Playoffs, baby! Eighteen weeks of NFL regular season play has led football enthusiasts and general sports aficionados to this, the road to SuperBowl LIX. As thirteen teams embark on the quest to secure the proverbial belt – and one team is doing their darndest to keep it right where it is – here is the lay of the land for the 2025 NFL Playoffs!
The Couch Potatoes
The road to New Orleans is far from being a two-horse race, but Kansas City and Detroit have each underlined their status as favorites for the big game, claiming the number-1 seeds in their respective conference. While injury luck seems to go two different ways (KC is getting healthier on offense, while Detroit’s defense is suffering set-back after set-back), the two top dogs have earned their byes for round one, sitting at home, waiting for the challengers to emerge for the divisional round.
The Chiefs and Lions are both loaded with talent, however, there is a potential distraction (that may well turn into a galvanizing force of a last hurrah) that comes with extended regular season succes:
Detroits Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson will interview for the New England Patriots’ head coaching job while his defensive counter part, Aaron Glenn, will fill his bye-week with interviews for five different teams (essentially everyone but the Patriots). In addition, multiple teams have requested permission to interview Chiefs’ DC Steve Spagnuolo.
The Heir(s) Apparent
The last time that Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens played a playoff game (last year’s AFC Championship vs. the Chiefs), much was made of the QB’s (lack of) playoff success. As was the case the year before. And the year before that. That was without Derrick Henry. The last time the Ravens faced the Steelers, King Henry ran for 162 yards. (However, Baltimore will be withouth WR Zay Flowers, at least for round 1.)
Arguably, one of the signature plays of Bills QB Josh Allen came about a month ago when he scored on a hook-and-ladder play against the 49ers. The play had it all. Allen’s abilities and his passion for the game of football on full display, snow in Buffalo, people going crazy, tables being broken, and, ultimately, a W for Buffalo. However, part of the emblematics is that it was a regular season game. With their eyes firmly set on a SuperBowl birth, Allen and the Bills are keen to create an even better more meaningful signature play.
Jim Harbaugh is a first-year but he is not a rookie (for the purpose of this clustering). However, just like his star quarterback, the Chargers Head Coach has been waiting in the wings for a shot at a SuperBowl. With Harbaugh’s playoff acumen on his side, Justin Herbert looks to be in the best position of his young career to cement his place among the game’s elite with a deep post-season run.
The Less Apparent Heirs
Rams coach Sean McVay deciced that he already knew what a banged-up version of his squad looked like, so he sat most of his (offensive) starters in the final game of the season – and his team almost won anyways. Now, Los Angeles also gets to add Puka Nacua, who returned from injury against the Seahawks, back to their first team offense.
Winning this year’s edition of the NFC South might not be the greatest achievement, competition-wise. That last statement may also be a bit of an understatement. However, as a division champion, Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers are looking at potentially hosting two playoff games in a row at home in Tampa Bay (depending on the matchups), which – at the time of publication – is all of the games to reach an NFC championship game.
The Minnesota Vikings are one of the strongest Wild Card teams in NFL history (14-3), however quarterback Sam Darnold has had his worst showing of the season last week against the Lions. While it is uncertain which version of the Vikings will show up this week, there is reason to believe that the game against Detroit was a slip-up rather than a projection of Minnesota’s capabilities going forward.
The Rookies
It would be unfair to label both Washington and Denver as ‘happy to be here’, as doing so would undermine the Commanders’ and Broncos’ efforts to make it to the post-season. However, while neither team might compete for the SuperBowl just yet, they are certainly more than happy to be where they are at, given that their rookie quarterbacks Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix, respectively, are getting a taste of the Playoffs in year one already – a proof of concept if there ever was one.
The Long-Shots
While Pittsburgh’s running game still manages to churn out decent results, their passing game has fallen off significantly over the last few weeks – and now, they’re facing what’s arguably the hottest defense in the league (no. 1 by EPA per play) in the Baltimore Ravens.
With a depleted WR-room, the Houston Texans are relying heavily on a duo of pass-rushers (Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr.) and the connection between QB C.J. Stroud and Nico Collins to keep pace againt playoff-level competition.
The Question Marks
Almost every quarterback on both the Eagles‘ and the Packers‘ roster – including the starters Jalen Hurts (concussion) and Jordan Love (throwing elbow) as well as their respective backups – are recovering from injuries leading up to their first-round matchup. Even if you consider yourself a betting person, placing a wager on this game before the final rosters are announced resembles madness.
As the Kansas City Chiefs embark on their quest for a third Lombary trophy in a row, the NFL playoff picture is as promising as it can be, loaded with star power and twelve hopefuls are facing off in six games over two glorious days of football frenzy. It truly is one of the best sports weekends of the year!
