NFL Playoff Standings 2021: Post-Wild Card Rankings and Super Bowl Odds
With six games instead of four, this year's NFL Super Wild Card Weekend certainly was wild.
The Nos. 3 and 4 seeds in both conferences were eliminated, while the lower-seeded teams showed an impressive amount of poise and firepower to advance to Divisional Weekend.
The No. 6 seed Cleveland Browns dropped 48 points on the division rival Pittsburgh Steelers, while the No. 6 seed Los Angeles Rams hung on to defeat the No. 3 Seattle Seahawks despite both their active quarterbacks being in various states of disrepair.
Three teams scored 30 or more points on Wild Card Weekend, and six scored 20 or more. In a shocking twist, the Browns' triumph over the Steelers was the only true blowout of the weekend, while the New Orleans Saints gradually wore the Chicago Bears down for a 21-9 result.
In the divisional round, we have a mix of the old guard looking for another ring inTom Brady,Drew BreesandAaron Rodgers,and the young guns looking for their first (Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield)—or that exceedingly rare young gun already looking for his second in Patrick Mahomes.
Let's take a look at where things stand in the NFL playoff picture heading into the divisional round and check out Super Bowl odds for the eight remaining teams.
1. Green Bay Packers (13-3)
2. Kansas City Chiefs (14-2)
3. Buffalo Bills (13-3)
4. New Orleans Saints (12-4)
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11-5)
6. Baltimore Ravens (11-5)
7. Cleveland Browns (11-5)
8. Los Angeles Rams (10-6)
*Rankings based on author's opinion
The Kansas City Chiefs and the Green Bay Packers did not play on Wild Card Weekend, so we have less data by which to analyze them than the rest of the teams in this list.
But it stands to reason that despite the Cleveland Browns dropping 40-plus on the Pittsburgh Steelers or the Los Angeles Rams defeating the division-rival Seattle Seahawks with no healthy quarterbacks to speak of, a full season's body of work speaks for more than one game...even if it's a really important game.
Until we see anything that leads us to believe differently, the Packers and Chiefs will remain atop the NFL rankings heading into the eight-team divisional-round matchups.
Aaron Rodgers has been here many times, and he has one of the best arsenal of weapons he's ever had at his disposal in the playoffs; wideout Davante Adams led all receivers in scoring with 18 touchdowns, while running back Aaron Jones was tied for fourth among his position group with 11. Tight end Robert Tonyan, who came out of nowhere this year, also added 11 trips to the end zone of his own for the Packers.
Patrick Mahomes, meanwhile, hasn't been here that often, but he's made the most of his trips and is the reigning Super Bowl MVP. Chiefs wideout Tyreek Hill was second among his position group in touchdowns, with 17, and tight end Travis Kelce matched Tonyan's total of 11.
The Buffalo Bills, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Baltimore Ravens did not dominate their opponents on Wild Card Weekend, but they got the job done.
Do the Cleveland Browns deserve to be higher on this list after they embarrassed the Steelers on Sunday night? Possibly, but Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland offense got an awful lot of help from some incredible unexpected defensive plays. The Browns may surprise us all this postseason, but they draw a momentum-killing matchup against the Chiefs in the divisional round.
The Rams certainly weren't anything to sneeze at as they dismantled the Seahawks 30-20, but key players at almost every position of importance suffered injuries, including Aaron Donald and Cooper Kupp, and their quarterback situation remains in flux as both Jared Goff and John Wolford remain day-to-day. Someone has to come last in the list; that doesn't mean the team boasting the league's No. 1 defense can't do some more damage in these playoffs.
Saturday, Jan. 16
No. 6 Los Angeles Rams at No. 1 Green Bay Packers, 4:35 p.m. ET (FOX, FOX Deportes)
No. 5 Baltimore Ravens at No. 2 Buffalo Bills, 8:15 p.m. ET (NBC, Universo)
Sunday, Jan. 17
No. 6 Cleveland Browns at No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs, 3:05 p.m. ET (CBS, CBS All Access, ESPN Deportes)
No. 5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 2 New Orleans Saints, 6:40 p.m. ET (FOX, FOX Deportes)
Kansas City Chiefs (+200)
Green Bay Packers (+375)
Buffalo Bills (+600)
New Orleans Saints (+600)
Baltimore Ravens (+800)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+900)
Los Angeles Rams (+1600)
Cleveland Browns (+2500)
Odds via DraftKings and current as of Jan. 10
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