When breaking down which team might challenge the current number one seed–the Green Bay Packers–for the right to home-field advantage until the Super Bowl and perhaps, more importantly, the first week of the playoffs bye that comes with it, there are many factors to keep under consideration. Which teams have the easiest schedules? Which teams are the healthiest? Who is on the longest winning streak? Also, perhaps the hardest part about all of it is…how much do you weigh each of the factors? and what if there are things you're leaving out?
Well, lucky for you, we broke the science down, gave it a human flair, and came up with our own interpretation of who we think the strongest contenders for the number one seed in the conference will be. Since Green Bay is already sitting atop the conference due to their magical win over Arizona in the desert a few weeks ago, we are left picking from a pool of all of the other eligible NFC contenders. here is what we came up with.
The 3 biggest threats to the Packers atop the NFC are…
Despite a tough two-game stretch that saw them outscored 59-26 in games they were favored to win, this team is still built to go the distance. The recent acquisitions of Odell Beckham Jr. and Von Miller will pay immediate dividends for this team, especially in their upcoming matchup. That matchup is against the Packers and is one of the main reasons we have the Rams on this list, they have a shot to take the Packers down themselves, something that can't be said for ANY other contender and gives the Rams a leg up on Dallas–the other team under consideration here.
The Rams have built this team for the playoffs and they know they are hosting the Super Bowl so everything is in front of them. If they beat Green Bay and they beat Arizona (two weeks later on Monday Night Football) then they will most likely be the number one seed. That is called controlling your own destiny and it is exactly where you want to be at this point in the season. The Rams may be reeling, coming into their bye week playing the worst football of their season and missing their leader in Robert Woods (out for the season with a torn ACL suffered in practice on Friday), but they now get two weeks to rest, recuperate and get their new guys up to speed. Don't be surprised if this team ends up with the number one seed and plays at home all the way through the Super Bowl.
The Buccaneers have the ninth easiest schedule from this point until the end of the season, based on the strength of their schedule, they are finally getting healthy…hopefully.. and they have the most veteran offense in the NFL. Oh, and they haven't lost a game this year with Antonio Brown.
When this team is fully healthy, they can run off a bunch of wins in a row…remember last December and January? The window has been left open for this team to do the same thing as they did in 2020 and they can make it a lot easier on themselves this year with a bye. Last season, they went on the road all the way until they were the first team to host and eventually the first to win the Super Bowl in their home stadium. This year, with the number one seed, they could reverse their route and have only one playoff game…Super Bowl 55 in Los Angeles.
1. Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals are given the best chance to knock off the Packers and get the one-seed for two reasons. One reason is that Arizona has been the best team in the NFL this season when they have had Kyler Murray healthy. They were a fluke away from beating the Packers and have the best point differential in the NFC (+198).
The second reason is that they have the fourth easiest strength of schedule remaining, giving them the huge edge over Los Angeles, Tampa Bay, and Dallas when it comes to who is the biggest challengers to the Packers in the NFC.
Still, there is a lot of football left to be played and a lot of injuries sure to happen. At this point, though, we think these are the three biggest threats to Green Bay's current supremacy in the conference. That may change by next week, that is the beauty of the NFL and especially this new playoff format. The number one seed and the bye is a HUGE advantage, especially now that we have fans fully into the stadiums. The fact that teams are going all-out in an attempt to get it only helps the NFL and creates more intrigue for the fans.
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