NFL Playoffs 2021: Contenders and pretenders with all 14 teams
2021 NFL Playoffs Pretender: Pittsburgh Steelers
We’ll finish off with two pretenders, beginning with the Steelers. Pittsburgh might have started the season at 11-0, but they came really close to slipping up and losing the AFC North despite their hot start. The Steelers’ defense was what made them Super Bowl contenders early on, but we started to see chinks in the armor in the final month of the season.
The offense is incredibly hot and cold too, despite having so many weapons at wide receiver. How far the Steelers go in the postseason is going to depend on what version of Ben Roethlisberger we see. Pittsburgh doesn’t have much of a run game, so a lot of this game will be placed squarely on Big Ben’s shoulders. Does he still have what it takes to get his team to the promised land?
2021 NFL Playoffs Pretender: Seattle Seahawks
The final pretender on the list is the Seahawks, who are just kind of another team in the playoffs. Seattle went from being an explosive offense who had to do everything because of their bad defense to now their defense being the one winning the team games.
Russell Wilson always turns on the jets in big games but he hasn’t been all that impressive recently. He was an MVP candidate early in the season but that narrative died after a few less than stellar games.
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The Seahawks more than likely beat the Rams in the Wild Card Round thanks to no Goff in that game but getting further than the Divisional Round seems unlikely.