NFL playoffs: These are the top favorites for the Super Bowl – coup for German superstars?

NFL playoffs start
Who succeeds in the hard journey to “The Big Easy”?

By Heiko Oldörp
January 11, 2025, 10:03 a.m

The regular season is over, now it’s win or fly in the NFL. In the playoffs, every game can be the last. Whoever loses has a break until autumn. The big goal: the Super Bowl on February 9th in New Orleans.

The bad news first: The last month of the NFL season has begun, and in just under four weeks it will all be over again. But, and that’s the good news, now the most beautiful, the most exciting, the hottest time of the season begins. It’s playoff time. 14 teams, 13 games, two Super Bowl participants, one champion: “Tiss the Season”!

The road to “The Big Easy,” as the Mississippi metropolis of New Orleans in the state of Louisiana is also called because of its relaxed way of life, will be hard, rocky and, for the majority, end prematurely. A look at the five teams that are considered the hottest title contenders.

Master tip for conservatives? Kansas City Chiefs

Betting on a Super Bowl victory for the Kansas City Chiefs (who are free to play at the start of the playoffs as number one in the AFC) is about as “daring” as betting your money on a German championship title for FC Bayern Munich . In the past five years, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Andy Reid have won three titles. And they proved, especially last year, that despite sometimes unconvincing performances in the points round, they are difficult to defeat in the playoffs – no matter where.

Twelve months ago, for once, the route to the final didn’t go through Kansas City. The Chiefs had to fight for their final ticket away from home, playing in the quarterfinals against the Buffalo Bills and then against the Baltimore Ravens. There was talk of the “hardest path” for Mahomes and Co.

But they jumped over both hurdles and defended their title from last year with a 25:22 final win after overtime against San Francisco. If they become champions this time too, it would be their third final victory in a row – and therefore also the first “three peat” in Super Bowl history.

Lions legitimate title contender for the first time

Name the only team that has been in the league since the first Super Bowl (January 15, 1967) but has never been to the Super Bowl? Oh, how many times has she had to listen to this question with the Detroit Lions (the NFC’s number one team has no games this weekend)? How often were they mocked by this? But all the decades in the role of being laughed at, teased and picked on could be over in a few weeks.

The Lions with German superstar Amon-Ra St. Brown are a legitimate title contender. They set a club record with 15 major round wins and also scored the fourth-most touchdowns (70) in NFL history. They made a clear statement last Sunday in the final game for the top position in the NFC against the Minnesota Vikings (31:9 win). And they have dealt with the serious injuries to top performers such as defensive end Aidan Hutchinson (broken leg in mid-October) and running back David Montgomery (torn medial ligament in mid-December) impressively unfazed.

Baltimore Ravens like “Dinner for One”

The fact that the Baltimore Ravens (today’s home game against Pittsburgh) are going into the playoffs as co-favorites has something of the New Year’s Eve classic “Dinner for One” – the same process as every year. Since quarterback Lamar Jackson joined the club in 2018, the Ravens have reached the knockout rounds every year. And they were often considered title contenders. During this time, Jackson was twice named “Most Valuable Player” (MVP) and John Harbaugh was named Coach of the Year once.

Both of them were together in the Super Bowl, but never before. Last year the opportunity was greater than ever. For the first time in club history, Baltimore had home advantage in the AFC Championship Game. A win against Kansas City – and the Ravens would have flown to the final in Las Vegas. At peak times, 64 million people watched this duel – and saw how Baltimore was once again unable to meet high expectations in the most important game of the season. Final score: 10:17.

With running back Derrick Henry (16 rushing touchdowns this season/tied league best), Baltimore has added a beast for the running game. But is that enough to banish the playoff demons of the past? After the obligatory task of the Pittsburgh Steelers, to possibly win in succession in Buffalo, in Kansas City and then in the final against Detroit?

Will Eagles quarterback be fit in time?

Speaking of running back, Saquon Barkley immediately made a bigger name for himself in his first season with the Philadelphia Eagles (Sunday at home against Green Bay) than he did in his mandatory six years with the New York Giants combined. He became the ninth running back in league history to break the 2,000-yard barrier. And coach Nick Sirianni wouldn’t have spared him in the last main round game if Barkley would have run the 101 yards he still needed to break Eric Dickerson’s 40-year-old NFL rushing record (2,105 yards).

With his presence alone – and of course his actions – Barkley creates space and opportunities for wide receivers AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith, as well as tight end Dallas Goedert. This makes the offense variable and therefore so dangerous. However, it is still unclear whether the engine of this offense, Jalen Hurts, will be able to play against Green Bay. The quarterback has been out since December 22nd due to a concussion. On Thursday, Hurts was able to train fully for the first time, but before the game he still has to go through the so-called concussion protocol, which the NFL prescribes for concussions before professionals can be used again.

“Everyone eats”

The Buffalo Bills are one of only two teams to win all of their home games this season. And home games are always an advantage in the playoffs. However, the route to New Orleans probably won’t go through Buffalo. The second team with a clean home record is the Kansas City Chiefs. And because of their 15-2 major round record, they would host the Bills (13-4) in a possible AFC Championship Game. But they’re not thinking that far in Buffalo yet.

The Denver Broncos and Niagara Falls come to the start of the playoffs on Sunday. The Bills are confident. And they can be. Quarterback Josh Allen is the hottest MVP candidate of the season. He leads an offensive whose mantra is “everyone eats.” It should be hot: no matter who runs how many yards or how many touchdowns, every single one is important.

With this philosophy, the buffalo herd around Allen and running back James Cook (like Derrick Henry 16 rushing touchdowns) is running through the league this season – and sometimes overrunning the opponents. The Bills scored at least 30 points in eleven of the 13 wins. The 65 touchdowns are a club record, as are the 525 offensive points.

Buffalo is the first club in NFL history with at least 30 rushing touchdowns (spread among four players) and 30 receiving touchdowns (scored by 13 players). There is also a lot of work to be done on the generic defensive lines. After all, how do you stop a team that is just as dangerous in the air as it is on the ground?