And then there were…14! The dramatic and thrilling 2024 NFL regular season is now in the books. While 18 teams will ponder what exactly went wrong this year, 14 other clubs are in the NFL playoffs to determine the victor of Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans.
So, with that, let’s dive into our Super Wild Card Edition of the 2024 NFL power rankings!
Who are the top teams in the 2024 NFL Playoffs Power Rankings?
14. Pittsburgh Steelers (12)
If there’s one team to be awfully pessimistic about heading into the 14-team postseason, it’s the Steelers.
Just when it looked like Pittsburgh had the AFC North in their laps, they finished the regular season on a four-game losing skid. In that stretch, the Russell Wilson-led offense averaged 14.25 points per game.
And the usually dominant defense? An average of 27.25 points was allowed per contest during the losing streak.
Russell Wilson has now thrown for under 220 passing yards in five straight games. George Pickens, one of those guys who always wants the ball, has one touchdown in his last five games.
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Oh, and now the Steelers must travel to Baltimore to take on the archrival Ravens in the Wild Card Round. We know Lamar Jackson has a bad track record against Pittsburgh, but the Ravens just crushed Mike Tomlin’s group 34-17 right here at M&T Bank Stadium in Week 16.
So the Steelers now must solve a lights-out Baltimore defense and a clicking offense led by Jackson and Derrick Henry. If the Steelers lose, their playoff win drought will extend to nine years and lead to speculation that it’s time for Tomlin to go.
It’s weird talking about a 10-win NFL playoff team like this, but there’s a lot at stake for this organization. For all we know, Tomlin and Wilson are both fighting for their jobs on Saturday.
13. Houston Texans (14)
The Texans ended the regular season on a high note, with their backups guiding the AFC South champs to a 23-14 road win over the Tennessee Titans.
We know it was a meaningless game that featured minimal action from the starters, but it has to feel nice after that humiliating 31-2 home loss to the Ravens in Week 17. In a year largely affected by injuries, the Texans still defended the division crown and secured a second straight double-digit win season.
Houston was probably hoping to play an unraveling Pittsburgh team, but they’ll instead get the surging Los Angeles Chargers on Wild Card Weekend. Either way, Houston at least has a home advantage despite finishing with an inferior record.
With Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell out for the year, most aren’t expecting the Texans to go far this year. But we know what a team with CJ Stroud, Joe Mixon, Nico Collins, Derek Stingley Jr., and Will Anderson Jr. can do.
The Texans are fine being overlooked. We’ll see if they can hold off Justin Herbert and the visiting Bolts on Saturday — or if a once-promising season will end with a thud in front of the home crowd.
12. Denver Broncos (13)
Thanks to the Kansas City Chiefs locking up the AFC’s top seed, Bo Nix and the Broncos were handed the AFC’s last wild-card spot on a silver platter. And they licked every damn crum off that platter, alright.
Nix put a cherry on top of his epic rookie regular season by making easy work of Kansas City’s backups in a 38-0 victory: 26-of-29 for 321 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. That’s how you punch your ticket to the postseason.
A masterful job by Sean Payton to quickly turn this operation around. The Broncos looked helpless and doomed a year ago, but Payton was adamant that Nix was the future of his team — and the result speaks for itself.
10 wins and the franchise’s first NFL playoff berth since 2015 — when they won Super Bowl 50 in Peyton Manning’s last year.
And believe us, the Broncos won’t be pushovers for the Buffalo Bills. A top-10 scoring offense and a defense that led the NFL with 63 sacks? It’s game on for Bills Mafia.
No matter what happens from here, 2024 has been a giant success in Mile High City. A hat tip to Payton for quickly turning this long-struggling team back into a playoff squad.
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (12)
It was way-way-way closer than it should have been, but a 3-TD second half against a New Orleans Saints team without several key starters — including Derek Carr and Alvin Kamara — propelled the Bucs to the NFC South division crown.
The Atlanta Falcons’ overtime loss to the Carolina Panthers sealed the division for Tampa anyway, but those were a scary three hours for Todd Bowles’ group. Nonetheless, the Bucs are celebrating a fourth straight division crown thanks to an incredible 6-and-1 finish after dropping six of their first 10 games.
A resilient Baker Mayfield proved that 2023 was no fluke. Mike Evans hit 1,000 yards receiving for the 11th straight year, thanks to the Bucs’ risky play-calling at the very end when they just needed a kneel-down to ice the game.
The Buccaneers’ reward is a Week 1 rematch with Jayden Daniels and the 12-5 Washington Commanders. You’ll recall that Daniels had a rude welcome to the NFL at Raymond James Stadium four months ago — a 37-20 Tampa Bay win.
A fun nugget here: The Commanders’ last NFL playoff win was the 2005 Wild Card Round right here in Tampa Bay. We’ll see if Mayfield and company can punch a ticket to the elite eight for the second straight year or if Washington will get some sweet revenge from Week 1.
10. Los Angeles Rams (9)
Sean McVay decided it wasn’t worth the risk. Instead of pushing for the No. 3 seed, he rested his starters and gave the backups a look in Sunday’s regular-season finale with the Seattle Seahawks.
The Bucs’ win, coupled with the Rams’ 30-25 loss, dropped LA to the No. 4 seed. A curious decision by McVay to rest his starters, indeed. Now, LA must play host to the 14-win Minnesota Vikings instead of a less-dangerous Washington team.
We know the Rams beat the Vikings 30-20 at home back in Week 8, but we’re still nervous about this matchup for McVay’s group. Nonetheless, we’re still totally fired up about a matchup featuring two of the league’s best young and offensive-minded coaches.
Another fun nugget to point out here: Vikings DC Brian Flores was the New England Patriots’ defensive play-caller in their Super Bowl 53 win against the Rams. You know, the game where the Pats’ D held LA’s offensive juggernaut to three points?
A thrilling Monday night chess match awaits. See y’all in LA!
Also Read: What Are The Longest Playoff Droughts In NFL History?
9. Green Bay Packers (7)
Well, this wasn’t the way the Pack wanted to go into the postseason.
They dropped their final two regular-season games and missed out on a favorable wild-card round matchup against the Rams. Now Jordan Love and company must travel to Philadelphia to take on a much more dangerous 14-win Eagles squad.
The Packers lost standout receiver Christian Watson and Jordan Love in their Week 18 loss to the Chicago Bears. Matt LaFleur eased some concerns by stating that Love could have returned, but it still doesn’t feel nice losing to your archrivals for the first time since 2018…
With Watson hurt, and with the defense showing some major holes the last two weeks, we’re not sure how we feel about Green Bay’s chances against Philly. Then again, these very Packers were considerable underdogs against the second-seeded Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium a year ago. And we know how that played out.
Their Week 1 meeting in Brazil featured over 800 yards of total offense and 63 combined points. Sign us up for anything similar as an encore!
8. Los Angeles Chargers (10)
The Bolts put the stamp on a tremendous first regular season under Jim Harbaugh by dismantling the rival Las Vegas Raiders 34-10 in their own barn.
To make things better for the Chargers, the Steelers’ loss to the Cincinnati Bengals helped LA move up into the AFC’s No. 5 seed — giving them a far more favorable matchup against the Texans. Believe us, they’d way rather face Houston than make a trip to Baltimore.
The 11-and-6 finish is the Chargers’ best since 2018. With a superstar QB in Justin Herbert, a top-tier offensive line, and the NFL’s No. 1 scoring defense, LA is more than capable of going on a deep playoff run here.
But the Chargers are essentially in Broncos territory here: Anything they achieve from here is a bonus. Simply making it into the postseason alone calls for a successful year.
With Houston short-handed on offense, the path is there for the Chargers’ first playoff win in six years. Stroud vs. Herbert in January promises to be a dandy of a first game to kick off Wild Card Weekend, so get your popcorn ready.
7. Washington Commanders (8)
Even with Jayden Daniels and other valuable starters seeing limited action, the Commanders still took down the Dallas Cowboys 23-19 — with Marcus Mariota throwing a last-second game-winning score to Terry McLaurin.
The Commanders finished the regular season with a superb 12-5 mark, led by the all-world play of Daniels and a grade-A job by new head coach Dan Quinn. Unfortunately, the NFL’s lame playoff format means the C’s must start the playoffs on the road against a Bucs team with two fewer wins.
The Commanders have grown immensely since their season-opening loss in Tampa Bay. As good as Washington’s defense has been, something tells us this will be a high-scoring thriller between Daniels and Mayfield.
6. Baltimore Ravens (6)
While Pittsburgh dropped its final four games, the Ravens closed out the year on a four-game win streak to snag the AFC North crown for a second straight year.
The Ravens are always dangerous, with Lamar Jackson behind center, but the arrival of Derrick Henry took this offense to another level. Like last year, the 2024 Ravens finished with a top-10 offense AND defense.
Remember, these guys crushed the Bills in Week 4 and lost to the Chiefs in Week 1 by inches. One can argue they’re the most dangerous team in the AFC after Kansas City. We know Jackson’s group can hang in there with everybody, after all.
But first thing’s first: The Ravens oughta get past the Steelers on Super Wild Card Weekend.
5. Buffalo Bills (5)
The Bills danced to a fifth straight AFC East division crown and finished with 13 wins for the third time in five years. Likely MVP winner Josh Allen had a career year despite the departure of Stefon Diggs, having flourished under Joe Brady’s “everybody feasts” system.
But everyone knows how good the Bills are in the regular season. It’s time to AT LEAST return to the AFC Championship Game after three straight losses in the Divisional Round — two at the hands of the Chiefs.
The Broncos won’t be easy by any means. Remember, Payton’s group won in Buffalo on Monday Night a year ago — leading to Brady replacing the fired Ken Dorsey as OC.
So much is at stake for Buffalo against the Broncos. If the 2024 NFL playoffs aren’t their year, then will it ever be?
4. Minnesota Vikings (3)
Football can sure be a cruel sport. The Vikings finished 14-and-3 for their best regular-season record since 1998…and yet the mood in the Gopher State is still a bit sour.
That’s because Kevin O’Connell’s group completely no-showed their Sunday Night Football clash against the Detroit Lions with the NFC North and conference’s top seed on the line. Despite the Lions being short-handed on both sides of the ball, Minnesota failed to show up in an ugly 31-9 road loss.
And because of the NFL playoff format, a 14-win Minnesota team must travel to Los Angeles to visit the Rams on Wild Card Weekend. Facing a team that was removed from a Super Bowl title three years ago is sure to draw some nerves for Minny fans, not to mention that the Rams beat them at SoFi Stadium earlier this season.
The Vikings were the biggest surprise of the regular season. But it feels like they need to win at least one NFL playoff game for this year to be considered a success. So, which Sam Darnold will show up against Matthew Stafford?
To be determined. Either way, it sure has the makings to be a classic.
3. Philadelphia Eagles (4)
With the NFC’s second seed locked up, the Eagles rested their key players in Week 18 AND STILL Defeated the New York Giants 20-13. Finishing at 14-and-3, the Eagles tied the 2022 squad for the best regular-season record in franchise history.
It’s hard to recall that these guys were once 2-and-2 and that head coach Nick Sirianni was once on the hot seat.
And you won’t find a much more complete team in recent memory than these guys: No. 1 in defense, second in scoring defense, eighth in offense, and seventh in scoring offense. Oh, and Saquon Barkley joined the 2,000-yard rushing club. Great show, young chap.
To us, there’s no doubt who the second-biggest threat is in the NFC. It still feels like folks have slept on the Eagles all year long, so it’ll be fun to observe how they perform in a postseason.
2. Detroit Lions (2)
Remember what we’ve said about the Lions being far-and-away the best team in the NFC this year? Point was proven on Sunday night, alright.
Four total touchdowns from Jahmyr Gibbs powered the Lions to a 31-9 victory over Minnesota to clinch the NFC’s top seed and first-round bye. And for the first time in franchise history, Detroit has won back-to-back NFC North division crowns.
More special milestones for the Lions: It’s their first time finishing as the NFC’s top seed and their best regular-season record ever.
Then again, you know Dan Campbell’s squad isn’t jumping up and down just yet. It’s Super Bowl or bust for a team that was oh-so-close to the Super Bowl last season. All Detroit needs is two victories at Ford Field to get there.
1. Kansas City Chiefs (1)
The defending Super Bowl champions can’t have any concerns about losing 38-0 to a desperate Broncos team on the road. They were playing their backups in a completely meaningless game. Who cares!
In games that they were actually trying to win, the Chiefs went 15-and-1 in the regular season. The award is a first-round bye, giving Patrick Mahomes and the other starters valuable rest time before they host a Divisional Round tilt.
Like last year, Kansas City’s offense struggled with consistency in the regular season. But they really started to look like a juggernaut when Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown and Isiah Pacheco returned to the lineup.
The Chiefs have yet to lose a Divisional Round game in the Mahomes era. They’ll either get the Texans, Chargers, Steelers, or Broncos in their first NFL playoff game, and KC should be a double-digit favorite against either of them.
No team in NFL history has won three straight Super Bowls. The Chiefs are just three more victories away from becoming the first.
Also Read: Why Could The Pittsburgh Steelers Still Be A Dangerous Team In The NFL Playoffs?
