AFC
1. Patriots
2. Steelers
3. Chargers
4. Titans
5. Raiders
6. Bengals
NFC
1. Atlanta
2. Seattle
3. Green Bay
4. New York Giants
5. Dallas
6. Tampa Bay
Wild Card
Los Angeles Chargers 38, Cincinnati Bengals 24: Dalton and Co. come close once again. San Diego is too much for this defense though. The Chargers roll on.
Oakland Raiders 35, Tennessee Titans 24: Derek Carr’s first playoff performance doesn’t disappoint. The Raiders QB carves up an underwhelming Titans defense. This is in part because a dominant Raiders line headed by Kahlil Mack shuts down a Titans ground game that hides the defense all year.
Green Bay Packers 24, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21: Rodgers continues his dominance in games in the playoffs not called conference championships. Jameis can’t minimize mistakes and rookie jitters send Tampa back home to the citrus state empty handed.
Dallas Cowboys 38, New York Giants 17: It’s a blowout. Why? Because the Dallas offense is on fire and rips apart what was the league’s best regular season defense. Because Eli Manning falls off a cliff in late December and this offense falls into utter failure without a serviceable QB. The Dallas defense out plays there potential in one game to get the playoff monkey off the Cowboys backs.
Divisional Championships
New England Patriots 34, Oakland Raiders 24: Derek Carr is a talented QB, but he’s never seen playoff football in Foxborough. Tom Brady and the offense struggle early but eventually figure out the Raiders d and run away with the game in the second half.
Los Angeles Chargers 35, Pittsburgh Steelers 21: The Chargers shock the world. Joey Bosa and a defensive line that has improved drastically over the shutdown Lev Bell. Roethlisberger falters in the playoffs for the final time and retires. That’s right, I think this is Big Ben’s last year.
Dallas Cowboys 42, Atlanta Falcons 35: Dak Continues to dominate, Zeke pounds through and the Atlanta defense can’t keep up despite the fact this will be Matt Ryan’s best game all year.
Seattle Seahawks 31, Green Bay Packers 17: The unstoppable Seattle D shuts down Aaron Rodgers yet again. Russell Wilson demolishes a lackluster Packers defense. The Super Bowl window for the Packers appears.
Conference Championships
New England Patriots 35, Los Angeles Chargers 34: I so desperately want to believe that the Chargers in all their glory could knock off the Pats but I just don’t see them doing it. They get so close though with Edelman gone. Yes you may say this pick is stupid because the Chargers are in this game but if they stay healthy it’s not crazy to think they could make this kind of a splash. I just got a gut feeling about Los Angeles but it’s not strong enough to pick them over the Patriots. Although as I write this it gets ever stronger.
Seattle Seahawks 42, Dallas Cowboys 21: I know the Seahawks O line could be a major issue but the Cowboys front 7 are as bad as they come. I think a protected Russell Wilson can tear this defense apart. Dallas might keep it close in the second half but if there is an answer to this offensive line it is Seattle’s front seven and Sheldon Richardson. Seahawks to the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl
Seattle Seahawks 35, New England Patriots 31: A rematch of the greatest super bowl of the past decade. Yes the Patriots are a fantastic offense but this year there is defense is a little bit weak on the front end. Who am I kidding, there’s no logic that goes into these picks. You can stare at tape and game film all you want in the end these are just educated shots at the moon that we sports writers hope will land among the stars but usually end up careening back to earth. The Seahawks win the super bowl there is just something about them this year. They can be that good team that flies under the radar and shocks people. These picks may all be wrong but I believe in them and can make an argument for each of them and that’s all you can ask for. For all you out there who ask about statistics, question did statistics tell you the Falcons would dominate last year? Did they tell you the Packers would start the season looking like a mid tier offense? Did they tell you Derek Carr would get hurt and that would change the entire complexity of the AFC playoffs? No. In the end, predictions are just that. I don’t think mine are that far out of the park. Don’t @ me.
