The wild card weekend home teams fall out of the running. We’re down to eight.

John Vomhof Jr. again attempts to break down the rankings of the rest of the best. Let us know if you agree or disagree.

Prior Rank Team Record Comments
1 Carolina Panthers 15-1 Cam Newton and the Panthers enjoyed a first-round bye after turning in a near-perfect regular season. They’re still the team to beat this postseason, but the Seahawks are an awfully tough draw.
2 Seattle Seahawks 10-6 The Seahawks barely advanced out of the Wild Card round, but they’ll need more than an Angels in the Outfield-style miracle to get past the Panthers. Still, they’ve been to back-to-back Super Bowls, and they ended the regular season red-hot.
4 Arizona Cardinals 13-3 The Cardinals won nine straight before dropping the season finale to Seattle, and now they draw a mediocre Packers squad. Carson Palmer and the Cards pounded the Packers 38-8 last time around, and it could be more of the same this time around.
3 New England Patriots 12-4 Although the Patriots limped into the postseason, it’s really hard to bet against Belichick and Brady at this time of the year. Kansas City will be a tough test, but the Pats should be able to sneak by.
5 Denver Broncos 12-4 Denver’s defense is capable of carrying this club deep into the postseason, and they lucked out by drawing a battered Steelers team this week. The only question is whether Peyton Manning can hold up.
6 Kansas City Chiefs 11-5 The Chiefs are the NFL’s hottest team, winning 11 straight games, including last week’s Wild Card romp of the Texans. They should be able to give the struggling Pats a run for their money.
12 Green Bay Packers 10-6 The Packers beat up on the Redskins last week, but they’ll have to play even better to get past Arizona. I’m not sure they have it in them this year.
7 Pittsburgh Steelers 10-6 Unfortunately, the Steelers are just a shell of themselves at this point, with Antonio Brown out and Ben Roethlisberger ailing. It’s hard to see them pulling off the upset shorthanded.