1. Philadelphia Eagles– Here they are back at the top spot. No Carson Wentz, no problem and they have a backup in Nick Foles who is more than capable of taking the reigns and leading this team. He didn’t miss a beat last week against the New York Giants and he kept them in the game even when their defense struggled to get off the field. They’re 12-2, they’ve won their division and now, there’s one more thing to play for and that’s the one seed in the NFC. The beauties of having that one seed in your conference means you don’t have to leave home unless you make the Super Bowl and there’s nothing like the comforts of your own house, right? They face the Oakland Raiders on Monday night and wrap the regular season up against a Cowboys team who’s still fighting for their playoff lives right now.
2. New England Patriots– What a win that was on Sunday in Pittsburgh and coming into that game, that featured my top two MVP candidates in Antonio Brown and Tom Brady and I stated that the winner of that game will be named the league’s MVP. What Tom has been able to do without Julian Edelman has been remarkable and I watched him carefully on that drive and how accurate he was in getting those passes to Gronkowski. They’ve won the AFC East for the ninth straight season and now, they close in on clinching that one seed and home-field advantage through the AFC playoffs meaning that the road to Minnesota in the AFC would go through Foxboro once again. 11-3 with two games to go and they close the year out against Buffalo today and the Jets next week.
3. Minnesota Vikings– The champs of the NFC North for the second time in the last three seasons under Mike Zimmer. This is a really good football that can run the football, they get great quarterback play from Keenum and they play great defense. You talk about a complete football team, that’s exactly what they are and I’m sure they will have the utmost confidence heading into the playoffs considering where the Super Bowl is being played this year. It’s a good time to be a Vikings fan right now and they are rolling. They still have a chance at getting the top seed if they win out and the Eagles lose both or one of their two remaining games.
4. Jacksonville Jaguars– If you haven’t become a believer in them just yet, there’s still time to become one. This is the best I’ve ever seen Blake Bortles look and he’s playing great football even without his top wide receiver. This is a football team with a physical brand of football attached to their name. To compete with them, you have to be able to run the football, play good defense and stop the run because that’s exactly what they do. This team right here is the biggest threat to the Patriots in the AFC because they can play that defense to disrupt their receivers and they have the pass rushers to disrupt Brady. They’ve clinched their first playoff spot since 2007 and they could win their AFC South division title in franchise history.
5. Carolina Panthers– They’ve been on a roll as of late with two big wins over the Vikings and last week, they spoiled the return of Aaron Rodgers. When Cam Newton is focused and playing as he has as of late, nobody is beating them. They’re making an effort to run the ball, the defense is playing well and the offensive line has been handling their business. Right now, they’re the five seed in the NFC, but they still have a chance to win the NFC South as crazy as it may sound.
