Five NFL teams under the most pressure to win in playoffs

The NFL playoffs begin on Saturday with wild-card weekend, and this is where the pressure really starts to pick up. Success or failure in the NFL is largely determined by what teams and players do in the playoffs, but some teams are facing more pressure than others.

Not just in terms of reaching the Super Bowl or winning the Super Bowl, but just making some sort of a run. So let's take a look at five teams facing the most pressure to find some sort of success this postseason. 

1. Buffalo Bills

If not now for the Bills, then when?

There is a strong argument to be made that the Bills have the best quarterback remaining in the playoffs in Josh Allen. That alone gives them an edge over most teams, no matter where the game is being played. 

The Bills are in year eight of the Allen-Sean McDermott era. They have been to two AFC Championship games and have not yet broken through to the Super Bowl.

There is no Patrick Mahomes in this playoff field. No Joe Burrow. No Lamar Jackson. The path is right there for the taking. They may not get many better opportunities than this. 

2. Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers are not necessarily facing Super Bowl-or-bust expectations here, because nobody really expects them to win the Super Bowl. Or even get there. But at some point, they have to do something in the playoffs.

They have not won a playoff game since the 2016 season and enter Monday's game against the Houston Texans on a six-game postseason losing streak, with many of those games being completely noncompetitive. 

Head coach Mike Tomlin's job probably is not on the line, but his reputation is. He and his team need to show they can at least get closer to a Super Bowl and make some progress. They can not lose an noncompetitive game. They can not get crushed at home. They need to win at least one game just to change the narrative. 

3. San Francisco 49ers

Head coach Kyle Shanahan has helped build an outstanding team in San Francisco, but it is just missing one big thing. A Vince Lombardi Trophy to justify and solidify everything they have done over the years. They keep getting close, but keep falling just short. 

Eventually, that frustration starts to reach a boiling point, and just getting close is not good enough anymore.  

Not only that, they have had some truly crushing postseason defeats where they have let multiple score second half leads slip away. They have a great team that is playing well down the stretch, and the Super Bowl is in their stadium. 

4. Philadelphia Eagles

Normally, the defending champions are at the bottom of the pressure list because there is still a grace period from the previous year's success. 

That is the case in normal places, with normal sports fans.

Philadelphia is not a normal place. Philadelphia is not full of normal sports fans.

That is not meant to be an insult, either. It is just the way things are. The Eagles offense has been stagnant and at times unwatchable this season, and they lost four of their seven games down the stretch run of the regular season.

Head coach Nick Sirianni might not be on the hot seat, but assistants certainly are. Players might be. Winning in Philadelphia does not produce satisfaction. It produces an unquenchable thirst for more winning.

5. Seattle Seahawks

Every time the Seahawks have been the No. 1 seed in the NFC, they have reached the Super Bowl. They are the No. 1 seed this year and have home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. That creates a certain level of expectation.

The real pressure here, however, might be on quarterback Sam Darnold, who has to erase the bad image of last year's playoff performance and show that he can, in fact, be a big-game, Super Bowl-winning quarterback.