NFL Playoff Scenarios: Steelers and Teams That Have Easiest Road to Super Bowl

The road to Super Bowl XLVI should be a lot tougher for the Pittsburgh Steelers and these teams. However, with the way the playoff bracket will develop, it will almost be a cake walk leading to Indianapolis. 

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers will come into these playoffs as either the No. 5 seed, or the No. 2 seed. It looks highly unlikely that the Patriots will lose to the Buffalo Bills this week, which will keep Pittsburgh from earning the No. 1 seed. 

However, with Pittsburgh opening up their postseason against a team like the Denver Broncos, it will make for an easy game for the Steelers. 

Pittsburgh enters the playoffs with the best overall defense in the NFL. They have the lowest points allowed per game in the AFC, and have an offense that can shred secondaries with their speedy receivers. 

If the Steelers can avoid the Baltimore Ravens, they will cruise to their third Super Bowl in the last four years. 

Green Bay Packers

The Packers locked up the overall No. 1 seed in the NFC with a blowout win over Chicago last week. 

All of their playoff games will be at Lambeau Field, where they are 7-0 this year, blowing teams out 276-130. In seven of those wins, six of them have seen the Packers score over 30 points. 

Whomever the Packers face in the second round, they will have to be a team that can survive playing outdoors in the cold and can keep up with Green Bay's ability to put a lot of points on the board. 

Luckily for them, there is only one team that fits that criteria in the New Orleans Saints. 

If the Saints are upset on the road by San Francisco in the divisional round, then it clears an easy path for Green Bay. 

New Orleans Saints

Let’s say that the Saints do not have to play the Packers to get to the Super Bowl. 

That would give the Saints an easy walk through the NFC bracket by playing teams that are awful at defending the pass. 

The Saints will open the playoffs as the No. 3 seed, hosting the Detroit Lions in the Wild Card Round. When these two teams met this year, the Saints blew the Lions out behind a 342-passing yard three-touchdown performance by Drew Brees. 

Then in the divisional round, the Saints will travel to San Francisco and face a 49ers defense that ranks 17th in passing defense. The 49ers have given up 233 yards per game to opposing quarterbacks this year, and will get ripped apart by the Saints in this game. 

This would bring the Saints back home for the NFC Title game against the Falcons. We all just saw what happened to the Falcons in the Superdome last week, when the Saints destroyed them 45-16. 

For these three teams to make it to Indianapolis for Super Bowl XLVI, they will need to have some luck to go along with their easy schedule. 

But, just looking at who they should play, it shouldn’t be too hard for these teams to make it to the biggest game in sports.

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