4. Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos beat the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round, but the story of the game is the season-ending ankle injury to Bo Nix. The Broncos will now turn to Jarrett Stidham as the starting quarterback, and while it’s unlikely that Denver reaches the Super Bowl, there have been examples of a backup QB winning in the playoffs.
The most obvious example is Nick Foles with the Philadelphia Eagles back in the 2017 NFL Season. Foles led the team to the Super Bowl and truly outplayed Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, and that’s what the Broncos will hope to do.
Denver is hosting the AFC title game and got into a bit of a dogfight with Buffalo. The team’s defense was thoroughly bad in this game outside of the turnovers, as they really did not have an answer for the Bills' run game.
Offensively, the game had to be put in Bo Nix’s hands, as the run game was not working. Unfortunately for Denver, this team is flawed, and it might be too heavy a lift for this team to advance to the Super Bowl, but having that game at home and sporting an elite pass rush could still leave the team with a chance.
3. Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams did not look great in the Divisional Round, and Matthew Stafford really didn’t have the best game, but a win is a win. The Rams are back in the NFC title game and have a rematch with the Seattle Seahawks.
The last time these two teams played, LA had a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, but blew it. In this environment, though, I would actually lean toward taking the Rams here, as the playoff experience is tangible with Stafford and Sean McVay, and I am just not someone who is going to trust Sam Darnold a ton.
LA has a very good roster, a future Hall of Fame head coach, and a future MVP quarterback. They’re third in our power rankings, though, as they’re the lowest remaining seed in the playoffs and have shown some signs of weakness on the defensive side of the ball. The Rams could still win it all.