The final four teams are left standing in the NFL. Four great quarterbacks — and three MVP candidates — will provide for an exciting Championship Weekend.
So how does the Top 12 look this week?
12. Detroit Lions (Last Week No. 12):
11. Miami Dolphins (Last Week: No. 11).
10. New York Giants (Last Week: No. 10).
9. Oakland Raiders (Last Week: No. 9).
8. Houston Texans (Last Week: No. 8). The defense proved to be great. Brock Osweiler proved to be a disaster. It cost Godsey his job. This team needs to do work on the offensive line and quarterback position. If they can hold on to A.J. Bouye, this defense gets stronger next year with the return of J.J. Watt, John Simon and Kevin Johnson. It won’t take much to make them legit.
7. Seattle Seahawks (Last Week: No. 7). While this isn’t the end of the Seahawks, their days of complete domination are certainly in question. Tyler Lockett‘s injury allowed for the emergence of one of the most exciting players in all of the playoffs in Paul Richardson. They, too, need to improve the offensive line and hope the defense returns in tact.
6. Kansas City Chief (Last Week: No. 5). They defense was a stingy as ever, and to lose a game in the playoffs by not allowing a touchdown hurts. Bad holding call or not, Travis Kelce has to learn to keep his cool. Spencer Ware showed enough that the Chiefs can move on from the Jamaal Charles era, especially with the breakout of Tyreek Hill.
5. Dallas Cowboys (Last Week: No 3). Sunday was the best game of the season, and despite the heartbreaking loss, Dak Prescott proved he was for real. He fought back after a rough first half and brought the Cowboys within seconds of overtime. He and Dez Bryant showed good chemistry and he made a threat out of Cole Beasley. This team works on its defense and they’ll be right back next year.
4. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last Week: No. 6). The Steelers are learning to win even when Big Ben isn’t a top his game. They also have a ton of momentum right now, on the heels of nine straight wins. Pretty much all of them have been close, which should be the same next weekend in Foxboro.
3. Green Bay Packers (Last Week: No. 4). See above. Aaron Rodgers promised to run the table and thus far he has behind remarkable play. He’s made stars out of Ty Montgomery and Davante Adams, and has helped in the reemergence of Jared Cook. The Cowboys defense is inferior to the Falcons. They better watch some film, because a second half collapse against the Falcons won’t be winnable.
2. Atlanta Falcons (Last Week: No. 2). Matt Ryan is on fire. That’s all there is to it. Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman combine to form a ferocious running attack. And the defense has been superb the last several weeks. The last game in the old Georgia Dome could be the biggest in team’s history, as this is the matchup everyone wanted to see.
1. New England Patriots (Last Week: No. 1). Bottom line, they played pretty poorly against the Texans and still were able to pull away. Tom Brady took hit after hit and still found open receivers, despite the running game being taken out of the contest. This defense is fast and Brady is as sharp as ever. They will be tough to beat.