The 2018 NFL regular season has come to a conclusion, which means we’re onto the playoffs. Only 12 teams remain in contention for Super Bowl 53 and the New Orleans Saints are in the driver’s seat.
Odds To Win Super Bowl 53
The Saints led the NFL with 13 wins this season after resting a number of key starters in their Week 17 loss to the Carolina Panthers. New Orleans is arguably the most balanced team, as they are second in points per game (32.7) and are eighth in points allowed (21.3).
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As for the Rams, their loss to New Orleans proved to be the difference between them finishing first and second. As a result, they’ll have to go to New Orleans should the two sides square off in the NFC Championship Game. The Rams also figure to have the more challenging path as they’ll probably have to play the 12-4 Chicago Bears, instead of the 10-6 Dallas Cowboys or Seattle Seahawks in the second round.
In the AFC, the Chiefs are the favorite after completing a successful 12-4 campaign. The Chiefs had lost two in a row entering Sunday and desperately needed to change their momentum before the playoffs. They did exactly that by thumping the Oakland Raiders, 35-3. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw two more touchdown passes, giving him 50 on the season. The Chiefs will be at home in the playoffs, which is huge considering they finished the year 7-1 at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Patriots are second in line in the AFC as they labored a little bit more than usual this season. While they still won 11 games, they were just 3-5 on the road this season and might have to go to Kansas City in the AFC Championship Game. However, New England did inch ahead of the Houston Texans in the last couple of weeks, so they’ll have a first-round bye.
While the Chiefs and Patriots are the top teams in the AFC, this is a tricky conference from top to bottom. The Texans, who are the No. 3 seed, won 11 of their final 13 games. The Baltimore Ravens, who enter as the No. 4 seed, field the NFL’s best defense and won six of their final seven games to end the year. As for the No. 5 seed, the Los Angeles Chargers went 12-4 and were the only team able to beat the Chiefs in Kansas City. It wouldn’t be overly shocking if any of these teams came out of the conference to qualify for the Super Bowl.
