Baltimore: Contender with a catch. I’m worried about Baltimore. I’m worried because a good defense can slow them down. The Steelers and 49ers almost did it and Browns and Chiefs did do it. Lamar Jackson is special, but he’s a speciality QB. His strength is running the football. All it takes is one nasty, cold-weather playoff game where a defense bottles him up and Baltimore is gone. I like them, but not as much as everyone else.
49ers: Pretender. This is hard for me to do this because many of you know that on top of Atlanta sports I also cover the 49ers for a living. They are extremely talented on the defensive side of the football. However, Jimmy Garoppolo and those receivers do not scare me. Plus, it’s looking like they might not win the NFC West, meaning they will be a 5 seed and have to go on the road. I’m not buying the 49er hype right now.
Chiefs: Contender. Patrick Mohomes is healthy. He has more playoff experience than any QB in the AFC besides Brady, and their defense is playing a lot better recently. They held their last two opponents to 26 points combined. If the Chiefs end up going to Baltimore in the Divisional round, I like Kansas City in that one. They can score enough to keep up with Lamar.
NFC East (Cowboys/Eagles): Pretenders. Listen, one of these two teams will be hosting a wild-card playoff game but they will probably be hosting either San Francisco or Seattle. There's a zero percent chance they win that game. Dallas has a lame duck head coach and a mediocre offense and Philadelphia hasn’t played a complete game all year. One week the Eagles defense is holding Tom Brady to zero TD passes and the next they let Ryan Fitzpatrick carve them up.
Seattle: Contender. They are my favorite team in the NFC right now. They have an Elite QB, elite head coach, elite linebacker, elite pass rusher and an elite home field advantage. Good luck going to Century Link in January and beating Russell Wilson and Jadeveon Clowney.
