4. Buffalo Bills
After starting off in a 7-0 hole against the Denver Broncos, the Buffalo Bills absolutely Cooked the Denver Broncos.
Pun fully intended.
James Cook said to Josh Allen, “Don’t worry about this one. I’ve got it,” and absolutely ran all over the Denver Broncos. Cook and the Bills’ rushing attack racked up over 200 rushing yards against a defense that hadn’t allowed even 150 rushing yards to an opponent all season long.
It was a totally dominating performance by Buffalo’s offensive line and they are going to need the offensive attack to be equally efficient when they host the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round. If you want a shot at the Kansas City Chiefs (not to overlook the Texans), you’re going to have to play a near-flawless game against this Buffalo team. Josh Allen is just on a different plane than we’ve seen him throughout his NFL career.
3. Detroit Lions
I think Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton said it best when he said that there’s no better job interview that Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn will do than what everyone saw in the regular season finale between the Lions and Vikings.
Glenn’s patchwork unit absolutely shut down Sam Darnold and a Vikings offense that has barely been stopped all year long. You have to tip your cap.
I was seriously doubting the Lions because of their many injuries defensively and maybe they caught fire at just the right time, but it earned them the #1 overall seed in the NFC and the right to host all throughout the Playoffs. And that is huge because otherwise, they would have been the #5 seed in the conference and on the road for likely every matchup barring upsets elsewhere.
Dan Campbell, Aaron Glenn, and Ben Johnson had their guys ready on the biggest stage. And they’re going to be just one win away from hosting the NFC Championship as a result of it.