I have the Redskins ranked higher than the Ravens because they beat them head-to-head and because the NFC is by far the better conference this year overall (AFC divisional winners are 0-6 against NFC playoff teams). However, I like the Ravens to advance further than the Redskins because of their competition. The Redskins have a very good team and are deserving NFC East Champions, but I don’t think they are on the same level as fellow NFC divisional winners Atlanta, San Francisco, and Green Bay, all 3 of whom they’d have to play on the road.

In fact, they don’t even get an easy home game to start things off. They open up as 3 point home dogs against the Seahawks. While the Vikings, Bengals, and Colts, the other 3 wild cards, are ranked as the 3 worst teams in these playoff Power Rankings, the Seahawks might have the best overall team in the league, ranking 1st in DVOA and weighted DVOA. The Redskins saving grace might be their home field advantage as the Seahawks are 3-5 away from their excellent home crowd this season, including losses to teams much worse than Washington like St. Louis, Miami, Arizona, and Detroit. That might not be enough to get the Redskins a playoff win however.

Projected fate: Lose to Seahawks in Wild Card round

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