Tag: Divisional

2025 NFL Playoffs and Super Bowl Predictions

It’s time to be wrong. We’ve previewed each of the league’s 32 teams; now it’s time to see how it’ll all play out in the postseason. Hopefully this isn’t the disaster that I’ve been known to produce in the past.

Cover photo taken from The SportsRush.

It’s time to be wrong. We’ve previewed each of the league’s 32 teams; now it’s time to see how it’ll all play out in the postseason. Last time I did this, I predicted the Super Bowl correctly (Chiefs over 49ers in 2023), so I’ve got a reputation to uphold here. Hopefully this isn’t the disaster that I’ve been known to produce in the past.

First, a look at the playoff picture:

NFC Standings

1 – Philadelphia Eagles (13-4)
2 – Green Bay Packers (12-5)
3 – Los Angeles Rams (12-5)
4 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11-6)
5 – San Francisco 49ers (12-5)
6 – Washington Commanders (11-6)
7 – Detroit Lions (10-7)

AFC Standings

1 – Kansas City Chiefs (15-2)
2 – Buffalo Bills (14-3)
3 – Baltimore Ravens (12-5)
4 – Houston Texans (10-7)
5 – Los Angeles Chargers (12-5)
6 – Denver Broncos (11-6)
7 – Cincinnati Bengals (10-7)

And now, for the playoff prediction:

Wild Card Weekend

Buccaneers over 49ers

Better team wins a real toss-up. Home-field advantage and an offense with more playmakers puts the Bucs over the top in a shootout.

Packers over Lions

Lambeau finally holds its own as a fortress as Green Bay’s defense proves to be the difference-maker in a hard-fought divisional game.

Commanders over Rams

Jayden Daniels’ homecoming is an explosive one against an inexperienced Rams secondary with Washington winning an exciting road playoff game with plenty of burgundy and gold in the stands.

Texans over Chargers

See: last year’s playoff game.

Ravens over Broncos

Denver’s defense keeps Baltimore’s offense in check for a bit, but the Ravens’ overwhelming talent breaks through late for a close, hard-fought win.

Bills over Bengals

The wheels fall off Cincinnati’s defense as Josh Allen and the Bills get revenge for the 2022 Divisional.

Divisional Round

Eagles over Commanders

Sigh. We’ll see if the idea of revenge fires us up, but I still just don’t know if we have what it takes to keep up with the Birds right now. I’d love to be proven wrong.

Packers over Buccaneers

Tampa can’t keep up in the frozen tundra as the Packers offense explodes for a dominant win to get back to the NFC Championship for the first time since 2020.

Chiefs over Texans

See: last year’s playoff game.

Bills over Ravens

See: last year’s playoff game. I think Baltimore is the best team from top to bottom in the league, but until I see them win in January, I’ll trust what my eyes have seen repeatedly before picking them to finally win it all.

Championship Weekend

Packers over Eagles

Someone has to beat them, right? The Micah Parsons trade makes the Packers a bonafide Super Bowl contender, despite some of their shortcomings in the secondary. This feels like a year that it can all come together for them — from Jordan Love’s ascendancy to Micah’s game-wrecking ability off the edge, I think they’re able to go on the road and knock off the team that’s been the class of the NFC in recent years. Or so I hope.

Chiefs over Bills

Like I said with the Ravens, I actually have to see the Bills win this game to predict them to do so. I do think it’s a matter of when, not if, that Buffalo and/or Baltimore finally knocks off Kansas City. But it’s not for me to say that it’ll be now. I need to see it to believe it. If Buffalo winds up hosting this game, they’d almost have to win it — there would be no better way to send off the Ralph than finally getting the Mahomes monkey off their back and get back to the Super Bowl. And the thought of opening the new stadium with a banner dropping gives you chills. I genuinely hope that it happens. But I’ve seen this film before. We know how it ends.

Super Bowl LX Prediction

(you guys are gonna hate me for this)

Chiefs over Packers

I said it when I picked Patrick Mahomes to win MVP: this season screams 2022 for the Chiefs. That season, everyone wrote them off only for them to go on a run where Mahomes took home that award en route to another ring and Super Bowl MVP.

Well, here we are again. Everyone is discarding the Chiefs after they got crushed in Super Bowl LIX against the Eagles and once again pushing their chips towards the center of the table for Baltimore and Buffalo. Well, only one active quarterback has ever beaten Mahomes in the AFC playoffs, and his defense ain’t getting him to a position where he can do it again. So, to pick KC to get back to the big game feels simple enough.

This would be a very tough test against what’s going to be a vaunted defensive front, but we’ve seen the Chiefs get the job done in this spot time and time again. As I always say, it’s simply them until proven otherwise.

Divisional Round Picks

Only eight teams remain as we head into an absolutely stacked weekend. Here are my picks to make next week’s Championship games.

Cover photo taken from Sportcasting.

Last Week: 4-2

Season Total: 177-97-2

Chiefs 27-20 Jaguars

Saturday, 4:30 PM EST, NBC

In analyzing and/or picking this game, there are really only two statistics to consider. The first of which is that Andy Reid is the greatest head coach off a bye in the history of the sport. He boasts a record of 27-4 following an off week, including a perfect 3-0 record in the AFC playoffs with the Chiefs (1-1 in Super Bowls). The second of which is that both the Chiefs and every other 1 seed ever largely struggle as large favorites in the Divisional Round. 1 seeds have gone 13-25-1 ATS in this round in the last 20 years, and 8-22-1 ATS when favored by 10 or less. Some books have this spread to 8.5 or 9. So, you can bank on the Chiefs winning this game, but don’t be surprised if it’s closer than you or Vegas think. Moreover, we pretty much know what we’re going to get out of these teams. The Jaguars are an amazing story and are good enough to give any team in the AFC fits. Their offense is certainly capable of putting up both yards and points on an underwhelming, continuously underperforming Chiefs defense, especially through the air with Trevor Lawrence slinging it all over the yard. But they don’t have what it takes to go to Arrowhead and beat Kansas City off a bye, especially considering how dominant the Chiefs have been and how incredible Patrick Mahomes has been playing this season. The MVP-to-be enters this game after putting up the most offensive yards in a season in the history of the league. Everyone on offense is getting involved, and it all starts with the greatness of #15. After seeing how Jacksonville’s pass defense has fared in recent games, I don’t trust them to limit Mahomes in any capacity. Jacksonville might be able to keep up for a while, but this is simply too tall of a task for a young team that has overachieved this season.

Eagles 24-20 Giants

Saturday, 8:15 PM EST, FOX

If last week’s divisional contests (with the exception of the last 20 or so minutes of the Seahawks-49ers game) were any indication, we’re in for a close game on Saturday night. Another reason to support that is what I said above about how 1 seeds perform ATS in the Divisional Round. Combine that with the uncertainty around Jalen Hurts’ shoulder and the general feistiness of the Giants, and you have the makings of a physical divisional bloodbath. Both of these defenses will show up and show out on the big stage. In my opinion, this game comes down to whichever offense can execute better in key moments down the stretch. New York’s offense looked surgical from start to finish last week in Minnesota, but that was against one of the league’s worst defenses. On a cold night against a fantastic Philly defense, they will have a tougher time. While there are questions around Hurts and his injury, I think he has had more than enough time off to heal and get ready for this game. If the Birds offensive line can keep him upright and get enough push on the Eagles’ patented run plays, then they could win this game comfortably. It will be tough against a stout Giants front, but I like Philly in that matchup. It will take a few key plays late from Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense, but they will be the ones celebrating by the end of the night en route to the title game.

Bills 30-27 Bengals

Sunday, 3:00 PM EST, CBS

This is easily my most anticipated matchup of this round, if not this entire season, and I think it’ll easily be the best game of the weekend. That’s exactly what I said when these teams met three weeks ago. I’m just as excited now as I was then, and I can’t wait to see them play a full playoff game against one another. However, my pick is different this time, and it’s hard to explain. I still think the Bengals are the better team, and I still think they’re the best team in the league. I think people who believe they’re somehow worse because they struggled in primetime against a division rival are vastly misguided. I think Joe Burrow is better than Josh Allen. I think Ja’Marr Chase might be better than Stefon Diggs. The Bengals can actually run the ball with a good backfield whereas the Bills can’t run the ball with anyone but their QB. And at this point, Cincinnati might have a better defense. On top of everything, Joe Burrow might be the best QB as an underdog in the league right now, and he has proven time and time again that he can go on the road and win these huge games against great teams. So why am I switching up now and picking Buffalo? The biggest reason is the injuries to Cincinnati’s offensive line. They will be without their three best linemen after they had spent all regular season healthy. Last week, Burrow was under duress quite a lot against a pass rush that’s only slightly better than the ones the Bills possess. Again, Burrow has proven that he can overcome this, but the Bengals have also proven that this can be their downfall in a big spot. But more than anything, the Bills just feel like they’re in the midst of a special run. They are playing inspired and the entire city of Buffalo is rallying behind them. They did not play a sharp game last week, but I think they’ll look much better on Sunday afternoon. If Josh Allen plays clean, mistake-free football (which I don’t feel comfortable with expecting), then the Bills have the offensive capability to win this game comfortably. All they have to do is get after Joe Burrow. If he has enough time to throw, he will make them pay. I just don’t see that being possible without his two starting tackles and best interior lineman. He has done it before, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he leads Cincy to another improbable victory. But I can’t bank on that right now.

49ers 31-20 Cowboys

Sunday, 6:30 PM, FOX

This is the big brand game of the weekend, and rightfully so. Cowboys-49ers in the playoffs is as classic as it gets and always seems to deliver. It certainly did last year in a thrilling Wild Card game in Dallas that ended on one of the most mind-boggling late-game plays and execution sequences in recent memory that sent the Cowboys home early and propelled the Niners to a near-Super Bowl run. This game feels quite different with San Francisco being the hottest team in the league, having won their last 11 games and barely breaking a sweat despite having to turn to Brock Purdy. The rookie continues to ball out with perhaps the best weapons in the league and easily the best defense in football behind him. The Cowboys, on the other hand, were overlooked by quite a lot of people, myself included, before going to Tampa and smacking the Bucs last Monday. They’re the underdogs in this game, but you can guarantee that they won’t go down without a fight. However, I feel like Monday night’s performance is once again swinging the pendulum of our perception of the Cowboys completely in the other direction. All of a sudden, people think they’re the best team in the NFC that can go on the road to play perhaps the best team in the league and win. I think we need to pump the brakes there. I think Dallas might be the most overmatched team in this entire round. They looked great against a Buccaneers team that we all knew was awful. How are they going to look against the 49ers? Will Dak Prescott be able to replicate his performance from last week against the best defense in the league? I say no. Will Dallas’ own defense be able to slow down San Francisco’s offense, which no one else has been able to do? I say no again. I think Purdy and company will have their way with the Cowboys’ susceptible defense, and Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, and the defense will lock up Dak and the Dallas offense for the most part en route to another fairly easy win for the Niners for them to get back to the conference title game.

All stats taken from ESPN.