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KCF's Playoff Power Rankings

1. Atlanta Falcons
2. Oakland Raiders
3. Columbus Pioneers
4. St. Louis Rams
5. Seattle Seahawks
6. Denver Broncos
7. Davenport Browns
8. Miami Dolphins
9. San Juan Orcas
10. Jacksonville Jaguars
11. Detroit Lions
12. Philadelphia Eagles

The Falcons were great all season and were sitting behind the trio of Seahawks/Rams/Pumpkins before chipping away and getting past all three in the end. This is the first #1 NFC seed for the Falcons, and they earned it. After years of regression in QB play, Patrick Mahomes's 92.6 passer rating was the best we've seen in years, and he was one of three qualified QBs (Jalen Hurts and DeShaun Gaines the others) who had at least twice as many TDs as INTs. The Falcons lost superstar HB David Johnson early, but they signed the reigning HB of the Year Kenyan Drake, and he picked up where he left off with highly productive play with 1443 yards and 9 TDs and just 2 fumbles in 12 starts. They are great at protecting the ball and getting their opponents to cough it up (3rd best at both). They score at will (1st) and are one of the best at preventing scoring (T-7th). This team has overcome a plethora of injuries and just haven't slowed down. They get home field advantage where they went 7-1 (only loss in Week 2). With the Seahawks and Rams combined for a 3-5 record in the final quarter of the season, the Falcons have to love their odds.

The Raiders did not get a bye, but it can be argued that they are the league's best team. They enter the playoffs with the #4 offense, #3 defense, 4th in scoring, 8th in turnover differential (+7), and 4th in points allowed. They had a very balanced offense and were one of three teams to finish in the Top 10 in rushing and passing TDs. What makes their defensive and turnover rankings more impressive is that they didn't rely on sacks or takeaways to get those marks. For a team that entered the season with no realistic playoff aspirations coming in with a retooled roster given cap constraints and have been a poor offensive team for many seasons, their performance this season, including going 11-2 after and 0-3 start, is nothing short of amazing. They don't have the benefit of guaranteed home games beyond the wild card round, but this might be the best Raiders' team in our league's history, and I'm just getting good vibes from them.

The Pioneers' nearly made their third Super Bowl last season, but they get another crack at it with the #1 seed. Their season mirrored the Broncos in the first half. Both had the league's best or second best offense and defense with a weirdly bad turnover differential that was more due to lack of takeaways than coughing it up to the opponent. The Pioneers ultimately settled with the #1 D, #3 O, and placed 10th in points for and against. They barely improved their turnover differential though (-9), and they alarmingly gave up tied for the second-most sacks at 57, though that can be somewhat blamed on backup RT Alex Moe's 10 allowed in his 10 starts in relief of Reggie Harris. The AFC is more open-ended field than the AFC, but the Pioneers have the advantage of getting home field until the SB, so that might be the edge they need.

Because the Rams will realistically have to play three road games, I can't put them any higher than this, but rest assured that they are the best team in the NFC. They finished 1st on offense, including their first top-half rushing attack since they had Romance Taylor, 4th on defense, 2nd in points for, 3rd in points allowed, and absolutely blasted their opponents more often than not even when they kept piling up on offensive injuries. They do have a spotty record against teams in the playoffs, scoring 17 points or fewer against the Seahawks (twice), Orcas, and Browns, with their Week 17 game against the Eagles their only convincing win against a potential playoff foe. I guess it is a good thing that they play the Eagles yet again to start. Because Madden can be wonky with playoff seeding matchups in later rounds, I can't accurately predict their path, but with the Seahawks injuries, they could get some favorable matchups in the opening two rounds.

Oh Seahawks. You started 10-0, but then the injuries kept piling up, and you just gave way offensively. The defense was still styming people (finished 2nd in points allowed) until you met the Pumpkins twice. Now you will be without CB Bene Benwikere and QB Gardner Minshew for the playoffs. The good news is that WR Amari Cooper and HB Kareem Hunt will be returning for their first game, which thankfully for them is in the divisional round after they secured a bye. Even with their poorly-timed woes, I think that they still have good Super Bowl odds. The NFC is top-heavy so if they somehow get one or two of Eagles/Lions/Orcas in their first two games, boy will that be a relief for them. They led the NFC with 19 giveaways in 16 games, and only the Falcons finished in the Top 10 in takeaways among NFC Playoff Teams, so their style of play should really give them an advantage.

The Broncos were the last AFC team to fall, but they went 4-6 the rest of the way, and they did finish with the league's easiest schedule, raising some fraud concerns. They aren't in the upper tier of the SB contenders, but I don't think their contender status should be in question though. No matter who you play, having the #2 defense and #1 scoring defense is pretty fraud-proof. Also of note is that while they struggled in the second half in terms of wins and losses, they were much better with turnovers. They were one of the worst teams in their differential (I remember they were 28th-30th at one point at -8 to -10). They finished in the middle of the pack at -2. Their issues lie squarely on offense and specifically their running game since Ward did pretty well, and the WR combo of Demaryius Thomas and D.J. Moore was one of the best in the league. Melvin Gordon missed most of the team's 6-0 start, and in his place DeAndre Washington was an excellent dual threat HB with Darnay Lopez providing phenomenal efficiency (5.7 YPC). Gordon has been the worst HB on the team this season with just 3 TDs and a 3.7 YPC (albeit with no fumbles). If he even does a little better and the rest of the team basically holds steady, they can make a deep run.
The Browns' #1 offense last season was realistically going to regress, and it did all the way to 13th. Their defense did improve quite well to 17th though. Their points for and against rankings are considerably better than their off/def rankings (5th points for, T-7th points against), but I think in the context of this game, with how prolific the return game and the amount of turnovers there are, the off/def rankings are better indicators of your team. With that said, the Browns are 9-2 after a 2-3 start while several of their AFC does are scuffling.

The Dolphins could be a big wild card here and the end of teams with at least decent Super Bowl odds to me. The defense is great in all aspects, finishing 7th overall, but for the second straight season, they suffered an onslaught of injuries targeting all levels of their offense. While not completely healthy with multiple offensive starters either done for the season or still on the mend, they just got back their #1 QB and HB. Their -1 turnover differential is not reflective of their team as the vast majority of those giveaways were by backups. They had the 6th most takeaways at 36, so combined with the return of Daniel Jones and Samaje Perine, they could be primed for a run.