Getty Gallery: 3/6
No. 3 Los Angeles Rams
After hitting a brief dry spell in early December, the Rams appear to be back on track. L.A. will be the No. 2 seed in the NFC, meaning the offense will get to stay in warm weather for at least the Divisional Round. If the Rams play the Saints in the NFC Championship, the game would be indoors which is advantageous for both teams. The Bears are hoping to have something to say about this potential matchup.
The Rams are a bit banged up and will look to take advantage of the time off. This is the time of year where the additions made on defense over the offseason should become very apparent. Rams head coach Sean McVay likes his team's chances after they get some rest.
“I think we’re better positioned just based on getting the chance to get some rest now and maybe get ahead with the preparation,” McVay told ESPN. “(I’m) not sure who it’s going to be that we play but obviously it’s going to give us a chance to get healthy No. 1 and you always use those experiences, whether it’s regular seasons, playoff games, to be able to try to get better and I think with some of our young players, specifically at the key spots, a lot of the games that we played not only this year but last year and even going back to the playoff atmosphere against Atlanta will serve us well and say ‘We’ve been in this type of setting.’”
No. 4 New England Patriots
It is hard to know exactly where to slot the Patriots heading into the postseason. This ranking is giving New England a bit of the benefit of the doubt based on their past history. For as vulnerable as the Patriots have looked, they still ended up with a No. 2 seed, meaning their only potential road game would be against the Chiefs in the AFC Championship.
This Patriots team has holes, but it also has experience on its side. Can Tom Brady and Bill Belichick squeeze one more year of playoff success out of Father Time? We will find out, but it is within the realm of possibility.
Things would have been much more difficult for the Patriots if they had to play on Wild Card weekend. Now, it is hard not to like their chances to get to at least the AFC title game. After the Patriots blowout victory over the Jets, Brady noted that he viewed their Week 17 matchup like a playoff game with the No. 2 seed on the line.
“We had a great opportunity for it and I’m just glad we could close it out,” Brady explained to ESPN. “Just ended up being a great way to finish the year -- win two games at home against division opponents after two pretty tough losses. Showed some resiliency. We’re going to need it going forward. Certainly a lot of things to learn about ourselves, a lot of things we can improve on. See if we can win a game here in two weeks.”
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NFL Power Rankings: Ravens, Chiefs & Rams Ready for Playoffs