(9-8) Seattle Seahawks (7) @ (2) San Francisco 49ers (13-4)
The NFL playoffs are finally here! The San Francisco 49ers may have missed out on the number 1 seed, but they come into this week off the back of a 38-13 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. San Fran are coming into the playoffs off the back of 10 straight wins and they will fully believe that this is their conference, if not their league to lose. As for Seattle, they picked up the big win over the Los Angeles Rams last week (in overtime) before they watched Detroit defeat the Green Bay Packers to send the Seahawks to the playoffs. Seattle come into the playoffs off the back of 2 straight wins and it’s pretty remarkable that the Seahawks are in the playoffs given the fact that everyone expected them to win about 4 games. Overall, I am picking the 49ers. The Seahawks have been on an amazing journey all season long, but they don’t feel like a team that has enough to stop the 49ers. An important thing to mention also is the 49ers are 6-0 against teams in the NFC West this season. Finally, this is a pretty big game in my family as it’s my team vs my Dad’s team.
(10-7) Los Angeles Chargers (5) @ (4) Jacksonville Jaguars (9-8)
After two seasons of being the worst team in football, the Jacksonville Jaguars host a playoff game. Jacksonville secured their spot in the playoffs and sealed the AFC South last week with a 20-16 victory against the Tennessee Titans. The Jags are coming into the playoffs off the back of 5 straight wins and they would love to keep this amazing story going. As for LA, they faltered a bit last week on the road against the Denver Broncos, but they still ended up securing the number 5 seed. The Chargers come into this game with their confidence lower than it really should’ve been, but they will still expect to win. Overall, I am saying that the Jacksonville Jaguars are advancing to the divisional round of the playoffs. The Jags won 5 games in a row to get here and they showed last Saturday that they can get the job done in a “win or go home” scenario. Also, my confidence has gone down with the Chargers after their poor loss in Denver.
(9-8) Miami Dolphins (7) @ (2) Buffalo Bills (13-3)
AFC East rivals collide as the Buffalo Bills host the Miami Dolphins in the Wild Card round. The Bills knew going into their game with the New England Patriots that they couldn’t get the number 1 seed. They beat the Patriots 35-23 which saw New England miss out on a spot in the playoffs altogether. Buffalo are coming into the playoffs off the back of 7 straight wins and they will fully feel that they are the best team in football. As for Miami, they won a real slugfest against the New York Jets (11-6) and due to the Patriots losing to the Bills, Miami find themselves in the playoffs. Miami will feel good about that win, but it’s going to be very hard for them to get a result in this one. Overall, I’m going with the Buffalo Bills. The Bills just feel like a force that’s going to be incredibly difficult to stop and I can’t see the Dolphins having enough, especially given the fact that Tua Tagovailoa is out due to injury.
(9-7-1) New York Giants (6) @ (3) Minnesota Vikings (13-4)
The Minnesota Vikings comfortably beat the Chicago Bears on the road last week, but they still had to settle for the number 3 seed. The Vikings are coming into the playoffs off the back of that win against Chicago and they will fully expect to win this game. As for New York, they played decent in Philadelphia last week, but they still came up short against the Eagles (16-22). New York come into this game delighted to be back in the playoffs, but can they keep this amazing season going? Overall, I’m picking the Vikings. The Vikings have played really well this season and even though New York have exceeded expectations, I can’t see them playing any further part in the 2022 NFL Season.
(10-7) Baltimore Ravens (6) @ (3) Cincinnati Bengals (12-4)
Rivals collide once again as the Cincinnati Bengals host the Baltimore Ravens in a special edition of Sunday Night Football. The Bengals reminded everyone last week just how good they are when they defeated the Baltimore Ravens 27-16 (at home). Cincinnati are coming into the playoffs off the back of 8 straight wins and they will fully believe that they can make it to the Super Bowl and win the whole thing. As for Baltimore, they missed out on the chance to take the number 5 seed because they lost to Cincinnati. The Ravens come into the playoffs off the back of 2 straight losses so they certainly don’t have the momentum in this one. Overall, I am picking the Bengals. Cincinnati have looked unstoppable recently whilst the Ravens look like a normal team. It's going to be two straight defeats for Baltimore in Ohio.
(12-5) Dallas Cowboys (5) @ (4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-9)
The final game of “Super Wild Card Weekend” sees Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers host Dak Prescott’s Dallas Cowboys. Tampa Bay once again looked poor last week and that resulted in them losing 17-30 in Atlanta. The Bucs are coming into the playoffs as the only team under .500 and they really have no confidence at all. As for Dallas, they were comfortably beaten by the Washington Commanders in Week 18 (6-26). The Cowboys come into the playoffs with way less momentum than they should have, but they are still a better team than the Bucs. Overall, I’m actually going to say that Tampa Bay wins this game. Tampa Bay have been really poor this season, but they have Tom Brady and he is definitely capable of pulling out something special in the playoffs. Also, it’s Dallas in the playoffs.
Comments