With 15 weeks of the 2022 NFL season on the books, it’s time to get serious about the playoffs. Several teams have been mathematically eliminated from the competition, and a few others can clinch specific playoff seeds starting in Week 16. Several division chiefs, meanwhile, have already started making plans for the action. of January.
With that in mind, here’s how we’d rank the 12 teams competing for three open wild card spots in the NFC:
Division heads
- Eagles (NFC East, 13-1)
- vikings (NFC North, 11-3)
- 49ers (NFC West, 10-4)
- Buccaneers (NFC South, 6-8)
Eliminated
Wild card candidates
They can run the ball. And with rookie Desmond Ridder now under center indefinitely, they’ll likely run even harder than before. They’ll run it until Arthur Smith can’t do it anymore. Until every healthy back wasn’t healthy and Marcus Mariota himself had to come off injured reserve just to take over. Until then, this team and their holey defense are just treading water, content to ride out a once-competitive season in hopes of better replenishment in 2023.
If they couldn’t pull one off against Mitch Trubisky and the Steelers, their future as surprise NFC South contenders is likely bleak. Steve Wilks has certainly injected more energy into the locker room, Sam Darnold is at least avoiding interceptions and DJ Moore is a treat. But Carolina may just not have the consistent offensive production — or the protection, as evidenced by Pittsburgh’s dominance in the trenches on Sunday — to make a splash when it matters most.
Andy Dalton has quietly been pretty solid as Jameis Winston’s permanent successor, settling in after a tough time when they slipped in early November. When healthy, they have familiar faces to make plays with – Alvin Kamara, Demario Davis and Tyrann Mathieu among them. The problem is that Dennis Allen has had issues getting too conservative in key places, they still struggle to get a lot of points on the board, and they’ve failed too often against their own lower divisional foes.
It’s a shame they’re where they are, because they have a lot of building blocks for something special: the Antonio Gibson-Brian Robinson Jr. duo is solid, Terry McLaurin is still open and the defensive front by Ron Rivera remains menacing. What they can’t do, however, is complete practices, and everyone’s favorite QB Taylor Heinicke is a big reason for that. For as many fights as he offers, Heinicke has never been so much of an upgrade on Carson Wentz, leaving Washington shaking as usual under center.
There are still glaring misfires in Matt LaFleur’s offense, and especially with Aaron Rodgers, who held the ball waiting for dead plays to develop early in the Week 15 win over the Rams. But for the most part this unit is getting back on track, with Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon working in the red zone and Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs creating in the middle. The real reason they’re hard to trust, even if Rodgers becomes full MVP in shootout mode? Joe Barry’s defense has proven suspect against teams with real playmakers.
The attacking contingent of Brian Daboll, Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley have certainly passed the test in terms of adapting, gelling and producing together. They know how to win lousy, because that’s frankly the only way their people allow them to win. And with Kayvon Thibodeaux flying away, boy, does that defense look more competent too. At the end of the day though, even though they can play against january football teams, you need to be able to get the ball in the air consistently, and that’s just not something they are designed for.
It’s hard to tell if they’re on the verge of a complete meltdown or another surprise, splashy run now that two of the four NFC West teams are mathematically dead. The bad news is that defense remains an issue, and with no pace of play, they’re wrongly asking Geno Smith to be perfect every week. Tyler Lockett’s injury is another concern. The good news is that Smith, even with recent hiccups, hasn’t lost his cool as a QB in command, Pete Carroll has already held up year-end runs and big bodies like Kenneth Walker III, DK Metcalf and Noah Fant are able to right their offensive ship.
They’re legitimately a winning program right now, with seven wins in eight weeks and the only loss coming in a one-score game with the Bills. Their best players are probably a little too young to lead them to glory, and Jared Goff is always more good than great when it comes to pushing. But the “D” is vastly improved since Dan Campbell threw a wrench in the stick, Goff’s weapons are deep and work on all parts of the court and their dashing double-headed attack is designed to keep them in the fight. Again, we may be a year too early for them to make a real run, but few teams have a more tangible spirit at this stage of the season.
There’s a reason they’re headlining wildcard contenders and not Super Bowl contenders. As we say every year, for a decade or two, all the talent is there on paper, but the time-critical results are not. Balanced and explosive as they can be on both sides of the ball, Dak Prescott and Co. have yet to prove themselves when the spotlight is shone. Even so, we have no choice but to crown them the most dangerous here, because when turned on, with Dak leaning on Tony Pollard, feeding CeeDee Lamb, and getting timely defensive support, they are able to go together. with superiors.