It’s time to get into the middle-iest of the NFL’s middle, as Conor and Gary continue their four-at-a-time season preview countdown. This episode features two 2021 playoff teams, one underdog darling and one former underdog darling of whom we’ve talked about quite a bit.

Once again, we will not reveal who the teams are in this episode description, but we will provide these clues from our conversations:

Team 20: Taking on the crushing noise that will define 2022.

Team 19: Let’s get carried away with some unbridled optimism for once.

Team 18: They managed to screw everything up over the past 10 months, but maybe the quarterback can carry them to the playoffs anyway.

Team 16: One of the league’s best-coached teams, but can they overachieve yet again?

Come back every Monday for the next four teams in the countdown!

Have a comment, critique or question for a future mailbag? Email themmqb@gmail.com or tweet at @GGramling_SI or @ConorOrr