The NFL playoffs are on the horizon and this is where legacies are created, and narratives around players and franchises change – for better or worse. The Kansas City Chiefs are back to back defending champions and have won 3 super bowls in the past 5 years. They are the team everyone is chasing and they are in the midst of a dynasty. But they are not the only team in the 2024 NFL playoffs. There’s 13 other teams competing for a chance to play in New Orleans on the second Sunday in February for a chance to be called Super Bowl champions and for a chance to cement their legacy forever. And in today’s video we are going to break down 4 NFL teams with the most to prove in the NFL postseason. We are going to break down every scenario possible for each of the teams we discuss because remember at this point – the bracket is not finalized and there’s a lot of things that could change for the teams in today’s video. The 2024 NFL season has been extremely fun and for some teams and fan bases – it’s just getting started. And there is a lot to breakdown in today’s video and without further ado – let’s begin
And we are starting today’s video with the Green Bay Packers. The Packers are 11-5 and having an 11-5 record is nothing to scoff at and there’s countless NFL teams that would do anything to have an 11-5 record. But what is particularly unfortunate for Green Bay is who their 5 losses are against. They got swept by the Lions and Vikings who are each 14-2, and they lost in the week 1 game in Brazil to the Eagles with a score of 34-29. The Eagles of course have also had a great 2024 season and are 13-3 and are NFC East champions. And when you combine the records of the opponents they lost to in 2024 – the records of those opponents for Green Bay is 69-11 – which is obviously insane. Only one of those 5 losses were by double digits which was to the Lions back in week 9 and unfortunately for Green Bay – when you lose to teams like that – and especially given that you were swept by not one – but two divisional opponents who each have 14+ wins – the noise from the outside is going to be loud. Period. There’s no way around that. Ultimately I do think Washington will beat Dallas in week 18 as I think they would rather play the Rams in the wild card round than the division rival Eagles, and I do think we are on a crash course for a repeat matchup from all the way back in week 1 with Green Bay as a 12 win wild card team.
That’s an extremely tough draw for a 7 seed – let alone a 12 win 7 seed and obviously there’s been a lot of discussion around the Vikings and Lions and who will be a 14 win wild card team – but it’s also pretty insane that there is a very good possibility the Packers are a 12 win 7 seed. Going to Philly and having to play the Eagles is a brutal matchup – but it’s one I think Green Bay can win. Neither team is unbeatable and I think both teams are great and I know the Packers haven’t beat any of the top 3 teams in the NFC in 2024 – but I do think they are a team nobody wants to play. They have a point difference of 124, they’re top 10 in both offensive points per game, and defensive points allowed per game and one thing that I think benefits the Packers is – they can effectively play whoever ball on offense. Meaning – they can beat you with Josh Jacobs, Jayden Reed, Tucker Kraft, Christian Watson or any combination of the 4 – and still come out on top. They have forced 29 turnovers in 16 games which ranks 4th in the NFL and I know Jordan Love gets a lot of slack for his interceptions at times as he can certainly throw some Will Levis esque interceptions – but he hasn’t thrown an interception in over 150 passing attempts.
The Packers are a very young team, as all of the skill position players we mentioned are 26 or younger – but if – they go lay an egg in Philly – assuming that’s where they play in the wild card round – then I think the narrative around this team will change – and fast. I think there would be a very real chance this team would go from one that’s up and coming and one that transitioned from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love seamlessly – to a team that’s good but not great – especially with the Lions and Vikings in their division. I did release a week 17 recap with the Packers on the thumbnail captioned “They’re fine” and I do believe they are fine in the long run – as it may be the only year in NFL history where a team has 5 losses – and the combined records of their losses is a staggering 69-11. And it’s not going to be every year where a 7 seed is a 12 win team. But the Packers are in – in my opinion – the toughest division in football. And if they go out and lay an egg in the playoffs and Jordan Love has a stinker of a game – then I think this would be a very long offseason for the Green Bay Packers.
Next up is the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Steelers 2024 season has been a bit of a rollercoaster. They started out not just 1-0 – but 3-0 as they defeated the Falcons, Broncos, and Chargers in their first 3 games and the defense held them all to 10 points or less. Now if there are any Chargers fans watching – they would understandably want something pointed out in their game and it’s that they had 4 big players leave the game in Justin Herbert, Rashawn Slater, Joe Alt, and Joey Bosa. And I would want that pointed out too. Pittsburgh lost the ensuing two games to the Colts and Cowboys, then won the next 5 in row to improve to 8-2, and have lost 4 of their final 6 games since and are now 10-6.
And their last 3 losses haven’t been a 27-24 game that comes down to the wire in a close one that got away. No. The Steelers last 3 losses are to the Eagles, Ravens, and Chiefs – all of whom will probably be division winners and the combined score in those games is 90-40. And the reason we use probably division winners is because the Steelers can technically still win the AFC North – but it would require a Dorian Thompson – Robinson led Browns team to beat the Ravens in week 18 at M&T Bank stadium, and for the Steelers to beat the Bengals – which I don’t think will happen – and that’s not a hot take as the Browns are 18 point underdogs for a reason. But the Steelers have a lot to prove in the postseason because they have not won a playoff game since 2016, and there’s only one scenario where I see them winning a playoff game this year.
They have to beat the Bengals in week 18 which is going to be difficult and based on how each team is playing – I’ll be honest – I don’t see it happening. Now like we mentioned with the Chargers at the beginning of this segment – we also need to mention with the Steelers that they too have dealt with their fair share of injuries – specifically in the secondary and also by losing George Pickens for a couple of games down the stretch. But this final 4 game gauntlet for the Steelers of at Philly, at Baltimore, home against Kansas City and home against Cincinnati always scared me with the 2024 Steelers regardless of health because this is a legitimate playoff schedule – before the playoffs start. And my concern for the Steelers was playing 3 games in 11 days – which is something I’m not a fan of by the way as that’s not great for player health – but playing 3 playoff teams in 11 days is brutal.
And if the Steelers do not beat the Bengals in week 18 – I think the Chargers will beat the Raiders, which would propel them to the 5 seed and the Steelers to the 6 seed. And at this point in the year – there is a big difference between going to Houston as the 5 seed in the AFC – and going to Baltimore as the 6 seed. And the Steelers and Chargers can say what they want and give a cliche football answer of “we’ll play who’s in front of us” or whatever they would say in interviews – but you can come to a reasonable conclusion as to who each team would rather play in the wild card round. And if the Steelers put up a clunker in the wild card round – and if they lose again in the first game of the postseason – I think there’s serious conversation that needs to be had. Because truly – what is this franchise going to do? And realistically what can they do? This is a bad year to need a quarterback – for not just the Steelers, but for anyone. And if they go lay an egg and Russell Wilson and the offense only put up 10 or 13 points in the wild card round – then this could be a very dark offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Baltimore Ravens and Minnesota Vikings are discussed at length on camera below. The bottom line for the Ravens is they are 2-4 in the playoffs in the Lamar Jackson era and he is having an MVP caliber season – but it does not matter if they go one and done – or – if Lamar Jackson does not perform in the postseason. In 6 career game he has a touchdown to interception ratio of 6-6 and that needs to change. A Super Bowl is realistic for the Ravens this year – but I do think it is now or never from a narrative perspective for Lamar Jackson. For Sam Darnold I think this one is pretty clear. He has thrown for over 4,000 yards in 2024 and 35 passing touchdowns and was recently named a pro bowler. It’s been a magical season for the Vikings as they can win 15 games and be the number one seed – but if they are one and done – and if Kevin O’Connell falls to 0-2 in the playoffs – then the rumblings will start. The Ravens and Vikings have to prove themselves in January. I hope you enjoyed today’s article and hope you have a great rest of your day! Thank you for reading!
