It appears as though the teams playing the best heading into the playoffs come primarily from the NFC.

Here’s how I rank each of the remaining teams and their respective chances of bringing home the Lombardi Trophy this year.

1. SEAHAWKS: Seattle started a little slow this year, but played insanely good defense down the stretch, holding opponents to single digits in five of their last six games. Russell Wilson is playing great football, Marshawn Lynch’s “Beast Mode” is back and the 12th Man will be in full effect with home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The biggest knock: Repeats are rare in the NFL.


2. PATRIOTS: The Pats don’t always win as decisively as you’d expect them to, but this might be the most complete team of the Bill Belichick era. Adding Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner at cornerback has transformed this defense.
3. PACKERS: The Pack has the league’s best player and a first-round bye, and they’ve won seven of their last eight games, including an impressive victory over the Pats at Lambeau Field. The only question is whether this high-powered offense can outplay the Seahawks defense in Seattle.
4. COWBOYS: Tony Romo is playing some of the best football of his career, DeMarco Murray rushed for almost 500 more yards than any other RB this season, and Dez Bryant is probably the most dominant WR in the game. That has helped take pressure off Dallas’ bend-don’t-break defense, which I had expected to be one of the league’s worst this year.
5. BRONCOS: Peyton Manning is one of the greatest QBs ever to play the game, but he’s been struggling lately, tossing a 3:6 TD-to-INT ratio in December. Denver has found a nice running game with CJ Anderson and the defense has been stout, but it’s still hard to see this club winning a game on the road in Foxboro.
6. STEELERS: Pittsburgh’s defense is a far cry from the Steel Curtain of days gone by, but the club ranked second in the NFL with 411.1 yards per game of total offense, thanks to the high-powered trio of Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown. The Steelers won five of their last six games. The loss of LeVeon Bell is a major concern, however, without the presence of a viable backup.
7. COLTS: The Colts have an underwhelming running game and a middle-of-the-pack defense, but Andrew Luck and the passing game can score points in a hurry. That gives them a fighting chance if they fall behind or get into a shootout.
8. PANTHERS: Yes, Carolina finished with a losing record and was lucky to sneak out of the pathetic NFC South, but they closed out the season by going 4-0 in December. They did it with defense, holding opponents to 17 points or less in each of those games.
9. BENGALS: It took the Bengals too long to figure out that Jeremy Hill is their best between-the-tackles runner, but he’s now carrying the offense on his shoulders. Still, I can’t put much faith in a team with Andy Dalton at QB.
10. LIONS: The Lions have been winning ugly all season, but it’s hard to see them knocking off the Cowboys in Big D. But with Ndamukong Suh winning his suspension appeal, they’ll at least have a fighting chance.
11. RAVENS: Joe Flacco quietly had his best season as a pro, and the offense seems to be clicking with a steady running game and explosive passing attack. That said, the Ravens’ secondary is terrible, so they’ll have a hard time stopping anyone.
12. CARDINALS: Arians has done a masterful job of holding his club together amid all of the injuries, but the Cards still lost four of their last six games and it’s hard to see them winning a postseason matchup with third-string QB Ryan Lindley at the helm.