Getty Gallery: 3/6
No. 3 Kansas City Chiefs
There may not be any moral victories in the NFL, but the way the Chiefs played in Seattle will help them in the postseason. Kansas City is not without their flaws, but neither is any other team in the league. Patrick Mahomes has ascended into one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL.
The Chiefs' loss to the Seahawks means they are still fighting with the Chargers for the AFC West. If the Chiefs can secure the division, they will get a first-round bye along with home field in at least the Divisional Round of the playoffs. The second place team will have to play on the road on the opening weekend of the postseason.
Much has been made about Mahomes' no-look passes, but Chiefs head coach Andy Reid noted he has no desire to tame down his quarterback.
"He's able to decipher the defense and kind of know where his guys are," Reid told ESPN. "You've got to put in the speed of the player and all those things. He's able to get that all spit and calculated out in his brain. He's got a knack for it. You heard this about Ted Williams, the baseball player, that he could read the stitches on the baseball. Certain guys have vision. They can see. [Mahomes] does have real good vision. ... I haven't seen a lot of guys do that. I was around [Brett] Favre, who did some amazing things that way and Donovan [McNabb] and those guys. But not quite like that."
The Chiefs take on the Raiders in their regular season finale.
No. 4 Chicago Bears
Bears fans criticized last week's power rankings noting that Chicago was too low. The Chicago faithful could have a point. The Bears have a defense that will travel come playoff time and enough offensive weapons to make them a threat. The key to the Bears success will be the play of Mitch Trubisky. If Trubiksy can play at a high level, the Bears can be contenders in the NFC.
Chicago has a difficult season finale against the Vikings, and Minnesota needs to win to make the playoffs. The Bears can finish no lower than the No. 3 seed in the NFC. Trubisky believes the team has found their footing heading into the playoffs.
“I just think the experiences that we’ve been through have just made us a stronger, smarter team, and more importantly, have united us as a family,” Trubisky explained to the Chicago Sun-Times. “The things that we’ve been through and the experiences in each own game, you take that and you carry that with you.”