NFL Playoff Prediction: Wild Card Teams That Are Threats For Super Bowl XLVI

Being a Wild Card team in the NFL playoffs does not mean you have no shot at making the Super Bowl.

Wild Card teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers have won three road games en route to a Super Bowl, and these three teams have a great chance to do it this year. 

Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh will play the No. 4 seed Denver Broncos in the first round. The Steelers will be able to shut down Broncos’ quarterback Tim Tebow by unleashing their No. 1 ranked passing defense. 

This passing defense will be a problem for the New England Patriots in the following round. When these two teams played in Week 8, the Steelers shut down Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady, only allowing 198 yards and two touchdowns. 

This example of dominance against a passing offense that ranks second in the NFL is the reason this Steelers team is primed for a deep run in the playoffs. 

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons are one of those teams that can put up a lot of points quickly. In their nine wins this year, they have scored 30 or more points five times. This makes for a nightmare situation for their first round opponent, the NFC East Champion Dallas Cowboys. 

After the Falcons and their ninth-best passing attack rip the 19th-ranked Cowboys passing defense, they will move on to a tough matchup against the Green Bay Packers. 

Against an even worse Packers passing defense that ranks 31st in the NFL, Falcons’ quarterback Matt Ryan will lead the Falcons to a huge upset at Lambeau Field. Green Bay has allowed quarterbacks to throw for an average of 289 yards per game. 

The Falcons will go as far as their passing game will take them. If they can get big games from Ryan, they will be a big threat to make a run at the Super Bowl. 

New York Jets

The Jets have made it to the AFC Championship game the last two years as the No. 6 seed. This year they will enter the playoffs as the No. 6 seed once again, and will make a run to the AFC Championship game for the third straight year. 

The Jets will head into the playoffs winning five of their last six games behind a defense that is shutting passing offenses down. 

This year, they will open the playoffs against the No. 3 seed, Houston Texans. The Texans will be starting rookie quarterback T.J. Yates, who will be overwhelmed by the Jets’ dominating secondary. 

From there they will take down the Baltimore Ravens in a rematch from their Week 4 meeting. The Ravens did blow the Jets out 34-17 in that game, however only one of the Ravens’ touchdowns were scored on offense. 

Their other three scores were from Jets turnovers. 

With the Jets cutting down on turning the ball over, they will survive another defensive contest, moving on to a rematch with the Pittsburgh Steelers from last year’s AFC Championship Game. 

These three teams are just as good as the division leaders who will host them for the playoffs. They will prevail on the road, continuing their march to Super Bowl XLVI. 

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