NFC Playoff Picture: Ranking the Conference's Top Title Contenders After Week 16

Here is how the six teams currently in the NFC playoff picture stack up as title contenders after Week 16 of the NFL season.

1. Green Bay Packers (14-1)

The Packers aren't without flaws (stopping the run), but Green Bay still has to be considered the front-runner in the NFC. The road to the Super Bowl goes through Lambeau Field, Aaron Rodgers is the odds-on favorite for NFL MVP and the defense has forced 34 turnovers.

Championship trio for the Packers?   

2. New Orleans Saints (11-3)

If there's a team that can score with the Packers at Lambeau, it's the Saints.

They proved it in Week 1, and that offense has arguably improved since then. The question mark for both teams is defense.

Could the Saints get a turnover or two to swing the possible rematch in their favor?

3. San Francisco 49ers (11-3)

If you subscribe to the "Blueprint Theory," which believes that the Chiefs gave the NFL a formula to beat the Packers, then the 49ers have a strong case for No. 2. They can pound the ball with Frank Gore to control the pace, and the defense is good enough to keep the Packers well under their season average.

I just don't trust that quarterback Alex Smith can beat the Packers on the road or the Saints at home.

4. Atlanta Falcons (9-5)

Are the Falcons getting hot at the right time? They have a huge test tonight in New Orleans, but if they can go into the Superdome and leave with a win, they'll head into the playoffs brimming with confidence. No one is talking about these Falcons, but they should.

Atlanta has a Packers 2010 feel to them right now.

5. New York Giants (8-7)

The Giants at their best can beat anyone and are a legitimate Super Bowl contender. But on any given week, you just don't know which team is going to show up. That's the fear.

If they can win in Week 17 and develop some kind of consistency in the process, the Giants are a scary playoff team. 

6. Detroit Lions (10-5)

The newcomers to the NFC playoffs (the Lions haven't been to the postseason since 1999) rank last on this list, but they can still beat any of the five teams ahead of them.

There won't be many teams that want to play Detroit with the way Matthew Stafford has been playing as of late.