NFL Playoff Picture: Who Are the Real Contenders for Super Bowl XLVI?

Making the playoffs is definitely a part of every NFL team's preseason goal and ultimately winning the Super Bowl is where everyone would like to finish, but only one out of 12 playoff teams can hoist the Lombardi Trophy. 

With that being said, as we inch closer and closer to the 2011 playoffs with just one week remaining—who are the real contenders to win Super Bowl XLVI? 

New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints could very well be the best team in the NFC despite sitting with the No. 3 seed entering Week 17. 

New Orleans has been on fire as of late as they've rallied off seven wins in a row and currently hold an impressive 12-3 record.

The Saints may not have the greatest defense, but it's good enough as it's ranked 25th in the NFL. What separates them from most playoff teams is their offense which is led by quarterback Drew Brees. 

Brees has had an incredible 2011 season as he broke Dan Marino's single-season passing record as he's accumulate a whopping 5,087 yards in 15 games. To go along with his near-mile amount in yards, he's recorded a 108.4 quarterback rating while completing an incredible 70.7 percent of his passes for 41 touchdowns compared to 13 interceptions. 

New Orleans may not have a playoff bye, but they're a team that's in it for the long haul.

Green Bay Packers

Well, this is somewhat obvious.

The Green Bay Packers enter the final week of the season with an impressive 14-1 record with the NFL's top quarterback, Aaron Rodgers.

It's a quarterback league and Rodgers is playing on another planet as he's thrown for 45 touchdowns and only six interceptions while posting an impressive 122.5 quarterback rating.

There's a reason why Green Bay started off 13-0—they're a damn good football team.

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots may have one of the worst defenses in NFL history, but when it comes to giving up points, New England is allowing an average of 21.2 points per game which is good enough for 14th-best in the league.

The Patriots have posted a 12-3 record through the first 16 weeks this season and look to wrap up the top seed in the AFC with a victory in next week's game against the Buffalo Bills.

Many probably believe that New England's playoff struggles will continue this season, but Tom Brady and the team's offense appears to be getting better and better. 

Whenever you have Brady playing as good as he is right now with a team coached by Bill Belichick, who's the modern-day Vince Lombardi, then there's always a good chance that they'll be hoisting the Lombardi Trophy come Super Bowl Sunday.

San Francisco 49ers

Some may believe that defenses can no longer win championships, but this San Francisco 49ers defense is definitely good enough to carry them all the way to the Super Bowl.

San Fran had yet to give up a rushing touchdown or allow a 100-yard rusher all season until this past week when Marshawn Lynch ran for 107 yards and a score—now that's saying something.

However, I will say this: The 49ers can only go as far as quarterback Alex Smith brings them.

Baltimore Ravens

To me, the Baltimore Ravens barely make this list. Why, you might ask? Simply because of Joe Flacco and how he's been rather pathetic thus far. 

Flacco is completing only 56.8 percent of his passes, which is a career low, while being intercepted 12 times and posting a mediocre 79.7 quarterback rating.

The Ravens are somewhat similar to the San Francisco 49ers, as the quarterback position is their only true weakness. However, if Flacco can play to his potential, then the Ravens will be a very hard team to beat considering they have an elite defense and one of the NFL's top running backs in Ray Rice. 

For more articles like this, check out PatriotsPlus.net.