The NFC playoffs ended with the San Francisco 49ers as the sole conference champions. They were able to overcome a 17-point deficit to defeat the Detroit Lions and advance to Las Vegas, home of Super Bowl LVIII, where they will face the Kansas City Chiefs.
With the conference over, let’s look back at the collection of talent that competed over the past few weeks and unveil the All-NFC Playoff Team for these postseasons.
Offense
Even though the Lions had their Cinderella story shattered in the NFC Championship, it wasn’t because of Goff. The veteran quarterback had a strong playoff run that was spoiled in the conference championship due to untimely drops from his receivers and poor decision-making from Dan Campbell. For his part, Goff has thrown for more yards than any other quarterback in the postseason (837), averaging 7.5 yards per attempt, four passing touchdowns and no interceptions.
An obvious selection here. McCaffrey is the straw that stirs the drink of this 49ers offense. That was the case in the regular season when he totaled over 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 21 touchdowns, and it remained that way in the postseason. In the playoffs, McCaffrey totaled 260 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns in two games. That includes a 132-yard performance in the NFC Championship to propel the Niners to the Super Bowl.
St. Brown finishes its playoff run leading all receivers with 274 yards on 22 catches. His 123 yards after the catch also ranked second in the entire playoffs and first in the NFC, trailing only Kansas City’s Rashee Rice. St. Brown took over in the divisional round victory over Tampa Bay, scoring a backbreaking touchdown in the red zone in the fourth quarter to help Detroit secure the victory.
It wasn’t a deep playoff appearance for Nacua, but the rookie certainly made it count. Although the Rams were unique in a Super Wild Card Weekend loss to the Lions, Nacua exploded for 181 yards in the playoff game, setting a new rookie record in a playoff game.
Doubs has been fantastic for the Packers throughout their playoff run. His 234 receiving yards in the playoffs ranked third among all players and trailed only Amon-Ra St. Brown and Travis Kelce, who had an extra game to work with. Doubs also captured 10 of its 12 targets.
LaPorta was hyper-effective in the playoffs, catching 21 of 27 targets for 176 yards and a touchdown before the Lions exited the NFC Championship. LaPorta’s 107 receptions are the all-time record for a rookie tight end (regular season and playoffs), while his 1,065 total yards rank second.
It shouldn’t be a surprise to see Williams land on this team at left tackle. Through two playoff games, the star tackle allowed just two pressures, but none in the NFC Championship.
Banks has yet to allow a sack in the postseason as part of a strong left side of the San Francisco 49ers offensive line. Although he gave in to seven pressures, he was only beaten once, according to TruMedia.
Despite facing some of the best interior defensive linemen in the league, Frank Ragnow has maintained his position as one of the best centers in the league. While dealing with a number of injuries, Ragnow has not allowed a single sack through three playoff games and only five pressures total.
Through three playoff games and 119 pass blocks, Glasgow has allowed just one sack and seven pressures. That lone sack came in the Divisional Round, but was largely flawless in the NFC Championship loss to a strong 49ers front seven.
The Lions have benefited from strong contributions from the offensive line throughout the playoffs, headlined by Penei Sewell. The former first-round pick hasn’t given up a sack this postseason and has allowed just five pressures in three games and 118 pass-blocking snaps.
Defense
Hutchinson led the entire playoffs with three sacks and was a threat as a passer for Detroit. He totaled 20 pressures, while also breaking up two passes.
Bosa was right behind Hutchinson with two sacks throughout these playoffs, which placed him tied for third among all playoff players. He also had 15 pressures, which is especially impressive considering he played one fewer game than Hutchinson and others, with the Niners getting a first-round bye.
Clark’s seven tackles were the best defensive tackles in the NFC. The Packers star recorded five pressures in two playoff games and half a sack.
Kancey put together a playoff run where he finished with six tackles, 11 pressures and 1.5 sacks. Those sack totals represented the most defensive tackles in the NFC and he also broke up a pass during Tampa Bay’s playoff run to the divisional round.
Anzalone finished alongside Roquan Smith for the second-most tackles in the entire playoff pool, but had more than any other player in the conference. He also had two tackles for a loss and five pressures.
Consistently considered one of the best linebackers in the NFL, Warner is one of the main reasons the 49ers are playing for a Lombardi Trophy. Through two playoff games, the veteran linebacker had 20 total tackles, two tackles for a loss and one pass breakup.
In addition to his 15 tackles in two playoff games, Greenlaw has been a defender for the 49ers in coverage. He has two interceptions in these playoffs, which is the most among any defender in either conference.
Alexander allowed four catches in two playoff games and 79 plays in coverage. None of those receptions went more than 20 yards, and the Packers corner was able to record a key interception from Dak Prescott in the first quarter of the wild-card round, which contributed to Green Bay’s upset.
Dean had more completions (four) than any defensive back in the NFC playoffs, with 15 tackles. In 73 coverage snaps over two games, the Bucs corner allowed the opposing quarterback to record a 66.7 passer rating against him.
Another member of Detroit’s stellar rookie class joins that list. Branch stuffed the stat sheet this postseason with 30 tackles (most among safeties in either conference) to go along with one sack and three tackles for a loss. In coverage, he broke up one pass and only averaged 6.3 yards per completion against. Of the seven catches he allowed in three playoff games, none totaled more than 20 yards.
Similar to Branch, Melifonwu was able to get into the backfield and sack the quarterback. He notched two sacks in three playoff games (most among safeties) and 16 total tackles. Opposing quarterbacks had a passer rating of 56.3 when targeting Melifonwu in coverage.
Special teams
It wasn’t a pretty playoff run for NFC kickers, with the exception of Badgley. He made all three of his field goals, including a 54-yarder. He also scored all 11 of Detroit’s extra points.
No punter has had more attempts (10) in the NFC than Fox and he has been extremely solid throughout the playoffs. He had a net average of 45.4 yards and seven of his 10 punts in these playoffs were in the 20s.
Although the Cowboys were unique in the playoffs, Turpin still led the entire playoff group with 127 kickoff return yards. His long was a 47-yard return in that loss to Green Bay, but he was solid on his five attempts, giving him a return average of 25.4 yards.