LOS ANGELES — The NFL playoffs are officially here this week with Wild Card games beginning on Saturday.
It was an exciting finish to the NFL season in Week 18 as we saw the Steelers, 49ers and Raiders play their way into the playoffs, while the Colts and Chargers missed out with their losses.
This year, the Locked On Podcast Network and TEGNA sports departments have teamed up to vote weekly to rank all 32 NFL teams in our Locked On/TEGNA NFL Power Rankings.
Our local Locked On NFL hosts and TEGNA sports journalists ranked their 1-32 power rankings and the voting averages created the official power rankings throughout the year. Today, we’re power rankings the 14 playoff teams.
Let’s get on to the rankings.
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1. Green Bay Packers
Ranking last week: 1
Highest/lowest vote in power rankings poll: 1/2
The Packers lost to the Lions in the Week 18 finale as starters rested in the second half, but they were still the clear No. 1 for our voters heading into the playoffs. The Packers are trying to get back to the Super Bowl after three NFC Championship Game losses in the past five years. They’re on bye for Wild Card weekend.
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2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Ranking last week: 3
Highest/lowest vote in power rankings poll: 1/3
With the easy win over the Panthers and a Rams loss to the 49ers, the Bucs moved into the No. 2 seed in the NFC and that’s where they sit in our power rankings as they gear up for another potential Super Bowl run. They take on the Eagles this weekend in a rematch of a Thursday night game earlier this season that the Bucs won.
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3. Kansas City Chiefs
Ranking last week: 5
Highest/lowest vote in power rankings poll: 2/6
The Chiefs needed to win to hold onto the No. 2 seed in the AFC and they did, just beating the Broncos 28-24. It was a rocky tune up for the Chiefs ahead of Wild Card weekend, but they’ve certainly been a good team over the past several years in the first week of the playoffs. They play a Steelers game they defeated by 26 just weeks ago.
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4. Tennessee Titans
Ranking last week: 4
Highest/lowest vote in power rankings poll: 3/9
The Titans held onto the No. 1 seed with their win over the Texans in Week 18. That’s huge for a team that will get another week to rest Derrick Henry before he’s expected to make a return. The Titans aren’t getting much respect as a contender, but they’ve certainly proved themselves throughout the year.
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5. Los Angeles Rams
Ranking last week: 2
Highest/lowest vote in power rankings poll: 4/7
It was an ugly second half for the Rams against the 49ers as they surrendered a 17-0 lead to fumble the game away, moving them down to the No. 4 seed to face the Arizona Cardinals in the playoffs rather than the New Orleans Saints, had they won. The Rams haven’t put two good halfs together since they played Arizona on Monday night about a month ago. They’ll need to do it again.
6. Dallas Cowboys
Ranking last week: 9
Highest/lowest vote in power rankings poll: 1/10
The Dallas Cowboys gained some momentum with a bounce back win over the Eagles and their backups and in the process got themselves up to the No. 3 seed. They’ll face the 49ers at home. The voters aren’t too sure about where to rank the Cowboys as they received a No. 1 vote and a No. 10 vote among playoff teams. It will be interesting to see how they navigate their game against San Francisco.
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7. Buffalo Bills
Ranking last week: 6
Highest/lowest vote in power rankings poll: 5/8
The Bills turned it on in December and cruised to the playoffs with an 11-6 record and the No. 3 seed. They have a date with the New England Patriots for a third time this season after splitting the first two.
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8. Cincinnati Bengals
Ranking last week: 7
Highest/lowest vote in power rankings poll: 7/10
The Bengals sat Joe Burrow and other in their Week 18 loss to the Browns after already locking up the AFC North. The Bengals have a huge Week 17 win over the Chiefs in the back of their mind as they head to the playoffs to face the Raiders at home. If there’s a “Cinderella” this year, it’ll be the the winner of that game.
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9. Arizona Cardinals
Ranking last week: 8
Highest/lowest vote in power rankings poll: 8/10
The Cardinals absolutely blew it on Sunday when all they ended up having to do was beat the Seahawks at home to win the NFC West over the Rams. But, they couldn’t do it. That puts them at the No. 5 seed to face the Rams in L.A. This Cardinals team just hasn’t looked the same in the back half of the season. They’re going to need to figure it out in a hurry.
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10. New England Patriots
Ranking last week: 10
Highest/lowest vote in power rankings poll: 7/13
The Patriots are another team that just hasn’t quite looked right over the past month, despite putting up 50 points on the Jaguars. They have inexperience at QB heading into a playoff matchup with the Bills who have plenty of playoff experience over the past couple years. They’ll need a huge day defensively.
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11. San Francisco 49ers
Ranking last week: 13
Highest/lowest vote in power rankings poll: 8/12
The 49ers staged a pretty incredible comeback win over the Rams on Sunday to get them into the playoffs. They’re a dangerous team in the NFC and have a real chance to be a dark horse candidate to get to the Super Bowl. It’s going to rely on big plays from their playmakers, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle. But this weekend’s Wild Card game in Dallas should be a good one.
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12. Las Vegas Raiders
Ranking last week: 14
Highest/lowest vote in power rankings poll: 11/13
The Raiders are an incredible story this year sitting at 10-7 and in the playoffs after arguably the most adversity a team has faced in-season in recent memory. That adversity can take you places, and they should put up a good fight in Cincinnati.
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13. Philadelphia Eagles
Ranking last week: 15
Highest/lowest vote in power rankings poll: 12/13
The Eagles are another big underdog going into the playoffs but they’ve won some big games down the stretch. They were underdogs when they made their Super Bowl run in 2018. They play a Tampa team that’s without Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown now. It could be another good game between the two teams.
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14. Pittsburgh Steelers
Ranking last week: 17
Highest/lowest vote in power rankings poll: 14/14
It’s pretty clear that the Steelers are the least likely to get to the Super Bowl out of the whole bunch. A Colts loss and Chargers loss got the Steelers in after two-straight wins. But, they have narrative on their side too. Big Ben’s last year, they have experience. But, the got a bad first round draw against the Chiefs, a team Pittsburgh lost to by 26 last month.
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