Posted on January 13
1. Packers de Green Bay (13-4)
All NFL teams have lost at least four times this year, which is extremely rare, whether the season is 17 games or 16. The return to play of David Bakhtiari, one of the best left tackles, will make Aaron Rodgers even more productive, he who is one of the two main candidates for the title of most valuable player, an honor he received last year.
2. Buccaneers de Tampa Bay (13-4)
The other contender for MVP is, of course, Tom Brady, who set personal bests with 719 pass attempts, 485 completions and 5,316 passing yards. Brady and the Bucs should be able to count on Leonard Fournette (hamstring) in their playoff game against the Eagles.
3. Titans du Tennessee (12-5)
Bakhtiari (Green Bay) and Fournette (Buccaneers) are important players, but the biggest comeback in the playoffs will likely come in Nashville. Derrick King Henry has started training again and everything points to a return to action next weekend (the Titans are off in the first round). This is not very good news for the other six teams still alive in the American.
4. Chiefs de Kansas City (12-5)
Patrick Mahomes has recovered well after an ordinary first half of the season. In his last 9 games, he totaled 18 touchdown passes against only 3 interceptions, he who had been the victim of 10 interceptions in his first 8 outings. Will Tyreek Hill be in top form on Sunday night? He injured his heel last Saturday.
5. Bills de Buffalo (11-6)
Despite playing four of their six in-division games against the Patriots and Dolphins, who have two of the best defenses in the league, the Bills finished the schedule with the NFL’s best point differential (+194).
6. Cowboys de Dallas (12-5)
Not only will Sunday’s Cowboys-49ers clash be the first playoff contest between these two old rivals since the mid-1990s, but it will also feature teams of comparable caliber.
7. Bengals de Cincinnati (10-7)
The Bengals gave Joe Burrow the day off last week and the minor knee injury he suffered in his last game shouldn’t bother him against the Raiders.
8. San Francisco 49ers (10-7)
Cooper Kupp, Davante Adams and Justin Jefferson are all very good, but if you gave me the choice, I’d take Deebo Samuel, the NFL’s most versatile wide receiver. Samuel caught 77 passes for 1,405 yards for an 18.2 per catch average, best in the league among those who caught at least 25 passes. He also carried the ball 59 times for 365 yards (6.2 per carry) and threw a touchdown pass on Sunday against the Rams.
PHOTO JED JACOBSOHN, ARCHIVES ASSOCIATED PRESS
Deebo Samuel of the San Francisco 49ers
9. Rams de Los Angeles (12-5)
Speaking of the Rams, Sean McVay’s team has surely developed a complex over the 49ers, who have now beaten them six straight. Luckily for the Rams, the Cardinals will be in Los Angeles on Monday night, not the Niners.
10. New England Patriots (10-7)
Mac Jones seems to have hit the proverbial “rookie wall” at the end of the season. In order to eliminate the Bills, the Pats will likely have to have a lot of success on the ground, like they did on their first visit to Buffalo last month.
11. Arizona Cardinals (11-6)
Perhaps it was better for the Cards to play on the road in the playoffs: 8-1 away from Arizona and only 3-5 at home. J. J. Watt could play on Monday.
12. Las Vegas Raiders (10-7)
Most of us had already buried the Raiders a month ago. Derek Carr has just shown that he can be at the top of his game when it matters. As for the interim head coach, Rich Bisaccia, he deserves to get the driver’s job permanently.
13. Steelers de Pittsburgh (9-7-1)
If T.J. Watt doesn’t get Defensive Player of the Year, there will be a rebellion in Pittsburgh. Along with tying Michael Strahan’s season record of 22.5 sacks (in 15 games), Watt added key plays – as he did in 2019 and 2020.
14. Philadelphia Eagles (9-8)
Jalen Hurts and several other important players had little or no play on Saturday night. The beating they suffered against the Cowboys was therefore not surprising.
15. Dolphins de Miami (9-8)
The best team to miss the playoffs, but what a bad decision to fire Brian Flores… The Dolphins were finally on the right track!
16. Chargers de Los Angeles (9-8)
Another season that ends in a fishtail for the Chargers. The good news is that they should become playoff regulars with a quarterback of Justin Herbert’s caliber.
PHOTO ORLANDO RAMIREZ, ARCHIVES USA TODAY SPORTS
Justin Herbert, des Chargers de Los Angeles
17. Colts d’Indianapolis (9-8)
Frank Reich would not confirm if Carson Wentz would be the starting quarterback for the Colts in 2022. After his poor performance in Jacksonville, Wentz should not be sure of anything anymore. A team that loses its most important game of the season against the Jaguars simply does not deserve a place in the tournament.
18. New Orleans Saints (9-8)
First objective: to choose a starting quarterback for the next season as soon as possible. Second objective: find him some top receivers. One of those could be Michael Thomas if he continues his career in Louisiana after missing the entire season with an ankle injury.
19. Ravens de Baltimore (8-9)
The numerous injuries, including that of Lamar Jackson, have greatly weakened the Ravens, of course, but to the point of ending the season with a series of six defeats? Contract negotiations with Jackson will be at the forefront of the offseason in Maryland.
20. Browns de Cleveland (8-9)
Kevin Stefanski said he expects Baker Mayfield, who has been plagued by a shoulder injury for the second half of the season, it should be said, to come back strong next season. But not sure that Browns fans share his optimism.
21. Seahawks de Seattle (7-10)
The future of Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson with the Seahawks remains uncertain. If the two men want to stay in Seattle and win, the organization will absolutely have to improve its defense.
22. The Vikings of Minnesota (8-9)
The first big decision for the new Vikings decision makers when they are hired will concern the future of Kirk Cousins. Holders of 12e choice, the Vikings will be in a good position to acquire a young passer in the next draft.
23. Denver Broncos (7-10)
In Denver, there’s no question: Acquiring a new quarterback will be THE priority once the hiring of a new head coach is complete. A Brian Flores-Deshaun Watson combination? Flores is free and rumors were that he wanted to get Watson to the Dolphins. The Broncos will certainly have the necessary capital in draft picks to make a trade with the Texans.
24. Team Washington (7-10)
Another team with a big question mark at the most important position. Head coach Ron Rivera said his team needs a really good off-season and he’s absolutely right. At least the organization has already made it known that they will have a new team name before the start of next season.
PHOTO NICK WASS, ARCHIVES ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ron Rivera, Team Washington Head Coach
25. Falcons d’Atlanta (7-10)
The question the Falcons have to ask themselves is if they’ll have time to become legitimate contenders again before Matt Ryan’s game declines too much. If the answer is negative, a settlement would be the best option for both parties.
26. Bears de Chicago (6-11)
One of the Bears’ priorities will be to improve their offensive line. Because if Justin Fields is not better protected than he was in his first season, the Bears will still be looking for a quarterback in two years.
27. Carolina Panthers (5-12)
Three assistant coaches lost their jobs on Monday. We guess that Matt Rhule was strongly encouraged to make these changes, a question of being able to keep his job himself.
28. New York Jets (4-13)
It won’t be easy for the Jets to become competitive in a division that also includes the Bills, Patriots and Dolphins. But the Bengals have just demonstrated that it was possible to find a place in a high division, and quite quickly. Like Fields in Chicago, Zach Wilson will need much better protection in 2022. He’s had at least 4 sacks in 6 of his 13 games in his rookie season, including each of his last 3.
29. Detroit Lions (3-13-1)
The Lions accomplished what they could with the very limited squads that were in place this season. They will now have to improve their training on all levels in order to be able to progress significantly in 2022.
30. Texans de Houston (4-13)
It wasn’t for that, but Davis Mills may have played well enough down the stretch to get the chance to be the starting quarterback in September. The rookie hit the target 66.8% of the time and threw 16 touchdown passes to 10 interceptions.
31. Jaguars de Jacksonville (3-14)
The Jags will have the first-ever draft pick for the second year in a row. They could have had plenty of picks by trading that pick to a team eager to get their hands on a young quarterback, but the 2022 crop is ordinary at that position, so it’s an unlikely scenario.
32. Giants de New York (4-13)
The last time I heard a coach or GM say he was laying the foundations when his team was atrocious on the pitch, like Joe Judge did this week, was from Kavis. Reed. The Alouettes have had to reinforce the stakes since… The Giants did not really believe in Judge’s plan since they fired him on Tuesday.
