Reverse psychology: 3 NFL postseason contenders, 2 pretenders fans won't expect

Seven teams will make the NFL postseason out of the AFC and seven will make it out of the NFC. While juggernaut teams like the Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers are essentially locks to make it in at this point, there are other clubs whose postseason chances hang in the balances, some of whom are your usual suspects, while others are rarely get invited to the party.

Yes, there are bottom-feeders like the Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears and New York Jets who have virtually no shot of getting in. However, it is roughly that middle quartile in each league that has us so very intrigued. Like, who are the teams getting No. 4 to No. 7 seeds this January? Who could be on the outside looking in at eighth or ninth-place this year. We have five more weeks to figure all this out.

While I will say that the on-field product has been far better this regular season than the last, it is postseason football that drives this sport, in addition to having a never-ending news cycle well into the offseason. Because this is a league driven by parity, at least a handful of teams who missed out on the playoffs a year ago could be back in them for the first time in a while. The NFL sells us hope.

Without further ado, here are three postseason contenders you may not expect, as well as two postseason pretenders who are probably going to come up short at the end of the day this season.

NFL postseason contender: Atlanta Falcons (6-6)

Someone has to win the putrid NFC South, and it might as well be my beloved Atlanta Falcons. In truth, all but the Carolina Panthers are still very much alive to win the worst division in football, as you would be foolish to cross off either the New Orleans Saints or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers just yet. However, 6-6 Atlanta is 4-2 at home this season, and an impressive 3-0 in NFC South play already.

If the Dirty Birds were to sweep Carolina and split the pair between Tampa Bay at home and on the road in New Orleans, Atlanta will have gone 5-1 in NFC South play. That would give the Falcons a huge advantage to win its first division crown since winning the NFC back in 2016. This feels like a lifetime ago. So who else do the Falcons have to play the rest of the way besides all three division rivals once?

They have a home date vs. the Indianapolis Colts on Christmas Eve, followed by a New Year's Eve game on the road vs. the Chicago Bears. Atlanta needs to win in Chicago to avoid potentially being leapfrogged by someone in-division. Honestly, the Colts at home may be their toughest game the rest of the way. Where it stands now, Indianapolis is the only opponent left that has a winning record.

If Atlanta goes something like 3-2 the rest of the way, it will be winning the NFC South with a 9-8 mark.