The NFL has reached the Divisional Playoff Round, which means 24 teams are sitting at home, with just eight remaining alive in NFL 100.

To have advanced this far, each team has proven itself as unquestionably elite, evidenced by the combined 96-36 record (72.2% win rate) of these surviving teams, along with the five division titles that are attached to their resumes.

Despite their collective brilliance, each of the remaining Super Bowl LIV contenders possesses at least one weakness which may derail their championship plans, and, one which their rivals will be looking to exploit over the coming weeks.

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So without further ado, let’s get our detective hats (and maybe our smoking pipes!) out, and identify just what those vulnerabilities might be.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS: DEFENSIVE TURNOVER PRODUCTION

The San Francisco 49ers thoroughly deserved their #1 seed in the NFC, in the process ending a five-year playoff drought.

Underpinning their excellent season was the rapid improvement of quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, along with one of the league's most dangerous rush attacks. Both electrified, owing to head coach Kyle Shanahan's exquisite play-calling throughout the season.

On defense, San Francisco was just as sharp, rated #2 in DVOA, led by its menacing defensive line which proved a constant annoyance for opposition quarterbacks, with the 49ers generating pressure on 14.7% of dropbacks, which was the highest mark in the league.

Yet despite all the 49er productivity on defense, it hasn’t translated to turnovers in recent times, with the Niners failing to produce a multi-turnover game since Week 11 against Arizona.

The 49ers produced 20 takeaways over its first nine games, but have just seven over its last seven, which has resulted in San Francisco often finding itself in nail-biting finishes, with their Week 17 division-clinching showdown against Seattle being a perfect example of needing each and every inch of late.

San Francisco’s current inability to dial-up turnovers might come down to how much pressure they can generate against the Minnesota Vikings offensive line, which has been stout this season, conceding sacks on just 5.7% of pass attempts, the eighth-best mark in the league.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS: A 'PLAN B' ON OFFENSE

The magnitude of the Minnesota Vikings' Wildcard win against the New Orleans Saints at the Superdome can't be underestimated. Not only was it one of the most brilliant victories in Vikings franchise history, but it may well have swung the narrative of both GM Rick Spielman's tenure and the expensive Kirk Cousins acquisition.

The win keeps the Vikings' season alive, even if their reward is a trip to San Francisco to face the 13-3 San Francisco 49ers, who bulldozed their way through the NFC in 2019.

The Vikings have been exceptionally well-balanced all season, ranked #7 for defense and #10 for offense, with Cousins delivering in spades - to say nothing of running back, Dalvin Cook, who notched up 1,654 all-purpose yards along with 14 touchdowns.

The Cousins-Cook combination has been exceptionally good for each other, with the Vikings offense featuring plenty of pass action, resulting in defenses often caught in no man's land as to whether to defend Cook's run threat or be mindful of how dangerous Cousins is as a passer.

However, if the Vikings do have a weak spot, it’s when their running game breaks down, which, though not a regular occurrence, has endured catastrophic results when it has.

This season, when the Vikings have failed to produce at least 100 yards on the ground, they boast a very poor 1-4 record. Conversely, when they have been able to surpass 100 yards, they are a 10-2 winning team with their latest 136-yard offering very much fuelling their upset win over the Saints.

Whether the 49ers will allow Minnesota to get into their dangerous offensive rhythm might be the difference as to whether the Vikings can advance to their second NFC Championship in three seasons, or return to the Twin Cities to lick its wounds.

BALTIMORE RAVENS: RUSH DEFENSE

When a team wins an NFL-best 14 regular-season games, is led by the presumptive MVP in Lamar Jackson, has the #2 rated offense in the NFL and a defense which conceded the third least amount of points in the league, finding a weakness isn’t the most simple of tasks.

With that said, the Baltimore Ravens do have one Achilles’ heel, and it’s one that may well play into the Tennessee Titans' hands when the two square off on the weekend.

For as brilliant as Baltimore has been this season, they have a clear and present vulnerability when it comes to stopping the run, with Football Outsiders assessing their rush defense as the game’s 19^th best unit.

Because teams have so often found themselves behind in matches against the Ravens, opponents haven’t had the luxury of establishing their run game, with the 340 rush attempts against Baltimore constituting the league’s lowest figure.

The Ravens are, however, conceding 4.4 yards per rush which is the 12^th worst mark in the league. In fact, both Ravens losses this season have come when opponents have been able to get their run games going, with the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs combining for 333 yards on the ground in those two defeats.

In addition, the Ravens are yet to encounter a figure quite like Tennessee’s Derrick Henry, who has marauded his way through the NFL in 2019, with a regular-season rushing title backed up by a monstrous, 182-yard Wildcard outing against the New England Patriots. It was a performance which would have undoubtedly sent a chill through the Ravens' organisation, with a repeat dose the precise recipe which could stop this remarkable Baltimore season in its tracks.

TENNESSEE TITANS: INEXPERIENCE

The Tennessee Titans are one of the most in-form teams in the NFL, winning nine of its last 12 games, claiming a Wild Card, and, of course, traveling into Foxboro where they knocked off the New England Patriots - perhaps ending an NFL dynasty in the process.

And, while the Titans have been brilliant, question marks understandably persist regarding their Super Bowl bonafides, as they are in completely uncharted waters on so many levels.

It’s not often a Wild Card team, let a lone a 9-7 team, advances this far, to say nothing of a team piloted by a quarterback in Ryan Tannehill who only took over the starting job in October, after years of underachievement in Miami.

Not only does Tennessee have very little playoff pedigree - with this just their second postseason appearance in eleven seasons - but head coach, Mike Vrabel, is in just his second year at the helm in Nashville having only worked as an assistant in the NFL for three years prior to his Titans appointment.

Thankfully, Tennessee’s style of play belies their inexperience, with their hard-nosed running run game centred around Derrick Henry propelling their late 2019 surge.

If they can hold their nerve once gain this week against the Baltimore Ravens, then yet another upset is on the cards for this young, upstart Titans team.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: RUSH DEFENSE

From a defensive standpoint, the Kansas City Chiefs have improved considerably under new Defensive Coordinator, Steve Spagnoulo, this season, with the unit’s sharp improvement a key reason as to why the Chiefs didn’t buckle when quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, was injured - ultimately claiming their fourth consecutive AFC West title.

However, for all their advances under Spagnuolo, one element which remains of concern is their continued susceptibility to opponents with elite running games, with the Chiefs rush defense ranked just 29th according to DVOA. 

The Chiefs were one of just sevens teams to concede more than 2000 yards on the ground in 2019, while the 4.9 yards per attempt conceded was a figure only the lowly Panthers, Jaguars and Browns performed worse in.

On the face of it, their match up against the Houston Texans presents as a favourable one, owing to Houston not being renowned for its run game. Having said that, when the Texans did beat the Chiefs earlier in the season, their run game suddenly came to life, amassing 192 yards on the ground along with three touchdowns.

If the Chiefs can ensure they're not once again gashed at ground level, they could find themselves in back-to-back AFC title games for the first time in franchise history.

HOUSTON TEXANS: THE SECONDARY

Say want you want about the Houston Texans, but they have an uncanny ability to get the job done, continually defying external expectations in the process. Not only did they claim the AFC South for a sixth time in nine seasons, but their Wildcard win over the Buffalo Bills on Saturday was their fifth post-season triumph in the last eight seasons.

While JJ Watt’s miraculous return played a significant role in Houston’s come from behind win, this is a defense which remains highly questionable, and exists as the very worst statistical unit among the eight remaining Super Bowl aspirants.

It's also a unit which is in season worst form, having surrendered at least 400 yards in six of their last nine matches. That 400 number was surpassed just once in their first nine games, as their health and potency have slumped considerably in the second half of the season. 

This week they’ll face off against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead, which was a venue they went into earlier in the season and prevailed, despite another a largely excellent Patrick Mahomes outing.

While they remain significant underdogs, it’d take a brave person to bet against the never-say-die Texans, despite so many metrics suggesting otherwise.

GREEN BAY PACKERS: RECORD AGAINST THE NFL ELITE

After a two-year playoff drought, the Green Bay Packers have returned under first year head coach, Matt LaFleur, to win the NFC North.

While the Packers reappearance in the postseason should be applauded, as too, should the discovery of a legitimately excellent ground game led by Aaron Jones, Green Bay were able to graduate to the playoffs because of a particularly gentle schedule, with just five of their 16 matches this season against teams who eventually made the playoffs.

While they did beat the Minnesota Vikings twice this season to ultimately land their first division title since 2016, they were pulverised in their Week 12 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers 37-8, while they also lost at home earlier in the season against the Philadelphia Eagles.

They’ll host a Seattle Seahawks teams with Russell Wilson under centre, who has the potential to give the Packers and their 15^th ranked defense fits this weekend.

Green Bay is the one team who it still feels like we haven’t got a complete grasp on this far into the season, despite their division crown and five-game winning streak to close out the season. The relative mystery which surrounds this team is yet another reason why their match-up against Seattle is one of the most mouth-watering of the weekend.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS: RUSH DEFENSE

After being weighed down by injuries all season, the Philadelphia Eagles weren’t exactly in a position to exploit the Seattle Seahawks Achilles’s heel last weekend - their inability to consistently stop the run.

While the Russell Wilson-led Seahawks offense can’t be questioned, the composition of its defense certainly can. In fact, this is a defense which has been built with speed and improvisation in mind, but is sorely lacking in a consistent physical presence, and has often been manhandled throughout the season.

In 2019, the Seahawks conceded 1,883 yards on the ground, along with 22 touchdowns, which was the league’s third worst mark, with Football Outsiders' famed DVOA metrics ranking their rush defense as the game’s 26^th ranked unit.  

When the Seahawks have conceded more than 120 rushing yards in a match they are 2-4 this season. When they have been able to limit the opposition ground game to 120 yards or less, Seattle boasts a 10-1 record.

They’ll this week be pitted against the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Jones, who has been a revelation this season, and a key factor as to why the Packers are ranked number #4 in DVOA rushing. It’s a main reason which could prove the difference as to whether Seattle’s’ remarkable season continues or ends at historic Lambeau Field this weekend.

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