NFL Playoff Standings 2016: Post-Wild Card Rankings and Super Bowl Odds
Admit it.
You were worried about the 2016 Wild Card Round after the Kansas City Chiefs destroyed the Houston Texans, 30-0, on Saturday. We’ve been waiting for playoff football all season, and that was how the NFL rewarded us?
Fortunately, the rest of the schedule lived up to the hype.
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The Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers mixed in some football in between their wrestling and trash-talking session, Minnesota Vikings kicker Blair Walsh broke everyone’s heart in Minnesota with a missed field goal in the final seconds and quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers broke out of their slump and controlled the second half against the Washington Redskins.
With Wild Card Weekend in the rearview mirror, it’s already time to turn our attention toward the divisional round. Here is a look at the updated playoff picture, the record-based standings and Super Bowl odds.
Playoff Picture
Postseason Records
| Kansas City Chiefs | 1-0 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 1-0 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 1-0 |
| Green Bay Packers | 1-0 |
| Carolina Panthers | 0-0 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 0-0 |
| Denver Broncos | 0-0 |
| New England Patriots | 0-0 |
| Houston Texans | 0-1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 0-1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 0-1 |
| Washington | 0-1 |
Super Bowl Odds (according to Odds Shark, as of Sunday at 7 p.m. ET)
| New England Patriots | +450 |
| Arizona Cardinals | +450 |
| Carolina Panthers | +450 |
| Seattle Seahawks | +600 |
| Denver Broncos | +600 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | +900 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | +1600 |
| Green Bay Packers | +2200 |
Divisional Round Matchup to Watch: Seattle Seahawks at Carolina Panthers
This is not the first time this season these two teams will play each other. In fact, the Carolina Panthers put themselves on the national map with a 27-23 road victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 6. It moved the victors to 5-0 and inserted quarterback Cam Newton's name into the MVP discussion after his impressive comeback.
The Panthers were down 23-14 in the fourth quarter and went 80 yards on each of their last two possessions to win the game. Newton threw for 162 yards in the fourth quarter and found tight end Greg Olsen in the end zone for the game-winner with 32 seconds left.
Superstar linebacker Luke Kuechly also returned after missing time with a concussion and solidified a strong Panthers defense.
The postseason rematch is in Carolina, but the mental edge of knowing they can make a critical drive against the Legion of Boom in the waning moments if they need to is arguably more important for the Panthers than home-field advantage.
Carolina will need plenty of advantages because the Seahawks are the reigning two-time NFC champions and won’t be intimidated by the moment.
They are certainly lucky to be alive after Walsh missed a potential game-winning field goal Sunday. But the defense made opportunistic plays—forcing Vikings running back Adrian Peterson’s fumble comes to mind—and quarterback Russell Wilson saved the season when he recovered a poor snap and threw it downfield to set up the lone touchdown in the 10-9 victory.
The Seahawks caught the eye of Panthers tight end Ed Dickson during the season, when he ranked them as the toughest potential playoff matchup, per Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer:
"I’m preparing myself to play the best teams at their best. I’m putting them in order. I’m preparing to play Seattle. I’m preparing to play the Cardinals. I’m preparing to play Adrian Peterson (and) the Vikings. Or (Green Bay quarterback) Aaron Rodgers. There’s no bad teams in all the bunch.
[...]
Personally I don’t think our team (would) list them like that, but that’s how I list them. In strength of experience, in strength of been there before and have the power to create little problems.
"
Seattle could be even stronger if running back Marshawn Lynch returns from sports hernia surgery for the divisional round. Per NFL.com's Conor Orr, he practiced most of the week leading up to the matchup with Minnesota but ultimately did not board the team’s flight. However, he could be back on the field against Carolina.
NFL Network wondered if the return of Lynch would even be a blessing for the Seahawks given the offense’s regular-season statistics:
Carolina held Lynch to 54 rushing yards in the Week 6 game and sacked Wilson four times. That pressure on Wilson could be more important than slowing down Lynch, because the Seahawks won six of their last seven regular-season games behind their quarterback’s arm. He posted 24 touchdown passes and one interception during that span, and receivers Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett emerged as dangerous playmakers on the outside.
Carolina was a solid 11th in the league in passing defense, but it will miss cornerback Charles Tillman because of a season-ending ACL tear. ESPN Stats & Info highlighted why that will be a problem:
That puts even more pressure on superstar corner Josh Norman, but he can only guard one of Seattle’s receivers. Seattle may not need Lynch to beat the Panthers if Wilson and the receivers continue to play like they did at the end of the regular season.
As intriguing as it will be to watch Wilson match wits with Norman, the true matchup within the matchup will come when Carolina has the ball. Newton is likely well on his way to the MVP award and already beat the Seahawks defense once, but the Legion of Boom allowed 13 or fewer points in five of its last six games, including its postseason win over the Vikings.
For evidence about how potent the Seahawks are on that side of the ball, look no further than where this group ranked in the NFL this season in various defensive categories:
| 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 1st |
Carolina could get running back Jonathan Stewart back after he missed the last three games of the season, which would be critical because it is nearly impossible to knock off the Seahawks if their defense forces teams to be one-dimensional.
Still, while it has been a magical season for the 15-1 Panthers, that opposing defense will prove too overwhelming Sunday. The Legion of Boom will slow down Carolina’s pedestrian group of receivers, and the strong defensive line—led by defensive end Michael Bennett—will limit the rushing attack of Newton and Stewart.
Mark Schlereth of ESPN described why Bennett is so effective up front:
Behind Bennett and the rest of arguably the best defense in the NFL, Seattle will take the next step toward qualifying for its third straight Super Bowl.
Prediction: Seahawks 21, Panthers 13
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