NFL Playoff Preview & Predictions

With one week left to go, the NFL regular season is coming to an end. Many surprises in both the AFC and NFC this year but the real question is who will prevail?

The NFLs 56th Super Bowl and it will be held at SoFi Stadium  in Los Angeles.

Raster: IxnayVector: Beao, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The NFL’s 56th Super Bowl and it will be held at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

The last week of the regular season is here. NFL playoff spots are starting to become finalized and there’s some serious surprises. The biggest is the Tennessee Titans winning the AFC south. After losing Derrick Henry half way through the season, they did not looking promising. They were one of the teams that prevailed through adversity though and are 11-5 going into week 18. Most of the teams who won their divisions were no shock at all.

Starting with the AFC, the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots are tied for first place in the east division. Both at 10-6, the Bills have the advantage playing the 4-12 New York Jets this week. The Patriots have to deal with a Miami Dolphins team at 8-8 and are playing decent football. The Patriots have played better all year though and have the biggest upside out of the two.

Moving to the North division, the Cincinnati Bengals have clinched at 10-6 going into week 18. A very young squad that has a legit chance to make it to the AFC championship game. That could be their ceiling, but time will tell. The Titans, not a stellar team by any means, managed to get the job done. It’s unlikely they’ll win more than one game in the playoffs, but they’ll go down fighting.

Going to our last division in the AFC we have the West. The Kansas City Chiefs have clinched at 11-5 and are a favorite to win the AFC championship. It’s likely we will see either a Chiefs vs. Bengals match-up or a Chiefs vs. Patriots match-up.

Tommy Brady is going for back to back Super Bowls this year. Coming off a great regular season, will he be able to keep that momentum going into the playoffs? We will see.

The NFC is filled with the better teams by far this season. In the East we have a Dallas Cowboys team who has clinched at 11-5. They look promising in some aspects of the game but lack in many others. If don’t they win more than a game but if they can pair their offense with their defense, they might get something going.

The North is led by the 13-3 Green Bay Packers. Looked at to be the best team in the NFL, they are led by Aaron Rodgers who’s year might be this won. They are known for not being able to win in the playoffs but that may change this year, one of two Super Bowl favorites for sure.

Moving down South we have the 12-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and they are favored to win it all. Coming off a Super Bowl last year, they didn’t lose anyone worth worrying about. Tom Brady has proven he can do anything and there’s no doubt he will continue to win big ball games.

Lastly, we have the West where it’s a tight race for first place between the Los Angeles Rams who are 12-4 and the Arizona Cardinals at 11-5. Next week is the biggest week of the season for these two teams, but the Rams are a real favorite to run away with the division and make a legit playoff run this season.

 

If you couldn’t tell, I favor the NFC heavily this year and believe whoever wins that championship will win the Super Bowl. My three teams are the Bucs, Packers, and Rams. All three have showed championship level abilities all season long and can’t wait to see them compete for that ring!