NFL parity is a myth. Sure, the mantra is 'any given Sunday'. And yes, most of these games, no matter whom the matchup is, comes down to the final portion of the 4th qtr. But when it's all said and done, your favorites and blue blood teams are getting to the playoffs. And the biggest common denominator is good QB play. Most people before the season begins can gauge exactly who will be the big players.
Patriots, Packers, Seattle, Denver with Bengals, Cardinals, Panthers coming behind them. These are no surprises.
It's the usual suspects getting to the championship weekend and then the Super Bowl. Last year's championship weekend was pretty much predicted by most sans Colts but they weren't really a come out of nowhere team, though.