Summary: By Warren Sharp As we sit between weeks 8 and 9, let’s examine the teams currently most likely to make the playoffs and isolate one of their biggest problems they need to fix if they hope to not only make the postseason but win it all next February. Below we’ll look at these 12 teams, examine their weakness and share their remaining strength of schedule to close out the season. Video Edition: NFC East: Cowboys – Secondary & Pass Rush With a strong offense led by a great offensive line and a strong ground game, the Cowboys will find themselves ahead late in games. Their opponents will be forced to pass. And the Cowboys have to be able to get more pressure on the opposing quarterback. According to Sharp Football Stats teams are passing against the Cowboys 68% of offensive plays in the second half, well above the NFL average. Against two of the bottom ten teams in pass protection the last 4 weeks (PHI, CIN), Dallas recorded 3+ sacks. But in their other three games since week 2, the Cowboys have a total of 2 sacks. It will be even more vital for them to get pass rush because their secondary suffered two key losses last week, losing DBs Barry Church and Morris Claiborne for multiple weeks. Remaining Ease in Strength of Schedule (1=Easy, 32=Hard): Offense: 15 Defense: 8 NFC North: Vikings – Offensive Line & Play Calling The Vikings must figure out a way to get the most out of their offensive line through scheme and play calling, because right now it is not getting the job done. Sam Bradford has been sacked 11 times the last two weeks, and his passer rating has not cleared 76 in either game. The run game ranks last in efficiency this year and has not even averaged 3.5 yards/carry in any game. The Vikings’ offense ranks dead last in my custom metric Early Down Success Rate. It was well noted that last year I was highly critical of Norv Turner’s persistence in running the ball on first down to start games. Opponents picked up on it and it severely limited the offense. The last 4 weeks, the Vikings are 64% run on first half first downs, which is 2nd most in the NFL. They are gaining just 2.9 ypc on these runs, and then are forced to go pass on 73% of their second and third downs, well above the NFL average. Through intelligent play design and play calling, it is possible to minimize the impact of a bad offensive line. Norv quit the team, so it is incumbent upon the new coordinator to make these moves to improve the offensive efficiency. Remaining Ease in Strength of Schedule (1=Easy, 32=Hard): Offense: 4 Defense: 25 NFC South: Falcons – Defense As high flying as the offense has been, the defense has left much to be desired. With context, the Falcons have faced the 5th most difficult schedule of opposing offenses per Sharp Football Stats. Fortunately, relief may come from that very same schedule over the second half of the season, as Atlanta will face the 4th easiest slate of opposing offenses through the rest of the season. But in order to do right by their solid offense, they must improve their defense. As the opponent progresses the ball down the field, the defense gets worse. Inside of their own 40 yard line, the Falcons defense is allowing opponents to record successful plays 54% of snaps, the highest rate in the NFL. Remaining Ease in Strength of Schedule (1=Easy, 32=Hard): Offense: 24 Defense: 4 NFC West: Seahawks – Offensive Line For a team with just 2 losses in 7 games this year, the sky seems like it is surprisingly falling in Seattle. As Russell Wilson regains his health following a beating absorbed earlier this year, Seattle’s offense should perform better. However, keeping Wilson healthy is vital, and may be difficult. Through the first 8 weeks of the season, Seattle played just one team raking inside the top 15 in pass rush offenses. The rest of the season, they will face 6 teams,
