We’re down to eight teams in the NFL playoffs. Therefore, football betting enthusiasts will not see the value in me continuing to include ten teams in this weekly list. That said, we saw some movement on this countdown, namely by the Falcons. I took flack for continuing to include Atlanta on this list throughout the season, including during their struggles. But I knew what they could be, and now are.
2018 Divisional Playoffs Power Index
1- (1) New England Patriots – Nothing’s changed. ESPN can trot out another report saying that Bill Belichick wears women’s underwear. It won’t have any effect on this well-coached machine. It’s go time now for the champs.
2- (2) Pittsburgh Steelers – Antonio Brown should be back and that spells trouble for the Jags. The Steelers are still suspect over the middle without Ryan Shazier. But they still have enough weapons on both sides of the ball to book a date with New England next week.
3- (3) Minnesota Vikings – Alright, let’s see what Kase Keenum is made of. This is the game that could cement his standing as an elite quarterback. Here we go.
4- (6) New Orleans Saints – Can their defense hold up enough to give Drew Brees a chance at one more championship? We’ll find out. This Saints team is as deep as the 2009 title team.
5- (10) Atlanta Falcons – The defending NFC champs have flipped a switch and are alive and well to defend their conference crown. I firmly believe that they are better than ANY of the teams below them on this countdown.
6- (4) Philadelphia Eagles – It’s cold to lower a team that didn’t play last week. But guess what? Nick Foles scares the crap out of me right now. Can the Eagles flip a switch like the Falcons have done? I don’t know the answer to that one. But I’m leaning towards no.
7- (NR) Tennessee Titans – This team has a few holes and they were awful in the first half last week. I really don’t expect them to still be in the game come the fourth quarter in New England. But I was wrong last week. They win ugly and they will probably lose ugly to the Pats.
8- (9) Jacksonville Jaguars – I am happy for the fan base and owner that Jax won last week. But man, imagine trying to win a title with Blake Bortles as your QB. Yuck. Jacksonville did win in Pittsburgh this season. But now is when the men get separated from the boys.
Matthew Ross is a sports commentator and a radio host on TSN 690 Radio in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Follow him @MatthewWords.