Ten of the Ravens' thirteen wins this year have come against above .500 teams! They have the top-ranked defense and the MVP favorite at quarterback which is why they find themselves in the top spot.
Just behind the Ravens, the 49ers seemed to blow out playoff teams more times than not, with their only losses being against the AFC North, and Rams when they rested their starters. As long as Purdy can stay healthy unlike last year, their road to the Super Bowl should be smooth.
The Bills have blowout wins against two solid teams this season (Miami and Dallas) which helps them find their way into the third spot. Josh Allen's heroics and the defense playing consistently are the keys to succeeding in the postseason.
The Texans are ranked 4th but they don't have a victory against a team with 10+ wins. The Ravens and Browns both blew them out earlier this season. However, this rookie head coach and quarterback find themselves playing against Joe Flacco. Don't forget he led his team to an AFC championship as a rookie with a first-year HC in 2008. Great things are possible.
The Packers simply didn’t let better teams get the best of them this year. They have comfortable wins against both the Chiefs and Lions this year and a blowout against the injury-ridden Rams. They had a couple of bad losses to division winners but I view Green Bay as a dark horse contender in this year's playoffs, especially with how well Jordan Love has been.
Dallas beat up on some bad teams all year yet only showed up half the time when playing a contender. Their wins against the Rams and Eagles are somewhat impressive but bad losses to the Bills and 49ers leave a massive stain.
The Steelers have eight wins against above .500 teams. Say what you want about them not being that great but they’ve proven more often than not that they show up to the big games. On the other hand, TJ Watt isn’t suiting up on Monday and all-time Pittsburgh is 1-10 without him.
The Eagles might’ve finished the season poorly but when it comes to playing great competition, Philadelphia knows how to win (and knows how to turn the ball over). For a team that seems to play up or down to their opponents' skill level, it’s hard to favor them over the 9-8 Buccaneers.
Seven of the Browns' 11 wins this season are against above .500 teams (a trend for the AFC North). Joe Flaccois battle-tested, we all know this, and so is this Browns team. I'm pretty confident they won't lose in the wild card despite their ranking.
The Chiefs lost four close ones to good teams this regular season. They put up a couple of stinkers to division rivals too but I'm sure Patrick Mahomes will be as fine as he always is in the playoffs.
The Lions are proud of their division title, but those losses to Dallas, Baltimore, and Green Bay hurt in many different ways. The Lions haven’t beaten anyone significant since the Chiefs in week one which makes me worry for their matchup against LA.
All seven of the Rams' losses this year came at the hands of an above .500 team. Their four wins? the 9-8 Colts, Saints, and Seahawks who all didn’t make the playoffs, and the 49ers 3rd string team.
That two-point win in week 16 against the Cowboys was super impressive, I can’t see a reason why they are ranked so low. Oh, five losses to BAL, BUF, KC, and PHI with a -93 point difference. Yikes.
(Miami is the 6th seed.)
They won the worst division in football. They have wins against a couple of 9-8 teams. The Buccaneers put up almost no fight against the better teams in the league which puts them in dead last.