’s still out on whether two weeks of rest is a good thing or takes the edge off but a well-rested Drew Brees and his offence will be a tough unit to slow down. The only other time the Saints finished as top seeds they won the Super Bowl in 2009 so they’re rightly favourites.
Los Angeles Rams (13-3)
It must be a worry that their only three losses have come against three teams they could face in the play-offs in the Saints, Bears and Eagles, with QB Jared Goff unable to play at his best level against elite defensive units.
Their own defence has a candidate for best defensive player in the NFL in Aaron Donald in it, and it’ll be a combination of him and running back Todd Gurley who will be behind this team’s progression. Gurley scored 21 touchdowns but a knee injury hampered his end of the season, and he’ll need to be at full strength against a tough set of defences.
Chicago Bears (12-4)
The ‘defence wins championships’ motto applies to a few of these NFC teams but Chicago top the list with a stifling defence led by Khalil Mack that’s been conjuring up memories of their legendary 1985 Super Bowl winners.
New coach Matt Nagy has provided young QB Mitchell Trubisky with a safe haven for developing but he’ll need to step up under the most severe pressure in the post-season, starting with the defending champs. This defence will always keep games close and if they beat Philadelphia they won’t fear playing the Rams – who they’ve already beaten this season.
Dallas Cowboys (10-6)
They’ve got the formula for play-off success in a sound defence and strong running game focused around Ezekiel Elliott, who did all the heavy lifting during their 6-1 winning streak that fired them into the post-season.
They’ll be dishing out a huge dose of Elliott to the Seahawks but QB Dak Prescott and new star receiver Amari Cooper will be needed to provide that extra spark if they want to go deep.
Seattle Seahawks (10-6)
With Russell Wilson at quarterback Seattle were always going to be a threat in the play-offs if they got in, and it’ll be an intriguing contest between two similar outfits in Dallas. Seattle love to run the ball but a big negative is the injuries they’ve sustained on the offensive line, so they may need some big scrambling plays Wilson has made his name on.
Turnovers are key for Pete Carroll’s side, they only gave the ball away 11 times over the entire season while the defence grabbed 26 takeaways and changes of possession almost count double in the post-season.
Philadelphia Eagles (9-7)
The defending champions had been keeping themselves alive for weeks but back-up QB Nick Foles has suddenly sparked talk of a hugely unlikely repeat after firing them into the play-offs. He’s 4-1 as a starter and just seems to come alive at this stage of the season.
Philly’s defence has talented individuals but they have struggled to keep the points against tally down against good teams, whether they can limited Chicago’s effectiveness is the major question mark but the presence of Foles and his magic arm means there’s always a chance.
AFC play-offs
Kansas City Chiefs (12-4)
The Chiefs hold the NFL’s best offence after finishing a full six points per game better than anyone else in the league, and even in the general slow-down that occurred across the board in December, the talented Patrick Mahomes, who threw over 50 touchdowns during the season, and company still kept firing.
Defence is a major worry for Chiefs backers though, as they’ve been unable to stop teams scoring points or controlling the ball, and that’s a huge negative going into the play-offs regardless of how good your offence is.
New England Patriots (11-5)
We’ve hardly talked about the Patriots but them securing a bye for a record ninth straight year is a monumental effort even for a team that many feel are passed their best, along with ageing legend Tom Brady – but he’s still got the job done.
They’ve won their last nine home play-off games so will be favourites to make yet another Conference title and anything can happen in those games. They don’t have the best playmakers on either side of the ball but with Brady and coach Bill Belichick you count them out at your peril.
Houston Texans (11-5)
In JJ Watt they have one of the most destructive defensive forces in the NFL and he’ll be hounding Andrew Luck in their wildcard meeting, but it’s the other side of the ball that could prove problematic for the Texans.
QB Deshaun Watson has oodles of talent but he’s been sacked 62 times this season, that’s the fifth-most ever in NFL history! Keeping him upright and having starting running back Lamar Miller fit and firing are keys to victory for Houston.
Baltimore Ravens (10-6)
The Ravens have the league’s best total defence and second-best in points allowed behind Chicago, and they now get a home play-off game against a Chargers side they’ve already beaten on the road a few weeks ago.
Rookie QB Lamar Jackson could be the ideal x-factor to play behind that defence as he operates more like a running back which eliminates a lot of chances of turning the ball over. Rookie QBs are 9-12 in the last 21 play-off games they’ve started though so that’s one word of caution.
Los Angeles Chargers (12-4)
It shows just how tough the play-off system can be as the Chargers won as many games as anyone in the AFC bit having been pipped to their division by the Chiefs they now face a tough road trip to Baltimore while KC put their feet up for a week!
Philip Rivers has led victories in Pittsburgh, Seattle and Kansas City but the strength of Baltimore’s defence means this is their biggest test yet. Running back Melvin Gordon can fire them on to victory and this could be Rivers’ last chance for glory so he’ll be as fired up as you can get.
Indianapolis Colts (10-6)
Andrew Luck somehow engineered a play-off run for his team despite a 1-5 start behind some of the very best quarterback play you’ll see. Included was a late, late comeback against the Giants and victory in their winner-takes-all finale in Tennessee.
The Colts defence is tough to move the ball against as well though, with rookie linebacker Darius Leonard earning rave reviews for his all-action performances. They’ve got a great chance of an upset win in Houston.
