Divisional Round Power Rankings: What is Each Remaining Team's Fatal Flaw?

Didn't think I was going to do another power rankings, but here we are. There is just 8 teams to rank now, not even going to bother with the losing 6 from wildcard weekend. This is no longer just really off record or anything like that but instead my personal beliefs on the teams with the best shots to win a Super Bowl of the remaining teams. When talking about each team, we are going to discuss their biggest flaw that could cost them a chance at the Lombardi. Here we go.

1. Green Bay Packers (13-4)
Previously #1

What's next: vs. San Francisco 49ers (Saturday)
The Packers are still the favorites to win it all if you ask me, but the favorite rarely wins it all. Coming off of their first round bye, I think their biggest flaw is going to be rust/gelling as a team. That being said, you can see that it is hard to find something wrong with this club. However, this is very true for this team. They are getting a couple of their best players back from injury who have missed significant time. CB1 Jaire Alexander is one of the very best corners in the league when healthy, but he hasn't played since week 3 when the Packers happened to be facing the 49ers again. He is sure to draw a big workload and a tough match-up on Saturday, will he be full-go? The same can be said about All-Pro LT David Bakhtiari who has played in just one game this season due to injury and will obviously draw the impossible task of going against guys like Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead of the 49ers. He will need to knock off the rust real quick. Can't forget about stud edge rusher Za'Darius Smith either who hasn't played since week 1 either. He is going to be a key component in forcing pressure on Jimmy G. With all of that being said, the Packers have had the extra week to get healthy and practice, but these guys still haven't had much in-game action all year and are going to need to adjust right away or this team could get down early to the dangerous 49ers.

2. Buffalo Bills (12-6)
Previously #8 +

What's next: at Kansas City Chiefs (Sunday)
The Bills surge up the rankings to our no. 2 ranked contender after the shellacking of the New England Patriots that they put on last Saturday night. Not many people know this, but the Bills achieved an incredible feat in that game. They became the first team in NFL history to record a perfect game. By that we mean, scoring a TD on every possession (no FGs), no turnovers, and no punts. That shows what this team is capable when their top 5 offense and top 5 defense play together at the same time. All of that being said, it is going to be hard to have that complete of a performance again, especially going up against a red-hot Chiefs team AT Arrowhead stadium. I think the team's obvious potentially fatal flaw is their inability to really run the ball. Sure, Devin Singletary is playing much better of late, but we have seen this team run the ball with consistency when they need to. We've only really seen that when they are up big and just milking the clock against bad teams. While as a team, their rushing numbers aren't terrible, Singletary was their leading rusher on the season with just 870 yards. He only broke 100 yards once this season. While Josh Allen can run, he can't do it on an every-down basis as a QB. I'd be worried that the Bills would have a dud game on offense like we've seen from them in the past and not be able to possess the ball due to their inability to consistently run the football. If their offense can continue this torrid pace though, it won't be a major issue, but this could be what kills them in the end...

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (14-4)
Previously #2 -

What's next: vs. Los Angeles Rams (Sunday)
On what was one of the healthiest teams in football for most of the season, the Bucs have suddenly appeared to have caught some kind of radical injury bug. While they beat the Eagles with ease this past weekend, there were some results that were not so promising for this team. The reason that Tom Brady was able to have the crazy season that he had was due to the consistency and health of the offensive line. The group of 5 starters remained healthy for pretty much the entire season. Now there is some question with that, which could easily kill this team. All-Pro OT Tristan Wirfs went down with injury during the win last weekend, came back in for a few plays but then had to come out and stay out for the rest of the game. As of today, Wednesday, he hasn't practiced yet this week. Center Ryan Jensen seems more likely to play this weekend, but he got banged up in the game as well. If Wirfs is unable to play, the Bucs suddenly might be in a bad spot against the Rams vaunted defensive line. They have the ultimate equalizer in Tom Brady plus one of the league's top defenses of their own, but if injuries continue to ravage this offense, it could be the flaw that prevents Brady's Bucs from going back to back.

4. Kansas City Chiefs (13-5)
Previously #4

What's next: vs. Buffalo Bills (Sunday)
The Chiefs have to love where they are at right now. Ever since getting smacked by Buffalo earlier this season, this team has been on quite a mission and hasn't really looked back. Not only did Patrick Mahomes flip the switch and return to his elite play, but the defense turned it around and has been in contention with Buffalo's D for the best in the league over the second-half of the season. There aren't many fatal flaws with this team, and the one I'm going to point out is sort of beyond the numbers but it has to do with Patrick Mahomes' decision making. I don't have the exact stat for this, but Mahomes has to lead the NFL in dropped INTs. Maybe it's because he throws the ball very hard, I'm not really sure, but every time I watch him play a game there seems to be like 1-2 dropped picks per game on the opposing defense. Deep into the post-season now, teams they face will not allow that same luck. When the Bills swarmed Kansas City and dominated earlier in the season, Mahomes threw 2 picks and looked off the entire night. This is going to be a similar game. The Bills defense is so good at forcing pressure and at the same time they may have the best collection of coverage players in football. Mahomes is not going to get the same freebies anymore. Even if they beat Buffalo, this flaw is going to remain. It could kill the Chiefs in the end.

5. Cincinnati Bengals (11-7)
Previously #5

What's next: at Tennessee Titans (Saturday)
The drought is finally over in Cinncy and it feels good. This team isn't just a one and done though, this squad feels to me like it has arrived and is ready to make a Super Bowl run. As you know, I called upset and have this team winning the Super Bowl, so yeah, you could say I like them. They are far from perfect though. The fatal flaw of this team is inexperience/coaching decisions in key moments. Zac Taylor has done an unbelievable job turning this franchise around and is probably even going to win Coach of the Year at the upcoming NFL honors, but some of his inexperience leads to some weird coaching decisions late in games. For example, the Bengals could have gone field goal vs the Chiefs and forced them to go all the way down the field and score a TD to win with less than a minute to go. Instead he played it way too risky and the Bengals got stopped on a 4th and goal, however, they got a fresh set of downs due to a penalty and lucked out. Taylor also was this close to going for it on another 4th and short in the game vs the Raiders this past weekend but wound up taking a field goal after a timeout which was the right call. He's seemed to luck in the past few times, but who knows, another one of these situations is likely to arise as we get deeper into the playoffs and it remains to be seen if he will cost his team a playoff win. Joe Burrow is young as well, but has proved to know what to do in the big moments. This is a very young and unexperienced team in the playoffs, and in the end, it could be too big of a moment for them at the current stage. I don't think so, but you never know.

6. Tennessee Titans (12-5)
Previously #3 -

What's next: vs. Cincinnati Bengals (Saturday)
Obviously I will get more into this game when I write my score predictions later this week, but this match-up is so intriguing between two of the biggest wildcards in the whole tournament. The Titans have seemed to fly under the radar all season, yet they are the NUMBER 1 SEED in the AFC, above Buffalo and KC. Seems wild. There are a number of flaws that this team has, but their biggest just has to be their overall defense. The offense that they have is why they made it here and what carries them, but their defense is so inconsistent and is not one of a true Super Bowl favorite. You cannot constantly rely on them to get stops. Against the run, they are fantastic. In terms of yards allowed rushing per game in the regular season, they were no. 2 in the league only behind Tampa Bay. That is the part of their defense we love, led by DT Jeffrey Simmons. Their pass defense is what scares me. They were within the bottom 8 in terms of pass yards allowed per game during the regular season. Against what might be the best passing attack in football right now, the Bengals, I am worried to see how they fare. Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are going to be manned up against ancient CB Janoris Jenkins who has lost 2 or 3 steps and also the likes of Buster Skrine and 2nd year CB Kristian Fulton. Obviously, the Titans have guys like Derrick Henry and AJ Brown who will help them possess the ball a lot and score a lot on offense, but containing guys like Ja'Marr Chase/Tee Higgins and maybe even Stefon Diggs or Tyreek Hill if they move on is what scares me about this team and appears to be their fatal flaw that will more than likely send them home before a Super Bowl berth.

7. San Francisco 49ers (11-7)
Previously #11 +

What's next: at Green Bay Packers (Saturday)
While the Niners are the no. 6 seed in the NFC playoffs and probably mostly grateful to have even made a run to the Divisional round of the playoffs, they are a veteran team that probably has their eyes on another Super Bowl run, as they were there just two seasons ago. They have an obvious potential fatal flaw though. That is Jimmy Garopollo. Over the past two weeks, he has been really good, but has also made a couple of really bad plays that could have cost them their season if not for a great supporting cast. Now he is tasked with the daunting challenge of going into Green Bay to try and move on to the NFC championship. While I've seen him win big games in the past, namely the past two games, I have also seen him fold under pressure more times than not. Garopollo didn't even throw for 4,000 yards this season along with throwing just 20 TDs to 12 picks with a less than ideal 52.7 QBR. When he has good games, they are very good. When he has bad games, they are very bad. It is so hard to predict whether or not he will have a good game, but this talented Niners roster will be depending on him playing well for them to have a chance in Green Bay and potentially beyond.

8. Los Angeles Rams (13-5)
Previously #7 -

What's next: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Sunday)
Many might be surprised to see me put the Rams as the worst remaining team in the playoffs, especially after their dominant win on Monday night over the Cardinals, but I just can't trust them. They have been one of the most inconsistent squads in football all season long and their big win over the Cardinals almost makes me like them less as I feel they could be primed for a big letdown in South Florida this weekend. While Matthew Stafford is as talented in terms of pure arm talent as they come, he doesn't always use that power to its best ability. He has a huge arm and can toss the ball 40 yards with a simple and effortless flick of the wrist. However, he is wildly inexperienced in the post-season, Monday's win marked his first career playoff victory. As good as the Rams roster is, offense and defense included, it is all going to come down to Stafford and what kind of game he has. He finally broke his multi-game INT streak in the win over the Cardinals, but will now face a much tougher defense. When Stafford throws a pick, the entire Rams offense seems to play worse. They have one of the strongest running games in the league, but might have to rely more on Stafford's arm against the Bucs' top ranked rush defense. The Rams' Super Bowl chances are going to come down to the man under center, and will he be their fatal flaw, or will he bring them finally back to the promise-land? For me personally, I'd guess not because I don't trust him to string together 4 straight elite performances which is what it would take.