The NFL playoffs are under way and the wildcard round has wrapped up with my Green Bay Packers being eliminated in the opening slate of games. I can now bring you guys an unbiased playoff bracket over the course of the next few weeks without saying the Packers blow out every team that stands in their way. In all seriousness, we have the divisional round next week where we have some star studded matchups that are calling for nothing short of instant classics.
The wildcard round wasn’t extremely eventful but did have notable games where it felt like the better team moved on to the next round. The National Football Conference (NFC) teams that moved on from the first round included the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders and Los Angeles Rams while the Detroit Lions have been sitting comfortably after their first round bye thanks to their 15-2 regular season record.
As for the AFC on the opposite end of the bracket, wildcard teams moving on are the Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans. The Kansas City Chiefs and their devil magic they have used to somehow finish 15-2, get them the one seed in the AFC where they, like the Lions, got a chance to sit back and watch the chaos ensue without stressing in this opening round of games.
Onto the fun stuff which are my predictions that will 100% be true by the time the NFC and AFC conference championships occur. We will start in the AFC as this is where I see the most exciting games panning out.
AFC
Ravens (12-5) at Bills (13-4) on Jan. 19 at 3:30 p.m. pacific time is the one to circle on your schedules. This matchup sees the two 2024-2025 MVP candidates Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen going head to head. Both run the offense at quarterback of their respective teams and are the heartbeat of the offense. Overall I think the Ravens—while they will be on the road in an intense environment in Buffalo, New York—have the better overall roster with more players providing Jackson some help. On top of that, while the Ravens defense is inconsistent, when they are clicking they look like one of the better defenses in all of the NFL. I’ll take the Ravens moving onto the AFC championship. This matchup will be the primetime game on Sunday that many NFL fans will be watching regardless of their favorite team. If it wasn’t for the NFC and AFC being on different ends of the bracket, I could’ve seen these two teams matching up in the Super Bowl. It will be a shame to see one of their seasons end.
Texans (10-7) at Chiefs (15-2) is the other AFC playoff game. While I was just talking about how the Chiefs are somehow 15-2 on the season despite not having as much talent as they have had in previous years. I also hate to say it Swfities, Tight End Travis Kelce has taken a step back from his normal production as well. I still feel they are more talented and healthier than the Texans. There is also the fact that the Chiefs offense is run by one of the greatest talents we have ever seen in the NFL in Quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs will likely always be in contention for the big game as long as Patrick Mahomes is at the helm. The Texans, if healthy, may have stood a chance against the back to back reigning champs but unfortunately they are missing two of their three starting wide receivers.
NFC
On the NFC side there are what seems to be favorites in both matchups with one of them being the new culture Lions (15-2) welcoming the rookie quarterback led Commanders (12-5). The Lions have been one of the most disappointing teams in all of sports as they are one of two teams to go 0-16 on a season in the 2000s. Now they are rejuvenated. W and with Head Coach Dan Campbell and tons of talent all throughout their roster, it seems like a Super Bowl is inevitable in their future. The Commanders have their rookie dual threat Quarterback Jayden Daniels who is also likely to win rookie of the year honors and has looked like a future MVP candidate. However, I feel their story book season has come to a close facing the Lions although there is a chance the Lions injury riddled defense may let Daniels use his legs to put points on the board. The Lions high powered offense has proved to be too much for many NFL defenses this season though as I have them advancing to the NFC championship for only the third time in franchise history.
The final game I will be talking about this issue is the Rams (10-7) at Eagles (14-3). This may be me just being petty for the Eagles taking out my team but I think they lose this game and their season comes to a close. The Eagles are coming off a matchup where they looked very poor and gave their opposition many chances to stay in the game. The Rams are coming off a great winning performance against the Minnesota Vikings (14-3) who were one of the better teams in the league record wise and showed why they are still a true threat in the NFC. I’m rolling with the team with the momentum in this matchup and taking the Rams.
