Team that will be missed most in the playoffs
Seattle Seahawks are not one Good football team. But they are one entertaining An. They are capable of scoring in chunks, even with a woeful offensive line. Their defense can’t tackle anyone, but they also risk scoring a few crucial goals in the half. Scan their record and they have (sort of) impressive wins against playoff opponents. They probably would have been one-and-done — the team just had too many holes — but they have the kind of playoff formula (runaway offense; turnover-enforcing defense) that could have caused an upset. O.C
New Orleans Saints. The watered-down playoff format means it’s unlikely a team that didn’t make the cut would have been able to make a meaningful splash. So let’s root for the Saints led by the chaotic Jameis Winston, still the NFL’s most insecure player and probably the best bad quarterback ever. BAG
Atlanta Falcons. Well, at least here in Atlanta, where spirits ran high as the home team effectively led the NFC South (defying all logic). It’s a shame we won’t see Arthur Smith blowing the whistle again, this time about beat reporters’ Jameis Winston-esque sneak attempts to find out which QB he’ll start from round to round. ALREADY
Cincinnati Bengals. Their season looked like it was over when Joe Burrow went down with an injury (again) in November, but a surprisingly feisty, undrafted Jake Browning kept them competitive. Some have wondered if Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins can make every quarterback you mention competitive in the playoffs. It would have been fun to find out. TL
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High ranking team is at risk of going out early
Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys shouldn’t lose to the Green Bay Packers. Repeat: the Cowboys should not lose at home to the Green Bay Packers. But hey, these are the Cowboys. And it’s Mike McCarthy in a playoff setting. We’ve seen this too often. The Packers are rising at the right time. Jordan Love is a true superstar. It’s as strong a schematic matchup as Dallas could have hoped for; they should pulverize Joe Barry’s hapless defense. But Green Bay can score in clusters. And when Dallas’ sideline starts to get unsettled, when they don’t look good, playoff games have a way of revealing the worst about a McCarthy team, even if this has been his best coaching job in years. O.C
Dallas Cowboys. Dak Prescott and co have a formidable record at home, but they are coming up against weak opposition. Meanwhile, Green Bay’s Jordan Love is perhaps the NFL’s hottest quarterback of the past month with nine touchdowns to zero interceptions, while Aaron Jones has overcome an early-season bug by throwing more than 110 yards rushing. BAG
Buffalo Bills. Pittsburgh has the third-highest turnover differential in the league (+11). Josh Allen threw the second-highest number of picks (18). Don’t be surprised if the math remains math. ALREADY
Detroit Lions. Detroit is obviously not the Lions of a few years ago and should beat the Los Angeles Rams. But Dan Campbell’s decision to play Sam LaPorta in a meaningless final game of the season could come back to haunt him. It’s doubtful that after suffering a knee injury in the win over the Minnesota Vikings, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, who has been outstanding this season, could be inspired by a return to the city he called home for most of his career . TL
Long odds of winning
Do the Detroit Lions classify as a long shot? Are there any real long shots? The field is as open as it has ever been in recent history. The Bills were in danger of missing the postseason heading into Week 18 and ended up with the second seed in the AFC. The only juggernauts in both conferences are the Ravens and Niners. Still, the Lions feel like they won’t be a complete team for another year or two. Still, there’s a consistency to them that’s missing from other contenders. They have a spirited – albeit undermanned – defense capable of generating takeaways. If Jared Goff can play clean, they have the talent to reach the NFC title game. And from there, who knows? O.C
Cleveland Browns. Led by one of the NFL’s stingiest defenses and a 38-year-old father of five at quarterback (with a career 10-5 playoff record), the Browns are in only the second time in 21 years in the postseason, after scoring in the regular season. wins over trendy Super Bowl picks Baltimore and San Francisco. BAG
Cleveland Browns. ALREADY
Don’t do it alone de Bruinen have one of the best defenses in the league – although it has waned a bit over the past week – this is also the last time you can root for them before Deshaun Watson returns and makes them the most toxic team in the NFL again. TL
Most important player this postseason
Josh Allen, quarterback, Buffalo Bills. It’s worth thinking about the fact that Buffalo’s building was collapsing a month after Sean McDermott’s crazy motivational tactics were exposed. A few weeks later, despite playing some rickety football, the Bills appear to have the best chance to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl outside of Baltimore. It will come down to Allen. Great quarterbacks can cover up rifts elsewhere on a roster. McDermott has been coaching crazy on the defensive side of the ball for two months in a row. On offense, things still go up and down depending on how Allen is feeling on any given day. If Allen is at his MVP best, playing within himself and saving the Superman routine for when the team needs it most, Buffalo will be as dangerous as anyone in the league’s most competitive conference. O.C
Lamar Jackson, quarterback, Baltimore Ravens. The 27-year-old becomes a two-time Most Valuable Player after his latest regular-season masterpiece, effectively punching his Hall of Fame ticket. But his mediocre play-off record of one win from four games will remain a talking point until Jackson changes the conversation. It’s unlikely he’ll ever get a better opportunity than here and now. BAG
Brock Purdy, quarterback, San Francisco 49ers. There’s no doubt that he’s the straw that stirs the drink — and that the Niners’ title hopes were doomed from the moment he was knocked out of last year’s NFC championship game. There’s no reason why San Fran shouldn’t sail to the Super Bowl this time with him at the helm. ALREADY
Lamar Jackson, quarterback, Baltimore Ravens. The presumptive MVP has brilliant weapons around him and a fearsome defense to maintain the lead the Ravens are building. If he plays anywhere near his best, the Ravens should go to the Super Bowl and put an end to the grumbling about Jackson not appearing in the playoffs. TL
AFC Championship Game
Ravens about bills. O.C
Ravens over Chiefs. BAG
Ravens over Chiefs. ALREADY
Browns over ravens. TL
NFC Championship Game
49ers over lions. O.C
49ers over lions. BAG
49ers over lions. ALREADY
Cowboys older than 49ers. TL
Your Super Bowl Champion will be…
Ravens over the 49ers. If you could design a team in a laboratory tailor-made for this moment in the sport’s evolution, it would be the Ravens. They have created the most creative and impactful defense in the NFL. On the offensive, they continue to solve every riddle that comes their way. Their attacking structure is impeccable. When forced to play outside the structure, Jackson has rained fire on any fool who tries to pressure him. The only question for the Ravens throughout the season was whether they would be healthy by the time the playoffs came around. That remains a concern, but they are healthy enough to still be at their best. The Niners are formidable. But this should be Baltimore’s year. O.C
49ers over Ravens. A Super Bowl rematch eleven years in the making, only without Colin Kaepernick, no Beyoncé and (let’s hope) no stadium power outage that halted play for 34 minutes. This time, San Francisco comes out on top after a balanced offensive attack tricked out with skill position stars (McCaffrey! Kittle! Deebo! Aiyuk!) has managed to overshadow the voracious defense that made headlines during their five-year run of good luck . BAG
Ravens over the 49ers. It is the year of the Harbaugh brothers and also that of Jackson. In an MVP performance, he makes all the teams that had the chance to pick him up in free agency look foolish for passing on him. Jackson will shake off the “not quarterbacky” label like Steve Young – his loudest supporter – got the monkey off his back in 1995. ALREADY
Cowboys over Browns. The 49ers and Ravens are clearly the best teams in the NFL, but the top two teams usually aren’t both reaching the Super Bowl every year. So let’s say the Browns ride a Joe Flacco hot streak and some monstrous performances from Myles Garrett until Las Vegas where they are defeated by Dak Prescott who emerges and coaches Mike McCarthy well in the playoffs. TL