8. San Francisco 49ers
What we saw in Week 18 is the main reason why the San Francisco 49ers aren’t going to go very far in the NFL playoffs. While this team is good, the roster is missing a ton of talent, not only in not having enough good players, but also in missing some due to injury.
You just got the sense early on against the Seattle Seahawks that the 49ers were overwhelmed. Seattle’s personnel might be the best in the NFC. Nonetheless, though, the 49ers are 12-5 on the season and still in a good spot overall.
This team won six games in the 2024 NFL Season, so the franchise doubled its win total from the season before. That is impressive. Coaching-wise, the 49ers have their guys, as it’s really just going to be about adding more talented players into this operation.
7. Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills threw Josh Allen in for a play to extend his starting streak. The Bills beat the snot out of the New York Jets in Week 18 and have capped off a solid 12-5 season. Buffalo probably expected to win the AFC East this year, but the New England Patriots shocked the NFL world and won the division.
Buffalo is now playing the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Wild Card Round, and that isn’t going to be an easy matchup at all. The Bills have regressed ever so slightly on both sides of the ball, and you get the sense that Josh Allen is really going to have to put on the Superman cape if the Bills want to go far.
The good thing here though, is that the Bills won’t have to deal with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, and many have cited that as the main reason why this team could finally get over the hump and make the Super Bowl this year.