The NFL season is dwindling down and coming to a close in just four weeks. The playoffs predictions are coming in fierce, the division leaders are having nothing to fear but teams that are in the Wild Card race and on the edge of it have to fight to stay alive to get a spot in the playoffs.

Philadelphia Eagles 10-2

This year the Eagles have resurrected from the dead. Last year they started 5-0 then had a massive downfall which made them miss the playoffs. This year has been a complete 180. Second year quarterback Carson Wentz has had an excellent season. His rookie season he started out really well but tired out and eventually threw numerous interceptions. This year has been a breakout season. He is leading all quarterbacks in passing touchdowns with 28 and only has thrown 3 interceptions all year long. Wentz is one of the reasons why Philly has had success. Another facet of the success for the Eagles is their shutdown defense which is only allowing an average of 234 yards a game. The scoring offense for the Eagles has been highly efficient, scoring an average of 31 points a game. Many would predict that Philly can be a threat in the playoffs maybe even being in contention for the Super Bowl, just as long as the team does not self-destruct completely before the season ends which should not happen at all because of their record being 10-2.

Los Angeles Rams 9-3

Over the past eight to ten years the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams have been an irrelevant team.  Yes, they were hot garbage for a span of about ten years. The team has not found a decent quarterback until now with their second year man, Jared Goff. This year Goff has been the team leader in touchdowns and yards but it cannot be forgotten that running back Todd Gurley has had his best statistical year in terms of scoring touchdowns this year Gurley has scored eight touchdowns on the ground this year. The Rams defense has been just as good as the offense this year for them as well, people do forget that the Rams have a decent defense even though the only member of their defense that is well known is DT Aaron Donald. It is tough to determine whether the Rams will be good enough to roll deep in the playoffs because the fact that their record is only 9-3 and a pertinent question that is asked is can their defense hold up? It is dependent on who the rams face when the playoffs start to determine whether they are really for real or not.

The first two teams that were mentioned were teams that are going to contend and be a tough matchup for the playoffs. The next two teams that I am going to talk about are on the outside looking in and don’t have a good chance of making the playoffs.

Green Bay Packers 6-6

Throughout the many years the Green Bay Packers have been a very productive NFL team. This year has not been there year, many issues can be to blame but the big blow to the Pack was the season-ending injury to starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers suffered a season ending right clavicle injury against Minnesota back in week number four and has be out since. Losing their franchise player is not the only issue that Green Bay faces. The defense has been a main staple for the Packers, but in 2017 it has not played a vital role unlike in years past it was one of the most prolific defenses in the league. Some would state that the Packers still have a slight chance to make the playoffs if they win the remaining five games left in the season, they have a slight outside chance but with Aaron not at the helm the Packers can only look up at the standings in the NFC North and watch as Minnesota goes to the playoffs for the second straight year.

Cincinnati Bengals 5-7

This year has certainly been a tragic one for our beloved Bengals. Coming into the season with high hopes not only making the playoffs but making franchise history and winning our first playoff game. Overall the team is stacked you have a high and valuable quarterback Andy Dalton who has the capability of winning a super bowl. What can you really say negative about this team other than that the offensive line has been trash this year. During the offseason the Bengals lost their two best offensive linemen Kevin Zeitler and Andrew Whitworth. Whitworth spent over eleven years with the Bengals and was selected to the Pro Bowl twice during his tenure with the team.

Kevin Zeitler ended up signing with the worthless Cleveland Browns for a one year deal. Another factor for the Bengals is that they have had some tough loses this year. The first tough loss that they endured was in week three In Green Bay. Cincy had the lead with a little over three minutes but the Packers came storming back to tie the game, overtime came and the Bengals went three and out to give Aaron Rodgers an opportunity to win the game and he did that throwing a TD pass to Randall Cobb to win the game 27-24. Another tough loss was against the Titans in Tennessee again the Bengals had the lead with minutes to go but ended up giving the ball up to one of the more clutch quarterbacks in the game Marcus Mariota. The Titans eventually won the game on a TD rush by Damarco Murray.

All year the other two teams mentioned had good chances but came up a little short. It does not mean that they are terrible teams they just had multiple setbacks and had tough losses in the season. Tough Luck is always an issues for the Packers and Bengals