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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Christian D'Andrea

NFL playoff power rankings: Can the Lions leave the 49ers to languish in misery en route to Super Bowl 58?

The Detroit Lions look vulnerable, but that’s about what we expected. Dan Campbell’s team, crafted from a mix of impact young players and savvy veterans, has carried the growing pains that come with a rise from 3-13-1 to the NFC championship game in just two years throughout the 2024 NFL Playoffs.

The San Francisco 49ers look vulnerable as well, and that’s more concerning. Saturday night’s comeback win over the Green Bay Packers proved Kyle Shanahan’s team could erase a late deficit — it was his first win in 32 tries after entering the fourth quarter trailing by five points or more. But it also proved the NFC’s top seed is flawed, from Brock Purdy’s early struggles with accuracy to the run defense that got torn up by Aaron Jones on its home turf.

That’s what makes this week’s NFC title game between the Lions and 49ers so compelling — and what keeps the Baltimore Ravens in the top spot as the penultimate weekend of the 2023 NFL season looms.

The Ravens didn’t allow a single offensive touchdown en route to a 31-10 dusting of the Houston Texans. Next up are the Kansas City Chiefs, who took advantage of the Buffalo Bills’ miscues to advance to a sixth straight AFC title game but serve as three-point underdogs in Maryland. Here’s how the rest of the playoff field, and the 28 other teams in the NFL, sorts out behind them.

Staying ready for the offseason

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

These teams haven’t played since Week 18. Their hopes and dreams lie in the free agent marketplace and 2024 NFL Draft

32. Carolina Panthers

31. New England Patriots

30. Washington Commanders

29. Los Angeles Chargers

28. Arizona Cardinals

27. Tennessee Titans

26. New York Giants

25. New York Jets

24. Atlanta Falcons

23. Las Vegas Raiders

22. Minnesota Vikings

21. Jacksonville Jaguars

20. Chicago Bears

19. Denver Broncos

18. Indianapolis Colts

17. New Orleans Saints

16. Cincinnati Bengals

15. Seattle Seahawks

Good enough to make the playoffs, but questions remain

Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports

14. Philadelphia Eagles

13. Pittsburgh Steelers

12. Miami Dolphins

11. Cleveland Browns

10. Dallas Cowboys

9. Los Angeles Rams

They outperformed expectations (not you, Bills)

Dan Powers-USA TODAY Sports

8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Baker Mayfield played large chunks of the season like a top 10 quarterback, albeit against middling competition. He’s earned a massive raise from someone this spring — but are teams going to be willing to take a chance on him in an offense that doesn’t feature Mike Evans?

7. Houston Texans

CJ Stroud couldn’t keep the Texans’ upset train rolling, but 2023 was never the destination. Instead, Houston got proof of concept from a franchise quarterback and a young defense capable of coming together in big moments. Things should only get better from here.

6. Green Bay Packers

Jordan Love made some grown up throws, but ultimately his regression back to “first year starter” doomed the Packers’ upset bid in Santa Clara. Even so, he’s loaded with a deep, young receiving corps and will have plenty of opportunities to rise up to expectations in 2024.

5. Buffalo Bills

The opportunities were there. The Bills didn’t take advantage of them. Now they’ve got to shed a ton of salary cap commitments — restructuring Josh Allen’s deal will help — and make some key decisions on which veterans stay and which go after another tantalyzing and ultimately frustrating season.

4. Kansas City Chiefs

Al Bello/Getty Images

Last week’s rank: 5

Kansas City carved up the Bills injury depleted defense to make it back to the AFC title game. The Chiefs face a bigger challenge in Baltimore, where a defense that held the Houston Texans to 213 total yards awaits. Opposing quarterbacks posted just a 74.6 passer rating against the Ravens this season — lowest in the NFL.

3. Detroit Lions

Junfu Han-USA TODAY Sports

Last week’s rank: 3

Jared Goff’s two playoff starts as a Lion: 74.3 percent completion rate, three touchdowns, zero turnovers, 8.1 yards per attempt and a 118.5 passer rating. The difficulty will be ratcheted up against the Niners, but Green Bay may have given him a cheat code; targeting Ambry Thomas whenever possible.

2. San Francisco 49ers

Mark Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

Last week’s rank: 2

The Lions will likely try to replicate Jordan Love’s roll-out offense in order to stifle the Niners’ pass rush — San Francisco went without a sack last week despite six quarterback hits. That may be a tough sell for Jared Goff, but it will be even more difficult if Chase Young can get back on track. The midseason arrival has only two quarterback hits and half a sack in his last four games.

1. Baltimore Ravens

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Last week’s rank: 1

Lamar Jackson was responsible for all four of the Ravens’ touchdowns last week, putting in work to rewrite his postseason narrative. He could have afforded to be average after his defense limited the Texans to just 213 total yards. Doing that against a rookie quarterback is one thing; doing it to Patrick Mahomes will make Baltimore Super Bowl 58 favorites.

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