Happy new year and happy postseason football! After just 17 short weeks, last year's Super Bowl champion is already out of contention, opening up this year's playoffs for a new team to claim the crown. There will be no Eli Manning, no Drew Brees, no Big Ben, no Tony Romo and no Tim Tebow. Peyton Manning leads the Broncos as the No. 1 AFC seed with Tom Brady close on his heels. Matt Ryan and the Falcons head into the NFC playoffs with home-field advantage as they try to avoid yet another postseason collapse. Will this year be any different?
Like Nate Silver did for the 2012 election, we do for the 2012 NFL playoffs. Using the mystical powers of math, we let you know first who will be hoisting the Lombardi trophy.
Please note that all rankings refer to the opponent-adjusted efficiency as calculated by numberFire, not the gross yardage.