It’s week 13 in the NFL and the Playoffs are only a little more than a month away. illRoots is here to break down the 14 teams that have the best shot at making the NFL playoffs & what their chances are at playing in Tampa this February. These next few weeks will be crucial for any fan of NFL football, since only 12 teams can make it to January play, 2 of the 14 we pick here, wont even be able to sniff new years from anywhere but their grandmother’s couch; Jump.
NFC

1. New York Giants: By far the leader of the pack in the NFC. There isn’t much to be concerned about if you’re a Giants fan. Their main weakness’ is the secondary, but the way the D-line dominates is a testament to how much that really will affect anything.

2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The main question mark for the Bucs is how well they can play against teams with a balanced attack (such as the Giants). Their main weakness is red zone offense, but that could be something that improves greatly when they start playing in January.

3. Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings have a lot to prove in the upcoming weeks, but if they can win at least three of their remaining regular season contests, then they will be hosting a Wildcard game, and should have their great defense back in sync by then.

4. Carolina Panthers: The Panthers have had a lot of ups and downs the past few weeks, but if they were to beat the Buccaneers this Monday night, they could even come up with the second seed. The only problem is that Jake Delhomme would have to start playing consistent ball like he use to.

5. Arizona Cardinals: After being blown out by the Eagles in their Thanksgiving bout, many are starting to question how far the spotty defense can allow Arizona’s top tier offense to advance in the post season.

6. Atlanta Falcons: No one expected Atlanta to even win five games this season, and despite their humble beginnings, they sure have proven pundits wrong, so far. With teams from the NFC East knocking on the door, it’s hard to really even project if the Falcons will even make the playoffs, however.

7. Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys playoff hopes are probably even more in question than Atlana’s are. The strength of their remaining schedule may just be a little too hard for the Cowboys to handle, but if they were to make it in, Dallas would be a scary team to face, when it all goes down.

AFC

1. Pittsburgh Steelers: Contrary to what ESPN is trying to sell everyone, we believe the best team in the AFC is the Steelers. They have the number one defense in the league & have faced some of the toughest teams in the league, & have come out favorably for the most part.

2. New York Jets: Forgetting last week’s lose might be hard for them, especially with a tool like Mangini at the helms. If they can overcome last week, however, the Jets could end the season with a great momentum to bring with them into the post season.

3. Tennessee Titans: We’d like to say that their 11-1 record isn’t a little misleading, but the weakness of their prior schedule might end up catching up to them in the post season, where all of their competition is as good (or better) than them.

4. Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens are almost a poor man’s NY Giants in some cases, being that they are a fairly balanced squad, that can win in a few different fashions. Their defense is what will scare people though.

5. Indianapolis Colts: If you look at the remaining schedule for the Colts, you probably expect them to be a lock for the wildcard, so do we. What they can do with it, will all be up to them.

6. Denver Broncos: It’s really not fair that the Broncos can play so poorly in some points of their season, but play so good in others & still be in the lead for their division, but that’s the AFC west for ya.

7: New England Patriots: Since the 7th best team doesn’t make the playoffs, deciding which of the two teams in the east (Dolphins, Patriots) ends their season here is pretty irrelevant. If either of them were to make the playoffs, I’m sure the Patriots would have a better shot at winning a few rounds, so that’s why we choose them here.

Remember folks, it’s only week 13. The playoff picture will probably change drastically within the next few weeks. I expect that by week 15 playoff power rankings will look a lot different than what it is now. If you have any opinions, negative, positive, whatever, please feel free to comment below.

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