Laddie’s Ladder: NFL’s Top Six Teams Ranked

Laddie Morse

Many national pundits like to offer their team rankings in the middle of the season, when they obviously mean very little. Now that the playoffs are upon us, ranking the teams who truly have a shot at going all the way, is far more important and relevant. So, this is my top 6 teams ranked that I believe actually have a shot at making it to, then winning, the Lombardi Trophy this season. I’ll rank 3 NFC teams and 3 AFC team.

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The  Minnesota Vikings have some mistakes to overcome before they will be able to make it to a Super Bowl as currently constructed. While the Vikings are getting ready to host the New York Giants tomorrow, on Sunday, at 3:30 in U.S. Bank Stadium, they still don’t know who will be playing OC and RT for them. In an article by Joe Nelson for si.com called, “Vikings offensive line ‘not defined’ yet for Giants game” and he says:

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“… the Vikings and Giants go to battle inside U.S. Bank Stadium on Super Wild Card Weekend and it’s still not entirely clear who will be starting on Minnesota’s offensive line… The big questions are at center and right tackle.”

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The Vikings had to activate a RT from their IR list — Blake Brandel — in order to make sure if they have another injury, that they have a back-up to the back-up. That’s never a good situation and their QB, Kirk Cousins said on Wednesday:

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“It’s not defined in terms of who’s going to be there Sunday. You’re not sure yet because it’s only Wednesday. It’ll be important to get out there the next couple days and be able to practice hard and get some good, quality reps with the group together.”

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I consider the NFC weaker than the AFC this year and I see the Vikings as a long shot to make to, and win, a Super Bowl. Yes, they have some very good pieces in place like: Justin Jefferson at WR and Dalvin Cook at RB, T.J. Hockenson at TE, and Kirk Cousins on Offense, plus Za’Darius Smith at OLB on defense — all of whom made the Pro Bowl (except D. Cook) — but that’s not going to do it and those 5 players are not going to take them all the way.

He may have made the Pro Bowl (and that just shows how weak the NFC is), but I see Kirk Cousins as the weakest link as far as the final six QBs are concerned, and that’s the major reason I have them at #6 (yes, even weaker than rookie Brock Purdy of the 49ers).

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While I have the Bills ranked 5th, and they are essentially in a tie with the Bengals (ranked 3rd). However, I have decided to do one NFC team, then one AFC team, so the Bills are up next.

The Bills were a part of the Damar Hamlin situation and if they’d won that game, the Chiefs would have been playing this weekend, and the Bills would be resting. However, the Bengals are feeling the same way, and to no fault of their own, the owners decided against sticking with the plan they already had in place in favor of one they hoped would rid them of ridicule, but that hasn’t happened either.

Buffalo has been vulnerable in the last part of the season, and that’s another reason I’ve placed them here. In the last 6 games they’ve finished — and won — those games, but they were decided by a TD or less three times. Plus, in Josh Allen’s last 7 games, he’s only surpassed the 300 yard mark once. Over the season, Allen has surpassed the 300 yard passing mark 6 times while Patrick Mahomes, the standard bearer, has done so 10 times.

The reason I have them in a tie with the Bengals is: the Bills three losses were by: 2 points, 2 points, and 3 points. All very close losses.

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Yes, the Eagles have had the best record in the league for months at a time this season. At first they went 13-and-1 and now in the past three weeks have gone 1-and-2. They have their QB icon — Jalen Hurts — on his way back and we’re not so sure just how fast he could be back to his old MVP chasing self. It hasn’t happened so far. Hurts came back last week and in a pissed-poor-performance, in his very first game back, he threw zero TDs and had one INT, was 20-of-35 for 229 yards, plus (or should I say “minus”) a 24.9 QB rating. More “PPP-ish” than “MVP-ish.”

Still, the Eagles beat the Giants in their last game: 22-to-16.

The Eagles Defense on the other hand, has been stellar. They have not only led the NFL in sacks with 70 (15 more than K.C., who finished second overall), but have given up the second least number of yards per game (YPG) overall at 301.5 (2nd only to the 49ers). Philly has also given up the least number of passing yards at 179.8 per game. Yes, that means the Philadelphia Eagles have the best passing defense, and they’ve done it in the passing era. One great reason I’d like to see the Chiefs vs the Eagles in this year’s Super Bowl. Not to mention Kelce versus Kelce.

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The Cincinnati Bengals have met their match in the Kansas City Chiefs. That’s the reason I’ve ranked them here, because although they have beaten K.C. three times straight — from last year to this — they’ll have to beat the Bills in Buffalo, and then travel to Kansas City, to take on the Chiefs in Arrowhead, and I just don’t see them handing the Chiefs a fourth straight loss in a row. That being said, they have a very good team. The main difference between the two teams is… Patrick Mahomes. If you put Mahomes on their team, he’d win. I’m pretty sure that would happen, enough to say, the Chiefs won’t be placed beneath them in this ranking.

Another reason the Bengals will not beat the Chiefs this year is their pass defense. In the rankings of pass defenses, the Bengals place 23rd overall in terms of yards per game (YPG) they have given up: 229.1, as covered by covers.com.

The same website has the Bengals rush defense ranked as the 16th best and the rushing attack is where the Chiefs have improved this season, as the season has progressed. A big reason I’ll be more than glad to watch the Bengals take on the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game, should that happen.

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Yep, I see a re-match of the Super Bowl XLIV coming. I know, I know, they have Brock Purdy at the QB position, but the answer to that question is –> Brock Purdy has been playing lights out football of late. Over his last five games, Purdy has averaged a 120.46 QB Rating while comparing him to Patrick Mahomes, Patty has averaged a 106.1 QB Rating over his last six games. Purdy has a 107.3 QBR (7 games) for the season (his first)… compared to Mahomes (18 games), a 104.2 QBR (his fifth season).

It’s a bit of a tired story line… but if 49ers HC had better QB play, he’d have beaten the Chiefs in SB XLIV. It looks like he has found a QB who is playing better than any of his past QBs, Jimmy Garappolo and Trey Lance included. If HC Kyle Shanahan were somehow able to get his team to win this game, vs the Chiefs it would also negate, to some degree, the victory of the Chiefs over the 49ers, three years ago. You can be sure that will be — if it already hasn’t been — on Shanahan’s mind. That’s also a good reason Andy Reid and DC Steve Spagnuolo have been planning something never seen before, for that match-up eventuality.

The 49ers have — far and away — the best rushing defense in the NFL allowing only 77.7 YPG. The next team is, the Eagles who have allowed 121.6 YPG. That’s more than 40 YPG better than the Eagles. Any team that can make the team they are playing one-dimensional — and it looks like the 49ers are the best at this — then they can dictate the rushing attack. However, and this is a huge however… in 2019, the 49ers were giving up 70.9 YPG and the Chiefs still beat them. Anyone remember WASP? Who? –>

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If we’re going to truly make a comparison of the XLIV Super Bowl to this team, this year, we’d need to compare the stats of that K.C. team to this one. While the Chiefs ranked #3 in rushing YPG given up on the ground in 2019 with 106.7, they rank 8th this year with 107.2. IOW, the Chiefs defense, this year, is only half a yard worse than the Super Bowl winning team in February of 2020 (the 2019 season XLIV champs). That also means, this Chiefs defense is perfectly capable of forcing another team to throw the ball, and with Patrick Mahomes on hand, there will be no less ability to make up any difference in the score through the air.

While I have pointed out in a recent article why the Chiefs have 10 facts that favor them in these playoffs, no fact may be as important as their ability to shut down another team’s running game and making any game into a shootout, especially with the best shootout artist ever in the game on their side: Patrick Lavon Mahomes II.

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For my ranking to work, and be correct, the first steps will be for all of these teams to win this weekend. (that is, except for the Chiefs and the Eagles who are resting right now). That begins with the Seahawks at the 49ers at 3:30 CST, and the Chargers at the Jaguars at 7:15 CST, both today.

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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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