Biggest Strengths, Weaknesses of NFL Teams in 2024 NFC and AFC Championship Games
We're inching closer and closer to crowning a new champion in the NFL with the conference championships on the docket this Sunday.
The four teams left standing—the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers—all have plenty of strengths that helped put them in this position.
The two that end up punching their ticket to Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas on Feb. 11 will be the ones that can maximize their strengths and exploit their opponents' biggest weaknesses.
Let's take a look at each squad's top strength and weakness to see how that might impact their chances of victory this weekend.
Kansas City Chiefs' Biggest Strength: Coverage-Pass Rush Combination
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Ever since Patrick Mahomes took over as the Kansas City Chiefs' starting quarterback, the team's offense has carried its defense. But that script has flipped this season.
In 2022, Kansas City's defense ranked 16th in the NFL in points allowed (21.7) and first in points scored (29.2) per game during the regular season. This year, the Chiefs ranked second in the former (17.3) and 15th in the latter (21.8).
A big reason why is that their pass rush and coverage have complemented each other well this season. While first-team All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones remains the headliner of Kansas City's defense with his 10.5 sacks in the regular season and half-sack during the playoffs, he's no longer a one-man show.
Second-year pro George Karlaftis has enjoyed a breakout campaign with the most sacks on the team (12 including the postseason), and defensive ends Charles Omenihu and Michael Danna have a career-high 7.0 and 6.5 sacks, respectively.
On the back end, the Chiefs are led by a few impressive young corners in L'Jarius Sneed and Trent McDuffie.
According to Pro Football Focus, Sneed allowed about a 50 percent completion rate and a measly 55.9 passer rating when targeted during the regular season. Meanwhile, McDuffie has blossomed into a first-team All-Pro performer due in part to forcing five fumbles and earning an impressive PFF grade of 82.9.
Mixing that in with good linebacker play from Drue Tranquill and Nick Bolton makes it easy to see how Kansas City had a defensive resurgence this year.
Kansas City Chiefs' Biggest Weakness: Wide Receivers' Hands
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It's no secret that the Chiefs' wide receivers have been an issue this year. Unlike previous seasons when they've had multiple 1,000-yard pass-catchers, no one crossed that threshold in Kansas City in 2023.
Rookie Rashee Rice was the only wideout to come close with 938 yards, but there was a steep drop-off after that. Justin Watson was next on the list with 460 yards.
By and large, the position group struggled to haul in passes. Rice led the team with eight drops, Kadarius Toney ranked among Chiefs wideouts second with five, Watson was third with four, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Mecole Hardman Jr. accounted for three each.
Rice's mishaps are somewhat understandable, as he did have 87 "catchable" targets for a 9.2 percent drop rate, per FantasyPros. The same can't be said for the rest of the group.
Hardman played in only six games for the Chiefs, so he averaged a drop every other contest and had the worst rate at 16.7 percent. Toney wasn't far behind at 15.6 percent. As for Watson and Valdes-Scantling, they sat at 13.3 percent and 12.5 percent, respectively.
Some of those drops have been particularly costly. They were a big factor in the season-opening loss to the Detroit Lions and in the Week 11 loss against the Philadelphia Eagles.
So far, drops haven't come back to bite the Chiefs in the postseason. That could change as the stakes get higher and the pressure builds this weekend against the Ravens.
Baltimore Ravens' Biggest Strength: Pass Rush
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Since their inception in 1996, the Baltimore Ravens have been synonymous with good defenses. This year's unit might be their best one yet.
The Ravens finished the regular season leading the NFL in points allowed per game (16.5), turnovers (31) and sacks (60), which made them the first team in league history to lead all three categories, per Ryan Mink of the team's website. The 60 sacks also tied a single-season record for the organization.
Defensive tackle Justin Madubuike led the way with 13 sacks during the regular season, Jadeveon Clowney was next with 9.5 sacks, in-season pickup Kyle Van Noy had nine and Odafe Oweh racked up five. All four players either set or tied career highs to form the most fearsome pass rush in the NFL this year.
That's the key cog in Baltimore's league-leading defense, but bringing Patrick Mahomes down could prove to be difficult on Sunday. Kansas City surrendered only 28 sacks during the regular season, the second-fewest in the NFL.
"[Mahomes] just has great pocket presence," Ravens head coach John Harbaugh told reporters. "He sees the field, and he feels the pocket ... he kind of senses the pressure, and he's able to just move around and get away but keep his eyes downfield, slip out [and] all those kinds of things. ... It's one of his gifts, so we're going to have to really study it [and] be good at defending it. I do like our guys' chances."
That sets up an intriguing battle in the trenches that will go a long way toward deciding which team advances to the Super Bowl.
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Baltimore Ravens' Biggest Weakness: Run Defense
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Truth be told, "weakness" is a relative term when it comes to the Baltimore Ravens. They are a well-put-together team that has very few flaws, hence why they finished the regular season with the best record in the league.
However, the Ravens' ability to stop the run could be a slight concern.
Baltimore surrendered 1,860 yards on the ground this year, which ranked 14th in the league. But that number was slightly deflated since the Ravens played from ahead for the majority of the season, forcing opponents to abandon the running game. They allowed 4.5 yards per carry, which was the eighth-highest mark in the NFL.
Heading into the playoffs, Pro Football Focus' Mason Cameron pointed out that the Ravens especially struggled against gap runs.
"If the Ravens are lacking in any area, run fitting could be at the top," he wrote. "While they are largely solid on defense in the ground game, they've struggled to slow down gap concepts, having allowed a successful play on 32.5 percent of such runs."
That could play a key factor on Sunday, as the Chiefs shifted toward a gap-heavy rushing attack last week, according to Ron Kopp Jr. of Arrowhead Pride:
Detroit Lions' Biggest Strength: Offensive Weapons
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The Detroit Lions have put together one of the NFL's best offenses this year. They ranked fifth in points, third in yards and scored the third-most touchdowns during the regular season.
The Lions are loaded with offensive weapons. Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is the headliner, as he earned first-team All-Pro honors after compiling 119 receptions (tied for second in the league), 1,515 yards (third) and 10 touchdowns (tied for fourth).
The wideout had a career year and people are taking notice, including his upcoming opponent.
"I like [St. Brown] a lot," 49ers linebacker Fred Warner told reporters. "I love the way that he plays the game...he's been able to ascend himself into the top-tier of receiver play in this league really early in his career...he does things the right way and he's somebody we're for sure going to have to be aware of when we play them."
However, the Lions' offense is more than just St. Brown.
Sam LaPorta set a rookie record for tight ends with 86 catches and tied Rob Gronkowski for the second-most touchdowns (10) among first-year players at the position. He also finished the regular season with 889 receiving yards, the fifth-most for a tight end this year.
Wide receiver Josh Reynolds' 40 catches for 608 yards and five touchdowns are nothing to scoff at either, making it easy to see why Detroit's passing attack ranked second in the league in 2023. The Lions also have a two-headed monster in the backfield, as David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combined for nearly 2,400 total yards and 24 touchdowns from scrimmage.
All of that is enough to keep any defensive coordinator up at night.
Detroit Lions' Biggest Weakness: Pass Defense
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The Lions have struggled to contain opposing passing attacks this season. They gave up the sixth-most passing yards (4,205) and passing touchdowns (28) in the NFL during the regular season, primarily due to subpar cornerback play.
Detroit was hoping free-agent signing Emmanuel Moseley would help boost the position group in 2023. However, he missed the first four games of the campaign while recovering from a torn ACL in his left knee the year before, only to return to the field and suffer the same injury in his right knee two snaps into his debut.
That left the Lions with Jerry Jacobs and Cameron Sutton as their primary outside corners this season, and both were subpar throughout the year.
According to Pro Football Focus, Jacobs surrendered a 66.2 completion percentage and a 107.8 quarterback when targeted during the regular season, resulting in a 54.5 coverage grade. Sutton was slightly worse with figures of 67.4 percent, 113.9 and 53.9, respectively.
Detroit's defensive line also doesn't generate much pressure outside of Aidan Hutchinson. The 23-year-old put together a Pro Bowl year and led the unit in sacks with 11.5, which was double the amount of anyone else on the team.
Alim McNeill could have closed the gap, as he logged five sacks in 12 games before suffering a knee injury. However, he hasn't gotten to the quarterback since mid-November, nor has he been the same player since returning to action.
After McNeill, John Cominsky and Romeo Okwara recorded the most sacks on Detroit's defensive line during the regular season with two apiece. So, the Lions need their cornerbacks and a pass-rusher outside of Hutchinson to step up on Sunday against the 49ers.
San Francisco 49ers' Biggest Strength: Running the Ball
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In an analytical era where the passing game is glorified and viewed more favorably than rushing attacks, Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers are bobbing while everyone else is weaving.
During the regular season, the 49ers' offense ranked third in points scored (491) and second in yards (6,773). That was primarily due to their strong ground game, which accounted for the third-most rushing yards (2,389) and most rushing touchdowns (27) in the NFL.
Pro Football Focus, often viewed as one of the leaders in the passing-over-running debate, even listed "rushing efficiency" as San Francisco's biggest strength heading into the playoffs.
"You can't talk about a Shanahan-led team without mentioning the run game," PFF's Mason Cameron wrote. "Offensive Player of the Year front-runner Christian McCaffrey leads a backfield that ranks near the top of key metrics, ranging from explosive rushes (63) to expected points added per rush (0.030). That presence on the ground has set up the most effective play-action game in the league, generating 0.455 EPA per play."
McCaffrey also led the NFL in rushing yards by a wide margin with 1,459, nearly 300 yards more than second-place Derrick Henry of the Tennessee Titans.
Running the ball is the key to the 49ers' offense and sets up their passing game, as Lions head coach Dan Campbell told reporters on Wednesday.
"You stop the run," Campbell said when asked about his defense's primary focus against San Francisco's offense. "You've got to stop the run because if you don't, they'll rush for 250 on you, and then they won't even worry about passing. Everything has to start there.
"... [Shanahan is] going to work one side and make you overreact and then he counters off of it and then he play-passes off of it and works the middle of the field. So, look, you've got your hands full in both regards. ... As much as you can, you have to try to make this team one-dimensional and that's not easy to do."
We'll find out if Detroit's defense is up for this tall task on Sunday.
San Francisco 49ers' Biggest Weakness: Non-Trent Williams Offensive Linemen
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It's not easy to pinpoint a significant weakness for the Niners, as they've been a well-oiled machine for the majority of the campaign. However, Trent Williams does mask a lot of their issues in the trenches, especially in pass protection.
While the 35-year-old was named a first-team All-Pro for the third season in a row, the rest of the 49ers' offensive line leaves something to be desired.
According to Pro Football Focus, right tackle Colton McKivitz was responsible for nine sacks and 47 pressures during the regular season, which was tied for the fourth-most among offensive tackles. Center Jake Brendel accounted for two sacks and 29 pressures, and left guard Aaron Banks gave up 23 pressures but no sacks.
All three players earned subpar PFF pass-blocking grades as well, which means they were getting beat often even if said reps weren't reflected in the figures above.
Pressure played a big factor in San Francisco's Christmas Day loss to Baltimore, as PFF (h/t NBC Sports' Jennifer Lee Chan) had the 49ers' offensive line surrendering 22 total pressures. With nothing but top-tier teams left in the playoffs, that weakness could end up rearing its ugly head again and cost Kyle Shanahan's crew a chance at the title.
San Francisco appears to have solved its issue at right guard, with Jon Feliciano stepping into a starting role and playing well in the second half of the season. The question is whether that will be enough to supplement the other three spots up front.
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