The NFL playoffs are here. On Saturday afternoon, the Los Angeles Rams and Carolina Panthers will kick off the festivities, which will go on until February 8th, when a new Super Bowl champion will be crowned.

There has never been more parity in the NFL. I truly believe that 12 of the 14 playoff teams have a realistic shot of not just making it to the Super Bowl, but winning it. That means there are 12 fanbases out there that truly believe this could be their year, but I’m here to temper everyone’s expectations.

Here is one reason why every single NFL playoff team will not win the Super Bowl.

Denver Broncos: Offensive Consistency

The one big knock on the Denver Broncos this year has been their offensive consistency. Their defense has been rock solid pretty much all season, but their offense has almost let them down in multiple spots this year.

Bo Nix has been solid in year two, but he’s been very inconsistent, especially in the early portion of games. All you have to do is look at his last four games of the season. He threw for 302 yards, four touchdowns, and zero interceptions against the Packers, but in the three games since, he has combined to throw for 225 yards per game with two touchdowns and two picks. That tells you all you need to know about how inconsistent he’s been this season.

The Broncos should be one of the favorites to win it all because their defense is so good that they can overcome when their offense has a bad game, but if they’re going to lose, it’s going to be because Nix and the offense sputter out.

New England Patriots: Lack of Competition

I could’ve gone with lack of playoff experience as a reason for the New England Patriots not to win the Super Bowl, but I’ll go with the lack of competition they faced this year. Look, I’m not trying to hate on the Patriots for having the easiest schedule known to man, because you don’t get to pick your schedule, but you have to acknowledge the fact that they’ve played two teams with a winning record this year (Buffalo twice, Pittsburgh once), and they’re 1-2 against those teams.

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I believe teams that are battle-tested in the regular season usually perform better in the playoffs. They know how to perform when the lights are the brightest against the stiffest competition, and that’s something this Patriots team simply hasn’t shown they can do, even if it’s to no fault of their own. I love Drake Maye and Co., but I think they’re ahead of schedule, and the lack of competition they faced is going to catch up to them.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Inexperience

The Jacksonville Jaguars are another team that is far ahead of schedule, and I think it could hurt them as early as the first round. This team is very inexperienced when it comes to playoff football. You can point back to their comeback win over LA, but that was three years ago. Since then, they’ve gone 9-8 and 4-13, fired their coach, and brought in a first-year head coach. A lot of change has happened since then, so while yes, Trevor Lawrence has some postseason experience, that’s not true for this entire roster and coaching staff.

The real reason this scares me is that they have to play Buffalo in round one. The Bills are the most experienced playoff team in the AFC this year, so they know how to perform under the bright lights. I think the Jags have a bright future, but their inexperience will likely hurt them in the postseason.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Offensive Struggles

I don’t think I need to talk too much about this one. The AFC North winner was never going to win the Super Bowl this year, and the biggest reason why for the Steelers is their offensive struggles. Aaron Rodgers played his best game of the season to sneak the Steelers in, but they haven’t proven they can consistently score a lot of points, especially against a defense like Houston. I don’t see them getting out of the first round.

Houston Texans: C.J. Stroud

I don’t like to call myself a C.J. Stroud hater, but I’m certainly not a C.J. Stroud believer. I’ll give him credit, he’s been playing much better during Houston’s win streak than he was early in the season, but he still hasn’t been all that impressive. In 14 games this year, Stroud averaged 217 yards per game while throwing 18 touchdowns to nine interceptions. Those aren’t awful numbers, but they’re not great either.

If Houston doesn’t make it far in the playoffs, it won’t be because of their defense; it’ll be because of Stroud and this offense. Even in their 38-30 win over Indy last week, Stroud threw for just 169 yards and a touchdown. He did what he needed to do, but that won’t be enough when they have to travel to Denver or New England or wherever in the Divisional or maybe even Conference Championship round. The Texans have the defense to win it all. It’s up to Stroud to step up his game.

Buffalo Bills: Run Defense

The Buffalo Bills have a couple of big reasons why they won’t win the Super Bowl this year. I thought about going with the lack of playmakers on the outside, but in the end, I think it may be their run defense that does them in.

Buffalo had a solid run defense last year, but in 2025, they rank 28th in rushing yards allowed per game (136.2) and 30th in yards per carry allowed (5.1). We’ve seen them get gashed by opposing running backs time and time again, and in the playoffs, you need to be able to stop the run. Luckily, a lot of the elite running backs in the AFC (Jonathan Taylor, De’Von Achane, Derrick Henry) didn’t make it to the postseason, but guys like Travis Etienne and TreVeyon Henderson are capable of giving them some trouble.

Los Angeles Chargers: Offensive Line

The Los Angeles Chargers’ biggest problem is easily their offensive line. With Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt out, they have been absolutely horrific, and it has completely changed the dynamic of this offense. Justin Herbert was being brought up in MVP conversations before they got hurt, but now, he’s being viewed as an average quarterback.

Per PFF, the Chargers’ offensive line ranks 31st in pass blocking and 32nd in run blocking. I’m not 100 percent sure, but that has to be the first time a team with the worst offensive line in the league has made the postseason. I just don’t see a team winning four straight playoff games with an offensive line this bad.

Seattle Seahawks: Sam Darnold

Sam Darnold has balled out the last two years, but I’m concerned about how he’ll play in the postseason. Last year in Minnesota, Darnold threw for 245 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in a 27-9 loss. The Vikings were 14-3 and were first-round exits. I’m afraid that might happen again this year.

We don’t know who Seattle will face in the Divisional Round, but it’ll likely be Philadelphia or Los Angeles, two teams with very good defenses. If the Seahawks are going to lose in the playoffs, it’s going to be because Darnold fails to show up in a big game once again.

Chicago Bears: Can’t Keep Relying on Late-Game Situations

Heading into Week 17, the Chicago Bears were 7-2 in one-score games. They seemed to always come through in the clutch, but I always felt like eventually playing all these close games was going to bite them in the butt, and I was right. Over the last two weeks of the season, the Bears found themselves in one-score games against the 49ers and Lions, and they lost them both. Of their seven one-score wins this season, just three had come against teams with a winning record, and none of them had more than 10 wins. Then, they had to face two very tough opponents, and they lost out in late-game situations.

In the playoffs, you don’t get an easy game. Green Bay is 9-7-1, but that’s because they basically forfeited their final three games to ensure Jordan Love was healthy for the playoffs. I can tell you right now that game, and any other they play this postseason, is going to be close, and Chicago has to make sure they can win a tight one.

The Bears don’t have a good enough defense to blow teams out, so it’s always going to come down to the wire, and they haven’t proven they can consistently beat good teams in one-score games.

Philadelphia Eagles: Offense

We’ve been waiting all season for the Philadelphia Eagles to put it together on offense. We’ve seen flashes of it throughout the season, but they fail to string together consecutive good games, and in the postseason, you’re not going to be able to get away with that four games in a row.

The Eagles have an elite defense that can mask a lot of deficiencies, but they can only do so much. In their six losses this year, the Eagles have scored over 20 points just one time, and they have been held to 20 or fewer points in nine of their 17 games this year. That’s not good enough to bring the Lombardi back to Philly. If they want to win the Super Bowl, they need to figure it out offensively, but they’ve given us no reason to believe they can.

Carolina Panthers: Everything

There are probably a thousand reasons the Carolina Panthers won’t win the Super Bowl this year. Bryce Young isn’t good enough. They aren’t talented enough on the outside, their offensive line is average, and their secondary is meh. Furthermore, they’re 28th in sacks per game, and their run defense is below average. And we haven’t even talked about how inexperienced they are, having not been to the playoffs in eight years.

The Panthers have no shot at winning the Super Bowl this year, and I think even their fans would agree.

Los Angeles Rams: Another Slip Up

The Los Angeles Rams have felt like the most complete team to me for much of the year, but they just keep having these odd slip-ups. First, they lost to Carolina, then they gave up a two-score lead in the fourth quarter to Seattle before following that up with a loss to Atlanta. This team is built for success, and yet they keep shooting themselves in the foot.

The only thing stopping the Rams from winning the Super Bowl is themselves. They have the quarterback, they have the receivers and running back, and they have the defense. If they don’t shoot themselves in the foot, they will hoist the Lombardi at the end of the year.

San Francisco 49ers: Defense

The San Francisco 49ers were one of the hottest teams in the NFL before they ran into the buzzsaw that is the Seattle Seahawks. They had won six games in a row and were averaging 35.7 points per game during that span before scoring just three points against the Seahawks in the regular season finale.

I’m not concerned about their offense. They’ll bounce back and be just fine. But I have some pretty big concerns about their defense. In 2025, the 49ers have faced seven playoff teams. They are 3-4 and have given up 26 points per game, and in their last three contests against playoff teams, that number has risen to 31. Injuries to Nick Bosa and Fred Warner have not helped, but everyone deals with injuries; so, they must find a way if they want to win it all.

Green Bay Packers: Jordan Love

Jordan Love is a good quarterback, but when it comes to the postseason, it’s a whole different story. He actually started his postseason career with a really strong 272-yard, three-touchdown performance against Dallas, but it’s all been downhill since then. In his two playoff games since that win, Love has thrown for 406 yards, two touchdowns, and five interceptions.

If the Packers want to make a run at the Lombardi, they need Love to show up. Their defense is good, but it’s not elite. They can’t be like Houston and win every game by scoring 21 points. At some point, Love is going to have to go put 30 on the board, and I’m just not sure he can do it.