Which NFL team is the most inevitable come January?

The NFL playoffs are just about here and some teams are more inevitable than others.

The penultimate week of the NFL regular season is in the books and most of the playoff dominoes have been lined up. It is now just a matter of what seeding order they fall in.

We have known which teams are good and which ones are not for some time now, but as the do-or-die tournament approaches it is now time to sort them into specific orders of trust and legitimacy.

Black Monday is a week away and we have to keep eyes on that as well. Ultimately there are a lot of balls in the air and there is a lot to keep track of, but thankfully we here at The Skinny Post (Michael Peterson and RJ Ochoa) exist to help you keep track of it all.

Let’s begin.

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Who is the most inevitable team lurking as the playoffs approach?

RJ:

First things first, I think we can all admit and acknowledge that the answer here is the Kansas City Chiefs. Until they are officially out then I think we are all going to lean in their direction given the massive benefit of the doubt that they have earned.

Understanding this, my non-Chiefs answer is going to be very chalk, but it is fair nonetheless.

I am so all of the way in on the Baltimore Ravens. They are peaking at the right time and doing so as quite literally one of the most robust teams in NFL history.

I’m a believer in learning from past mistakes and hopeful that Baltimore is able to channel what went wrong in 2019 and 2023 as Aaron Schatz noted here (notably the Chiefs won the Super Bowl at the end of both of those seasons and beat the Ravens in the title game in the latter).

Maybe that is taking the cheese for yet another time, but I don’t care. I’m very fine and comfortable going down swinging because this Ravens team just manhandled a division-winning Houston squad with relative ease. It did not look like their Christmas Day win even required but 80% of their overall effort.

Michael:

I’m not suuuuuuper confident in this pick, but my gut tells me this is going to be the Bills’ year to finally break past the Chiefs-colored ghosts of the past and make it to the Super Bowl. Josh Allen got engaged this season and he’s been on a tear ever since. He’s made the MVP conversation incredibly complicated and rightfully so.

They began the year with a terrible receiver room. Now, they have Amari Cooper and those who were in it to begin the season have stepped up and look like a very confident bunch.

Maybe it’s the small amount of hope I’m carrying within me, but I would really NOT like to see the Chiefs get anywhere near a three-peat. Please. I don’t need that in my life coming off a great season by the Chargers in Jim Harbaugh’s first year.

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How much are the Giants going to regret losing out on the first overall pick?

Michael:

The Giants — seemingly out of nowhere — found an offense with quarterback Drew Lock en route to beating the Colts in Week 17 which unfortunately cost the G-Men rights to the first overall pick in this year’s draft.

Now, thanks to strength of schedule, both the Patriots and Jaguars are ahead of them.

So this one is simple: Will the Giants regret winning that game all in the name of “warm fuzzies”? Quarterbacks that help reshape the future of a franchise are a rare thing. The Giants just gave away their best chance at finding their franchise guy and now two teams are ahead of them who will be looking to trade the pick away for a king’s ransom.

With the first pick in hand just two week’s from the finish line, the Giants must now figure out how to navigate an offseason that just got a whole lot murkier.

And to be honest, I’m rooting for the Giants to turn it around fast. After watching their season-opening loss to the Vikings during a home game where many franchise legends came to celebrate their Super Bowl teams, I can’t help but feel such a sad vibe from their fan base. I know you won’t feel anywhere near the same since you’re our resident Cowboys guy, of course.

RJ:

I’ve got absolutely no pity for the Giants as Michael noted, but I do have a take:

The Giants lost out on the number one overall pick in the worst way possible.

We have obviously seen teams “blow” the number one pick before, but consider that the Giants did it in the penultimate game of the regular season. Consider that it happened right after they had taken control of that pick. Basically my point here is that the team held it long enough for families across the fandom to get together over Christmas and get excited about it only for it to be ripped away.

And that it happened right before the offseason starts means that it will be this horrible black cloud hanging over the franchise across the next few months. What’s more is that in the final game of their season, the first in which they have to deal with this new reality, Saquon Barkley (the history there is well-documented) may set the single-season rushing record against them.

It is a stew of volatility. So, yea, I think they’ll regret it a lot!

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Including teams you project to be in this group... which team is the most desirable for a would-be head coach candidate?

RJ:

As Week 18 arrives there are 3 teams who we officially know will be in the market for a head coach: New York Jets, New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears.

If I had to guess (not a comfortable thing, but the situation is what it is) then I’d imagine that the Jacksonville Jaguars are certainly on that list. Contenders to join them in my mind are the (in no particular order) Las Vegas Raiders, Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants. I’d add that things have gone so poorly for the Indianapolis Colts that they should merit some consideration and I would also remind people that once upon a time there was debate surrounding Kevin Stefanski and the Cleveland Browns.

Operating off of this list of sorts... if I was the hottest name on the market (basically if I was Ben Johnson) then I think that I think Chicago is the place that I would want to go. But it is not exactly hard to talk myself out of that given the dysfunction that has surrounded that franchise for basically all of time.

Had the Giants not destroyed the number one overall pick then I would argue that they might win this particular contest and maybe they ultimately do. I suppose if you still believe in Trevor Lawrence that there are worse places to live than Jacksonville, but ultimately I am surprised at how there is no runaway answer.

Michael:

There’s plenty to like about a lot of these teams who are currently in this group or likely about to join it. In my opinion, I still like the Chicago Bears as a place that should garner interest from anyone looking to become a head coach in 2025.

When Caleb Williams was getting drafted earlier this year, the biggest thing I heard from a lot pundits was that this was the best situation to walk into for a number one pick in recent history. He had three legitimate wideouts, a productive running back, and what was initially viewed as a decent defense to support him.

I still think all those things are true, but I never thought Matt Eberflus was the right guy, nor did he hire the right coaches. The Bears need to go after the best offensive coach in the NFL that could be available and like you mentioned, I think that’s Ben Johnson. The problem is, would he leave the Lions to stay in the same division as them? I honestly don’t know.

But yes, the Bears would be my number one while it’s hard not to think the Jaguars would always be an intriguing second with an established quarterback in Trevor Lawrence.

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Has Michael Penix’s performance thus far help justify Kirk Cousins’ benching?

Michael:

Penix has played in two full games since he replaced Cousins as the starting quarterback for the Falcons. In those games, he’s totaled 425 passing yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. He’s gone 1-1 in those games.

Are the early returns what the Falcons hoped for? Well, yes in some areas and no in others.

His first game was a lopsided 34-7 victory over the Giants, but he threw for 202 yards and a pick while running back Bijan Robinson carried the team. On Sunday night against the Commanders, Penix nearly pulled off another victory but fell short in overtime after his head coach essentially held a timeout for no reason that would have aided their kicker on his (missed short) field goal at the end of regulation.

Penix threw for 223 yards with his first NFL passing score and another interception. Better stats, but nothing really noteworthy in an otherwise unfortunate loss that hurt their playoff chances.

A smart person would say they haven’t seen enough to actually give a good answer here, but I’m impatient. I’m saying no, Penix hasn’t done much of anything to make me believe the Falcons wouldn’t have had these exact performances with Cousins still starting.

RJ:

Ultimately I think that the Falcons accomplished the objective of ensuring that they have the right guy for the future. Their offseason could have started by this time next week and if that is the case they will absolutely feel like the darkest part of the night is behind them.

I think it certainly goes without saying that everyone involved acknowledges that the way the Falcons went about this process was silly at best.

But the important questions have been answered relative to the overall goal so I think that they have a right to feel okay about it all.

Now all we need is to figure out where Kirk Cousins is playing in 2025!