The Playoff Power Rankings

January 11, 2023 The Playoff Power Rankings

By: Carlos Alvarez

AFC’s Top Teams Are Hot, But 49ers Hold Best Streak & Eagles Are Healthy

With the NFL postseason a few days away, the playoff power rankings are here. We’ve seen the AFC’s top three teams in a dogfight for playoff seeding despite an unprecedented schedule disaster to end the year. The Bengals (8) and 49ers (10) are the league’s hottest teams with massive win streaks heading into the playoffs, but the Chiefs, Bills, and Eagles had better seasons start-to-finish. Our only knock on the Niners is the belief in Brock Purdy under playoff pressure. But those five teams are head-and-shoulders above the rest in our postseason list. The Jaguars and Seahawks are also dark horses who snuck in on Week 18 while the Bucs, Dolphins, Giants, and Ravens leave us with more questions than answers. But as we know, you can’t count out Tom Brady in the postseason. Here are our rankings of the 14 playoff teams, split into three tiers — contenders, challengers, and longshots.

 

NFL Playoff Power Rankings

 

Tier 1 (Contenders)

1. Chiefs (14-3) | — | Odds: +330

2. Eagles (14-3) | — | Odds: +500

3. Bills (13-3) | — | Odds: +420

4. 49ers (13-4) | — | Odds: +500

5. Bengals (12-4) | ↑1 | Odds: +750

 

Tier 2 (Challengers)

6. Cowboys (12-5) | ↓1 | Odds: +1300

7. Vikings (13-4) | ↑1 | Odds: +3000

8. Chargers (10-7) | ↓1 | Odds: +2100

 

Tier 3 (Longshots)

9. Jaguars (9-8) | ↑6 | Odds: +4800

10. Ravens (10-7) | ↓1 | Odds: +3700

11. Giants (9-7-1) | ↓1 | Odds: +5500

12. Seahawks (9-8) | ↑5 | Odds: +8500

13. Buccaneers (8-9) | ↓2 | Odds: +2800

14. Dolphins (9-8) | ↑2 | Odds: +6500

 

Super Wild Card Weekend Schedule

Seahawks at 49ers (Sat. 4:30 pm ET)

Chargers at Jaguars (Sat. 8:15 pm ET)

Dolphins at Bills (Sun. 1:00 pm ET)

Giants at Vikings (Sun. 4:30 pm ET)

Ravens at Bengals (Sun. 8:15 pm ET)

Cowboys at Buccaneers (Mon. 8:15 pm ET)

1st-Round Bye: Eagles & Chiefs

 

Additional Storylines

SI: Super Bowl LVII Odds Entering Playoffs

CBS Sports: NFL Power Rankings, Looking Back to Week 1

USA Today: NFL Power Rankings Postseason: Top 5 Unchanged, But Cowboys Slip

 

Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images