Cover Photo: Jim Rogash/Getty Images

We all have our favorites for this year's NFL playoffs, but a couple of the top dogs are standing out above the rest.

With the 12 playoff teams having much different regular-season schedules, there are two that also seemingly dominated the postseason competition during the year.

The New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints combined for a 7-1 record against the playoff field during the season, with the lone loss being a 13-10 stinker for New Orleans against the No. 4 seed in the NFC, the Dallas Cowboys

There's a reason why the ​Saints are considered the best team in football and the Patriots are, well, the Patriots.

It just goes to show how different the regular season is. The Chiefs may have the best record in the AFC, but they struggled against the best, going 2-4 against playoff teams. And their two wins were against the Chargers in Week 1 and Lamar Jackson in just his fourth-career start for the Ravens.

This is business as usual for New England. Yes, they've looked sloppy at times with a 7-5 record against teams on the outside looking in, but it shows the importance of this team playing their best when it counts. That's the kind of team the Patriots are, and it's the kind of team they need to be if they're potentially going to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. 

This stat just proves how dominant the Saints are. As a team that has top-10 units on both sides of the ball, they're built to last against the top competition. They outlasted a defensive-powerhouse in the Ravens, outscored the high-powered offense of the Rams and slapped around the defending-champion Eagles.

Granted, everything is different once you reach the postseason, so we'll have to wait and see if the regular season was a representation of the future for the Pats and Saints.

