NFL Playoff Picture: Diagnosing Each Team's Most Glaring Weakness
The NFL playoff picture is starting to look clear with the regular season only two weeks away from completion.
Every team has a glaring weakness whether it's their pass defense or a weak link position.
Some teams are able to overcome or mask their deficiencies, while others will be exploited at every turn.
Here's a look at the weakness of all the projected playoff teams
Atlanta Falcons: Secondary
1 of 12
The Atlanta Falcons may have one of the most stout run defenses in the NFL, but their secondary is another issue.
The team made a key free agent acquisition in Dunta Robinson over the summer, and while he's a solid corner, the Falcons still give up 226.8 yards per game through the air.
This isn't to say that the Falcons are horrible against the pass, it just happens to be the weak link in their team.
Baltimore Ravens: Secondary
2 of 12
The Baltimore Ravens still have one of the most intimidating defenses in the NFL, but their secondary is very middling.
They give up 222.6 yards per game through the air and their 14 interceptions are both average for teams around the league.
With Ed Reed roaming around the back end they always have a dominant presence, but the Ravens can be thrown on.
Baltimore will need to grab a cornerback in this year's draft.
Chicago Bears: Jay Cutler
3 of 12
Jay Cutler started the season strong playing like a man possessed.
However, it didn't take defenses long to adjust to Cutler and Mike Martz' offensive scheme.
Cutler can still be brilliant behind center, but he's very inconsistent and you never really know what you're going to get out of him on any given night.
While Cutler has surprisingly curbed his interceptions—to an extent—he still holds onto the ball too long and makes bad decisions when under pressure.
He's leading the league with sacks taken at 44. The offensive line definitely takes a lot of blame for those sacks, but his inability to get rid of the ball faster also contributes significantly.
Cutler has also fumbled the ball 10 times this season with six of them going for turnovers.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Kansas City Chiefs: Passing Game
4 of 12
The Kansas City Chiefs have arguably the best running back tandem in the NFL, but their air attack could use a boost.
The Chiefs average 184 yards per game through the air—third worst mark in the league—which isn't surprising when Dwayne Bowe is the team's only real threat in their receiving corps.
Matt Cassel and Bowe are actually having great seasons, but if defenses focus on stopping the run, it could greatly disrupt their offense.
The Chiefs need a threat beyond Bowe and a simple bracket coverage can take him out of the game, and subsequently stall their offense.
Indianapolis Colts: Run Defense
5 of 12
Indianapolis' poor run defense has long plagued the team.
They give up 135.8 yards per game—fifth worst in the NFL—and opposing teams seem to have their way with Colts on the ground.
There are times when they look good against the run—they managed to shut down Maurice Jones-Drew last week—but those are rare occurrences.
Teams will focus on running against the Colts because they can rack up a lot of yards and it controls the clock, taking precious time away from Peyton Manning to do his damage through the air.
New England Patriots: Secondary
6 of 12
The New England Patriots have the youngest defense in the league and it definitely shows.
While Bill Belichick's brilliance masks their deficiencies on defense at times, he can't always expect to do that against some of the more potent offensive teams in the NFL.
Of the two aspects of their defense, their secondary appears to be the weaker of the two.
They give up 263.3 yards per game—ranked second worst in the NFL—but they also happen to have the second most interceptions of all the defenses in the league with 21.
This could be due to the team's defensive backs gambling way too much or Belichick being able to mask coverages and confusing quarterbacks in the process.
Offenses will definitely look to exploit this area and the team will most assuredly need to address this issue in the draft.
New Orleans Saints: Ground Game
7 of 12
New Orleans doesn't have many holes on the team, but they could definitely use a more consistent ground game.
They've gone through a number of running backs this season and they've also faced a lot of injuries to their tailbacks.
However, the team as a whole has only attempted 334 rushes throughout the season, which is extremely low for a team. They also have only eight total touchdowns on the ground
Head coach Sean Payton loves to throw the ball—and with Drew Brees under center who can blame him—but the team has to have more balance on the offense if they want to control the clock and keep defenses honest.
New York Giants: Special Teams
8 of 12
The New York Giants' Special Teams are awful. Last week's colossal meltdown to the Philadelphia Eagles completely exposed the Giants' special teams.
It starts with their rookie punter, Matt Dodge, who has been abysmal all year. When he was ordered by head coach Tom Coughlin to punt away from DeSean Jackson and out of bounds, he instead kicks it right to him. We all know how that ended.
It doesn't end with Dodge though.
The Giants were caught off guard by an onside kick which turned the tide and momentum in favor of the Eagles.
They've been poor at tackling punt and kick returners this season and they need to step up if they want to have any chance of making noise in the playoffs.
New York Jets: Mark Sanchez
9 of 12
Mark Sanchez has been touted as the Jets' savior ever since he was drafted.
When Sanchez plays well, the team almost always wins. However, when he regresses and goes into interception mode, the team's offense completely stalls.
The Jets' defense can only do so much to keep the team in games. If Sanchez is playing badly, opposing defenses can concentrate on stopping their run game while allowing Sanchez to shoot the team in the foot.
Philadelphia Eagles: Offensive Line
10 of 12
Michael Vick may be the most dangerous dual-threat quarterback in the NFL, but even he can't avoid the constant pressure in his face when his offensive line breaks down.
The Eagles have given up 38 total sacks and Vick alone has been sacked 28 times this season, which is puzzling when he's the most elusive quarterback in the league. 15 of those sacks have come in the last six games.
Teams will continue to overload one side of the offensive line and force Vick to scramble out to his right where they can trap him. It's dangerous to have Vick on his feet, but it may be the best way to curb his output.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Offensive Line
11 of 12
Aside from their offensive line, Pittsburgh is one of the most complete teams in the NFL.
The problem is that a strong offensive line is vital to a team's success.
Ben Roethlisberger is able to overcome some of the weaknesses along the front line with his scrambling abilities, but he can only take his team so far when he's constantly seeing pressure in his face.
He's been sacked 29 times this season—keep in mind that he missed the first four games of the season—and he has been taken down 22 times in the last six weeks.
St. Louis Rams: Receivers
12 of 12
The St. Louis Rams have made great strides under Steve Spagnuolo and rookie quarterback Sam Bradford.
However, with the weak receiving corps Bradford has at his disposal, the team will have trouble finding any consistency in their passing attack when the two starting wide receivers are Brandon Gibson and Danny Amendola.
Opposing defenses can stack the box against Steven Jackson and pressure Bradford while playing single man coverage against the Rams receivers.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Post-June 1 Trade Candidates ☎️")
.JPG?w=600 "TO Talks Cowboys Relationship")
.jpg?w=600 "Taylor Heinicke Retiring")
.jpg?w=600 "49ers OC Hypes Mike Evans 🤩")