… And then there were eight. With one weekend of NFL Playoff football done, some major contenders are out. Others are still in. More commentary about this week’s games after the rankings.

1/6 rankings. 12/30 rankings. 12/24 rankings. 12/16 rankings. 12/9 rankings. 12/3 rankings. 11/26 rankings. 11/18 rankings. 11/11 rankings. 11/4 rankings. 10/28 rankings. 10/21 rankings. 10/15 rankings. 10/8 rankings. 9/30 rankings. 9/24 rankings. 9/16 rankings. 9/9 rankings.

1. Seattle Seahawks
2. Denver Broncos
3. New England Patriots
4. Houston Texans
5. Chicago Bears
6. Los Angeles Rams
7. Buffalo Bills
8. San Francisco 49’ers
9. Jacksonville Jaguars
10. Philadelphia Eagles
11. Los Angeles Chargers
12. Green Bay Packers
13. Pittsburgh Steelers
14. Carolina Panthers
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
16. Minnesota Vikings
17. Atlanta Falcons
18. Baltimore Ravens
19. Detroit Lions
20. Dallas Cowboys
21. Miami Dolphins
22. Indianapolis Colts
23. New Orleans Saints
24. Cincinnati Bengals
25. Kansas City Chiefs
26. Cleveland Browns
27. Washington Commanders
28. Tennessee Titans
29. New York Jets
30. Arizona Cardinals
31. New York Giants
32. Las Vegas Raiders

No changes in the order from 15 on back. Teams 9-14 are basically in their old order. While teams did move up into the top 8, nobody jumped each other this week. It’s hard to drop teams for winning. So the order kind of just holds for now.

As for this week’s games-

Bills (-1.5) @ Broncos- I love the assumption in Vegas that this is Buffalo’s year. I really do. Just because Mahomes isn’t here, we think the Bills will win a second straight road playoff game against the team that was first in the AFC for the last couple of months? On the other hand, Jacksonville may very well have been the best team, and Buffalo just went there and beat them. If the line gets worse I’m taking Denver, but I do see the Bills by under a field goal.

49’ers @ Seahawks (-7)- This line still feels crazy to me. Sure, Seattle shut down the Niners offense in week 18. San Fran is still an experienced playoff team, taking a relatively short trip for them, to a stadium they’re used to. Also, San Fran’s defense also played really well in week 18, and in the Wild Card game. I think Seattle should be favored, they’re rested and home, but they won’t cover 7. Seattle by under a score.

Texans @ Patriots (-3)- Houston has the best defense in football. New England’s defense is really good too. For me, this comes down to whether you’re more confident in Stroud or Maye. People are going to call me nuts, but I think this is Stroud’s best chance to win in his young career. I think either of these teams will actually win the AFC if they get through here. I’m taking the Texans in the upset.

Rams (-3.5) @ Bears- Lots of people have tried to call each of these teams frauds in recent weeks. So who is it? Just as the collective group think has been it’s Buffalo’s year in the AFC, everyone keeps wanting to declare the Rams the team to beat. Every time they do, they stumble. So what happens here? Weather is expected to be awful. Everyone will say that helps Chicago, but last year the Rams gave the Eagles their hardest game in the snow. I’m going to take the Rams here. I just don’t think Chicago can pull another comeback if they get behind these guys.