NFL Power Rankings: Steelers rising entering Wild Card Weekend; Bears slip before playoffs

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The playoff field is set, led by the top-ranked Seahawks, who have resided in the top spot here for multiple weeks now. They might enter the tournament as the favorites to win Super Bowl LX — in the same stadium where they clinched the NFC’s top seed — but this feels like one of the more wide-open postseasons in years. The Broncos, with their 11-2 mark in one-score games, are the AFC’s top dogs.

There’s no Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson to frighten opponents. No Lions team to do the same. But also: Every playoff team seems to have a significant weakness that can’t be overlooked.

Seattle, New England, Chicago and Jacksonville all missed the playoffs a year ago. Those are four of your top six seeds. The Eagles won it all last year, and at their best, they’re capable of repeating — but they also sat many starters on Sunday, ceding the second seed to the Bears.

This might be a year where a lower seed makes some real noise. Everyone will rightfully nominate the Rams and Bills as natural party crashers, but don’t sleep on the Texans, Chargers and 49ers.

Playoff intrigue annually abounds, but there’s seemingly more of an “Anyone can win!” to this postseason field than any in recent memory.

On a programming note, the Power Rankings will keep rolling along in the postseason, although we’ll bid adieu to the 18 non-playoff teams next week. But fear not, we’ll see them again soon. The offseason is closer than you think.

NOTE: Up/down arrows below reflect movement from the Week 18 Power Rankings.

The Seahawks faced a 49ers team that had scored 90 points in its previous eight quarters, and Seattle summarily ground San Francisco’s offense into a fine powder in a shocking performance. We knew the ‘Hawks were good defensively, even in the debate for the NFL’s top unit this season — but to nearly erase the Niners completely, holding them to 173 yards and three points, was a massive statement to the rest of the league. The Eagles won the Super Bowl last season with a similar profile: a swarming, ballhawking defense backed by a strong run game and a big-play passing outfit. I am willing to look past Jason Myers’ miserable game at Levi’s Stadium because of how good the kicker has been this season, especially in the previous two months. Assuming Seattle’s special teams don’t suddenly become an issue, I think turnovers are the one real Achilles’ heel that worries me. If the Seahawks can control the ball, they can win it all.

The Patriots played to win on Sunday, and they looked playoff-ready in thumping the Dolphins. The game was a little closer at one point than the score might have indicated, but the bottom line is New England took care of business and appears to be humming ahead of its matchup with the Chargers. The returns of Milton Williams and Will Campbell also were big positives, with Williams energizing the defensive front, even with a few early mishaps on that side of the ball. Campbell helped pave a run game that demoralized the Dolphins and will be a big element of the Patriots’ first home playoff game since Tom Brady was QB. Strangely, these Pats have a better record on the road (8-0) than at home (6-3), but they have to feel good about how they’re playing. They’ll need to find a pass rush against Justin Herbert, but Drake Maye can also match him throw for throw in what looks like an excellent matchup.

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