As much as we can learn to appreciate every NFL team playing every weekend throughout the fall, there’s something different about playoff football. Aside from the obvious aspects of sudden death glory (ho-hum), January is where every team thinks they have a shot at winning the Super Bowl. Of course, most of those teams’ aspirations will prove to be delusional and utterly misguided in due time. Reality is often disappointing.
But the social media hype videos, the “nobody believes in us” speeches (even when you’ve won your gauntlet of a division)—they all last forever. That’s the magic of the postseason: Truly anything can happen. Plus, you can make up critics who don’t exist—what a dream.
With Wild Card Weekend on the very near horizon, let’s examine the most significant reason, the fatal flaw, that may prevent each of the 12 teams from making a deep playoff run.