6. Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings came out flat in their final regular season game against the Detroit Lions, and it was particularly concerning because of the fact that the Detroit defense has been so beaten up this year.
I think to some degree, while many of us have really enjoyed seeing the resurgence of Sam Darnold this season (and actively rooting for him to succeed after the disastrous situations he’s been in early in his NFL career), we’ve also all been waiting for the clock to strike midnight on the Cinderella story.
But Darnold has a chance to continue to rewrite the narrative surrounding him and the way he plays in big games. The Vikings will play on Monday night on the road against the Rams and the pressure is going to be on Darnold in a big way to have a huge game. He’s simply got way too many weapons to come out flat in a game of this magnitude, especially with a contract north of $100 million likely on the line.
5. Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a well-oiled machine. I think everyone expected the Ravens to coast in the Wild Card Round against the Pittsburgh Steelers and that is exactly what they did. And they did it without Zay Flowers in the lineup…
As if this Ravens team could be any scarier, we’ve seen them completely roast a solid opponent without arguably their best weapon in the passing game. Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen are now set to clash in a battle of top-tier teams in the AFC and it’s a shame that the Chiefs don’t have to face one of these teams right away.
I find it absolutely astounding that five teams managed to outscore the Ravens this season. It doesn’t make sense when you watch them play. They are so well-rounded and the only explanation is that there were some total lapses at times defensively because this has the look of a team that might have accidentally lost one game this year, not five games overall.
Now, they’ve got to go to Buffalo where the Bills have only lost one game in two calendar years.