On paper, the Rams have the more talented team. They have a great coach too. The Patriots still have possibly the best coach and quarterback of all time, and that means more experience. The Rams’ best player, Todd Gurley, seems to be playing injured. It feels like a good chance the Patriots win. That said, Goff seems like exactly the kind of quarterback that somehow pulls of the upset against Brady in the Super Bowl. It’s illogical, but I’m picking the Rams.
Prediction: Rams win
While I think the Saints are the much better team and the Saints have a great home-field advantage, I think this game will be much closer than many might expect. Considering the expectations we generally have for the Saints at home, their offense wasn’t at their most explosive last week. Had the Eagles scored a single touchdown after the 1st quarter, they would’ve won. I trust the Saints to win this, but I won’t be shocked if the Rams pull off the upset.
Prediction: Saints win
Mahomes showed up in his first playoff game in a way that most 1st-time playoff quarterbacks do not and Andy Reid couldn’t find a way to blow that game against the Colts. But, as great as Andrew Luck and the Colts have been lately, playing the Patriots in the playoffs is going to be a next-level challenge. The Chiefs do have a great home-field advantage, but the weather won’t be something this Pats team isn’t already used to, so that advantage might be minimized. Obviously Mahomes is unbelievable and this Chiefs team is legit, but there’s no way I’m picking against Brady and Belichick against Andy Reid and a young quarterback.
Prediction: Patriots win
The Colts are going to put up a lot points, but even with the Chief’s playoff history, I think they’ll be able to put up more points than the Colts. This will likely be similar to the AFC Wild Card game in 2014 that the Colts won 45-44, but I think the Chiefs will pull this off.
Prediction: Chiefs win
The Cowboys needed the Seahawks to lose their kicker and abandon their most lethal weapon in Russel Wilson to barely beat the Seahawks by 2 at home. The Rams have struggled a bit recently, but I think they’ll be able to put up enough points to win this game.
Prediction: Rams Win
The Chargers are going to the AFC Championship game. This Patriots team has some good wins this season, but it just feels like even if this isn’t the end of their run, this year isn’t going to be a Super Bowl year for them. Too many holes, too many unhealthy guys, and things unfortunately didn’t work out for Josh Gordon. The Chargers demonstrated they don’t need home-field and they 10am Pacific start time didn’t seem to hurt them either.
Prediction:Â Chargers win
The Nick Foles thing is cute, but let’s be real, he’s not beating Drew Brees in New Orleans. The home-field advantage is legit for the Saints and they are probably going to score 40+ on the Eagles’ secondary. I think it’s awesome what Foles has done to keep the Eagles’ season alive and obviously his post-season last year was incredible, but the Saints are going to annihilate this Eagles team.
Prediction: Saints Win
These teams feel pretty even, and by default, it seems like the home team would be the pick. But, I think I just trust Andrew Luck more in this situation, considering he’s got playoff experience. DeShaun Watson has a college football championship under his belt, and that counts for something, but Luck has played in a handful of NFL playoff games and even been to an AFC Championship game, so I’lol give the Colts the slight edge.
Prediction: Colts win
I’m worried about picking against the home team in too many of these games, but so many of these late Cowboys wins feel fluke-y or like they barely beat bad teams. The Seahawks don’t typically lose in the first round and they’ve been able to win some big games. Then again, they’ve played a lot of those at home. I think it’ll be a close one, but the Seahawks will pull it off.
Prediction: Seahawks win
I said I didn’t want to pick too many games against the home team, but that’s kind of irrelevant when it comes to the Chargers. They went 7-1 on the road and 5-3 at home. The “road” game they lost was in Los Angeles anyway. The Ravens are a funky matchup for the Chargers, but I feel like Lamar Jackson Jr. is going to be prone to rookie mistakes in his first playoff game.
Prediction: Chargers win
The Eagles have been on a tear and the defending champs seem to look like they’re ready to defend their title. But this Bears team seems ready and their home-field advantage is legit. The Eagles pulling this off wouldn’t shock me, considering Mitch Trubisky might give them plenty of opportunities to take the ball back. But I think the Bears can keep this game at their pace style.
Prediction: Bears win
I’ve been mostly wrong this post-season, so I’m not afraid to be wrong again. I’ve fooled myself into thinking the Eagles can do this. The Giants made it happen (twice) with a quarterback not much better than Nick Foles and a defense of similar quality. It seems like mediocre quarterbacks have a better shot against the Patriots than great ones, so I’ll let myself believe the Eagles are going to pull this off. The Patriots defense isn’t great, they’ll let the Eagles run and give Foles enough time to make it work. The Patriots obviously have the advantage in terms of experience, but the Eagles have stuck with underdog, “nobody believes in us” attitude and rode it to two playoff upsets, I don’t think they’ll be scared. So, fuck it. The Eagles are really gonna do it this time.
Prediction: Eagles win
No one really knows what’s going on with Brady’s hand and there is no reason to believe Belichick doesn’t have whatever magic it might take to get Brian Hoyer to win and AFC Championship game. I think people make too much of Tom Coughlin’s influence on the Jaguars and how it might mean they’ll beat the Patriots like the Giants have in the past. That said, are Blake Bortles and Eli Manning that much different? So, just for fun, I’m going to buy the Jaguars hype, believe Brady is actually hurt, and assume Hoyer is just as bad on the Pat’s roster as he has been since he left the team… and predict that the Jacksonville Jaguars will be going to Super Bowl 52.
Prediction: Jaguars win
Well, I didn’t trust Case Keenum nor Nick Foles to win last weekend and they both did. I guess I trust Keenum more. The Eagles’ defense seems to play better at home and if they can keep the Vikings under 20 points, they might be able to pull this off. That said, I still think Keenum having so much confidence and a whole season of experience with this team and coaching staff will make a difference. I think the Vikings win, but only if they can put points on the board. If the Eagles can make it an ugly game, it’s theirs.
Prediction: Vikings win
It’s almost impossible to trust the Falcons to win a playoff game, but it’s somehow even harder to trust Nick Foles to win a playoff game. The Falcons should win this one, the Eagles defense seemed to decline towards the end of the season and Nick Foles just couldn’t run the offense effectively. The Falcons SHOULD have confidence after than win over the Rams and have the more talented Quarterback. But, they’re the Falcons, so they could find a way to blow this. My guess is that they don’t do that just yet though.
Prediction: Falcons win
The Titans don’t have a chance in hell, but after Mariota’s performance last week, I expect them to put up a good fight. But, there’s not much mystery as to who wins this one.
Prediction: Patriots win
The Jaguars annihilated the Steelers in Pittsburgh in Week 5, but their performance against the Bills, especially Bortles’, shouldn’t inspire much confidence. I think the Jags have a shot if Bortles plays like he did at his peak in the middle of the season and Antonio Brown isn’t quite himself. But, the Steelers’ offense, even against the Jag’s excellent defense, will probably score too much for the Jaguars to keep up.
Prediction: Steelers win
The Vikings beat the Saints at home in Week 1, but that was Week 1 and since then Sam Bradford got injured and now the Vikings are starting Case Keenum. Also since then, Alvin Kamara has had a breakout year (as has the Vikings’ Adam Thielen). Either way, it’s hard to know if the result will be the same and Drew Brees has had a few monster games this season that make me feel like he’ll be able to turn it up in a playoff game in a way that Case Keenum won’t.
Prediction: Saints win
Photo by Denny Medley – USA Today
While it’s tough to trust Alex Smith and Andy Reid in a playoff game, they should be able to beat up on the weak opponent that is the Tennessee Titans. This might be slightly less depressing than the Raiders vs. Texans game last year, but less one-sided than Chiefs vs. Texans from the year before.
Prediction: Chiefs win
The Falcons were able to squeak out a few good wins and slide into the last Wild Card spot, but they’re desperate to be put out of their misery. The Rams might be young and inexperienced, but they actually want to win. This might start off close, but I expect the Rams to blow this open in the 2nd half, if not the 2nd quarter. I hope we get to see a few awesome Todd Gurley playoff games.
Prediction: Rams win
As much as I love that one of these teams HAS to win, I hate that one of them has to lose. The Bills have a pretty good chance of winning if LeSean McCoy can play. The Bills have the better Quarterback and possibly the better running back, depending on health. If the Bills defense plays decently or if Blake Bortles gives them the ball more than he does to his own team (I’m a Bortles Believer, but also not blind). Â I think the Jags ultimately win, but this has a decent chance of going either way.
Prediction: Jaguars win
The Saints have had a great year and won both of their regular season games against the Panthers. The Panthers have been inconsistent, but I think the Panthers are the better team and Cam can win this one by himself if he has to. Of course it’s possible Brees and Kamara both have great games and pull off another win against the Panthers, but I don’t think they pull it off a third time this season.
Prediction: Panthers win
First, predictions for both Bay Area teams:
The Raiders are going to win games with their offense, and lose them because of their defense. I don’t think they’ll necessarily be worse than last year, but they probably won’t go 12-4. They got to beat up on the AFC South and defenses weren’t quite as prepared for their lethal offense. This season they have a more balanced schedule and teams have a better idea of what to prepare for.
The 49ers will almost certainly win more than 2 games this year. Mostly because they have 4 games against the AFC South. They also still get to play the Rams twice. The one thing not in their favor is they don’t get that late Monday Night game. Either way, this team might be somewhat competent this year and it’ll work out in their favor a few times.
AFC East – New England Patriots
Boring pick, but it’s the only reasonable one.
AFC North – Pittsburgh Steelers
It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Bengals or Ravens win the division, especially with Ben Roethlisberger seemingly having one foot out the door, but with Joe Flacco just coming back from injury, and a number of other Ravens players dealing with injuries, plus the Bengals’ Vontaze Burfict being suspended, no one else in the division seems to be in an advantageous position to sneak up on the Steelers.
AFC South – Houston Texans
Somebody has to win this division and if Andrew Luck doesn’t come back early in the season at full health, we can cross the Colts off. I’m not falling for the Jaguars again, no matter how great I think Leonard Fournette is. The Titans seem to have the best chance to beat the Texans for the top spot, but if the Texans were able to win this division with Brock Osweiler last year, I have no doubts they can do it again with DeShawn Watson or Tom Savage.
AFC West – Oakland Raiders
The Broncos’ haven’t improved. The Chargers aren’t going to be significantly better than they were last year. The Chiefs might win it again, but I’m not sold on Alex Smith’s continued success. I think the Raiders might struggle a little more this year than last year, but they’re still the most likely to win the division.
NFC East – New York Giants
It’s unclear how many games Ezekiel Elliot will end up playing, but I think the Cowboys will take a big step back this year. The Giants, on the other hand, have paired quite possible the best receiver in the league, Odell Beckham, with another awesome receiver, Brandon Marshall. Eli will find ways to pass to the defense anyway, but I think he’ll still find ways to take advantage of these two at his disposal.
NFC North – Green Bay Packers
It’s the safe pick, but that’s because no one else in the division is a totally solid team. The Vikings have lost an all-time great running back, and still have Sam Bradford as their starting quarterback. We know what Matthew Stafford and the Lions are. The Bears will be less depressing than they have been the past few years. This is one of the few divisions I would be shocked to see any other team win.
NFC South – Carolina Panthers
It wouldn’t shock me if any of the four teams won this division. They all have legitimate starting quarterbacks, which is more than I can say for most teams in the league. I think Cam Newton having both Jonathan Stewart and Christian McCaffrey on the roster will mean he might not have to completely carry the offense. I don’t think they go 15-1 again, but I think this season, people remember how they did and how Cam won
NFC West – Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks will be good. The Carson Palmer is probably done, so the Cardinals probably won’t be great. The Rams and 49ers will probably be a little better than they were last year, but still not good. So the Seahawks, who might be the best team in the NFC, and might just be a pretty good team, should probably win this division.
AFC – New England Patriots
I would love for it to be pretty much ANY other AFC team. But this just doesn’t feel like the year another team breaks through and the other teams that might usually have a shot like the Steelers or Ravens, don’t seem to be in a place to win it. So yeah, the Patriots will probably be in the Super Bowl.
NFC – New York Giants
I think the Packers are probably the better team, but their best receivers always seem to have trouble getting through the season. As much as Brady vs. Rodgers in the Super Bowl would be awesome, if the Giants beat the Patriots again, that would just be the best.
This isn’t the most likely outcome, but it would just be so damn funny.
The Bonus Beat 