Recap: Putting Together the Pieces
Of course, we need to see the complete picture when putting these numbers into context for our upcoming playoff predictions. Therefore, the table below provides the average rank in each of the six key areas.
Table 7: Mean Ranks for the Six Areas of Team Balance
| Seed | Team | Pass O | Pass D | Run O | Run D | Scoring | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFC #1 | Denver Broncos | 24.2 (26th) | 1.6 (1st) | 16.4 (17th) | 5.8 (3rd) | 17.2 (17th) | 7.4 (4th) |
| NFC #1 | Carolina Panthers | 8.4 (7th) | 2.4 (2nd) | 7.4 (4th) | 7.0 (t-5th) | 8.2 (t-5th) | 6.1 (3rd) |
| AFC #2 | New England Patriots | 6.4 (5th) | 11.4 (10th) | 12.2 (t-10th) | 8.8 (8th) | 6.4 (3rd) | 5.9 (2nd) |
| NFC #2 | Arizona Cardinals | 3.6 (1st) | 7.2 (t-6th) | 12.6 (t-12th) | 5.6 (2nd) | 10.2 (8th) | 7.9 (5th) |
| AFC #3 | Cincinnati Bengals | 4.8 (2nd) | 7.2 (t-6th) | 12.2 (t-10th) | 15.0 (14th) | 5.8 (2nd) | 10.5 (9th) |
| NFC #3 | Minnesota Vikings | 22.4 (t-23rd) | 12.0 (11th) | 6.6 (3rd) | 18.4 (19th) | 8.2 (t-5th) | 13.4 (t-10th) |
| AFC #4 | Houston Texans | 19.4 (20th) | 5.8 (4th) | 25.2 (29th) | 13.0 (12th) | 16.0 (14th) | 13.9 (12th) |
| NFC #4 | Washington Redskins | 5.4 (3rd) | 21.0 (22nd) | 28.8 (30th) | 23.4 (24th) | 9.6 (7th) | 24.2 (28th) |
| AFC #5 | Kansas City Chiefs | 18.2 (18th) | 4.0 (3rd) | 2.2 (1st) | 11.8 (t-10th) | 7.8 (4th) | 8.8 (6th) |
| NFC #5 | Green Bay Packers | 22.4 (t-23rd) | 7.8 (9th) | 16.0 (16th) | 21.2 (21st) | 14.8 (13th) | 9.4 (7th) |
| AFC #6 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 10.8 (8th) | 16.2 (14th) | 5.8 (2nd) | 6.0 (4th) | 11.0 (10th) | 10.4 (8th) |
| NFC #6 | Seattle Seahawks | 7.6 (6th) | 6.6 (5th) | 7.6 (t-5th) | 7.0 (t-5th) | 4.2 (1st) | 5.5 (1st) |
Blue (strength): Mean Rank of 8.0 or better
Red (liability): Mean Rank of 20.0 or worse
Now with everything assembled into one table, you can see how teams shaped up. We labels “strengths” and “liability” to guide you, but feel free to set your own standards. Regardless, you can look at our labels to see how these 12 playoff teams are under several different states of readiness to compete for a championship. You have teams with strengths in several areas, like the Panthers and Cardinals in the NFC (four highlighted strengths apiece) and the Bengals and Chiefs and Patriots in the AFC (three highlighted strengths apiece). You also have the team that probably didn’t have the strengths you expecte (re: Steelers on both sides of the run, but neither side of the aerial battle) and the team that is literally strong in every area (re: Seattle Seahawks). And then, of course, you have the teams with certain areas of liability. Shout out to this Sunday’s match-up between Green Bay and Washington, which features the lone two teams with multiple liabilities. At least each team has a strength, but then again, every team does.
This table will now be referenced for each of the 11 postseason match-ups. This will allow us to pick a winner in team balance as our first of the Four Postseason Factors. Up next, we will break down the coaching situation for our second factor. Make sure to check that out as continue we will continue our week-long postseason study tomorrow!