Tag: Postseason

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.

NFC and AFC Championship Picks

The NFL’s proverbial final four is upon us with a pair of incredible games to decide who goes to Las Vegas and Super Bowl LVIII. Here’s who I think gets it done today.

Cover photo taken from Deadline.

Last Week: 3-1

Season Total: 173-99

Chiefs 23-20 Ravens

Sunday, 3 p.m. ET, CBS

To make a rather long story short, you will never catch me picking against Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs. I learned that lesson the hard way last season. And I won’t make that same mistake here, no matter how tall the task.

The Ravens are excellent. They’re probably the best team in the league. They looked frighteningly good a week ago against Houston. Lamar Jackson is going to win MVP. And everyone on Earth is going to be supporting them today.

But it won’t matter when the NFL’s equivalent of the Terminator is on the other side.

If I’m being completely honest, I actually think the differentiating factor in this game is going to be the defenses. I’ve been singing the praises of the Kansas City D all year long, and for the most part, they’ve been outstanding this postseason.

Now, Baltimore has a patented elite defense of their own, but who do you trust more in a spot like this? The unit and coaching staff that has been here before and always finds a way? Or the one that’s having a great year but has to face #15 with the stakes being as high as possible?

Containing Lamar Jackson will be a difficult test, yes. But no matter how good he has been, I’ll need to see his defense stop Mahomes and the Chiefs offense — which has finally found its stride — to believe that the Ravens are winning this ballgame.

49ers 27-24 Lions

Sunday, 6:30 p.m. ET, FOX

I’ll start by saying that this spread is preposterous.

Yes, the 49ers are elite. They might just be the best team in the league. But the Lions are a damn good team, too. And they should not be 7.5-point underdogs, even on the road.

Regardless, there’s little to no doubt in my mind about the 49ers winning this game — and far fewer second thoughts than my pick for the AFC Championship Game.

I do believe the Lions have what it takes to win this game. Jared Goff and their offense has been operating at an extremely high level in this postseason and we all know Dan Campbell has the guts to win any game. I still worry about their defense, but they haven’t cost the team anything in the playoffs thus far. In fact, they’ve really shored up when they needed to, highlighted by their game-winning interception last week against Tampa. Still, I have some reservations there, especially against a remarkable San Francisco offense littered with talent.

Deebo Samuel being healthy in this game is the difference for me. If he was unable to go, I would have picked Detroit to go to the Super Bowl. He’s one of three distinct MVPs on that offense along with Christian McCaffrey and Trent Williams. If any one of them couldn’t go, the 49ers aren’t the same team — we saw that earlier this year when Samuel and Williams missed time and the offense spiraled. We all know Brock Purdy can’t pick up the slack all on his own, but with a healthy Deebo, this offense will be firing on all cylinders against a lackluster Detroit defense. And that just might be the difference.

Divisional Round Picks

With eight teams remaining and four titanic matchups ahead, the Divisional Round is sure to be as cinematic as always. Here’s how I see it playing out.

Cover photo taken from NY Post.

Last Week: 3-3

Season Total: 170-98

Texans 23-20 Ravens

Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC

Screw it.

In complete honesty, I think the Ravens are going to win this game. But life is too short to not have some fun.

I’m not picking the Texans for some random or superstitious reasons though. I worry about their run defense against this vaunted Baltimore offense, but I also had that concern last week against Cleveland. All they did was make light work of the Browns all game long with an incredibly inspired defensive effort. Why can’t that happen here as well? And it goes without saying that CJ Stroud is going to do CJ Stroud things, even against a defense as good as this one. If this team made the Browns — who I thought were a Super Bowl contender — look silly for sixty minutes, they’re definitely capable of beating the 1 seed Ravens.

But it won’t be easy. Or at least, it shouldn’t be. This is a massive game for Lamar Jackson and his team. If you lose the AFC Championship game to Kansas City or Buffalo — who are two excellent teams — so be it. At least you got there. They have to get there. And I think that sort of fire will fuel them to a big performance in this game on both sides of the ball. Again, at least it should.

But with all the uncertainty surrounding this team and this quarterback in the postseason, I have to see it to believe it.

49ers 27-17 Packers

Saturday, 8:15 p.m. ET, FOX

Death. Taxes. The 49ers beating the Packers in the playoffs.

It’s not that simple, but it is pretty simple. The Packers are playing excellent football right now, and their upset win in Dallas last week was glorious. But that’s going to be 100x harder to repeat against the best team in the NFL, especially when Kyle Shanahan absolutely owns Matt LaFleur. Is it entirely possible that Jordan Love goes crazy once again and the defense forces Brock Purdy into enough mistakes to lose the game? Of course it is. Green Bay is talented enough to make that happen. But, like I said with the Ravens, I have to see it to believe it.

I usually worry about rust with teams coming off two weeks of rest like San Francisco is, but this team feels too talented and too well-coached for something like that to happen. I think they’re going to flex their muscles to notch their first of three consecutive wins to capture that illustrious sixth championship. But we’ll cross those bridges when we get there.

Lions 24-20 Buccaneers

Sunday, 3 p.m. ET, NBC

This game is essentially the NFC’s second-place matchup, since I don’t think either team has what it takes to go into San Francisco and win next week. But I think both of these squads has what it takes to at least get to that point.

Detroit’s win last week was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. I’m so happy for that team, fanbase and city that deserves it so much. They proved that they’re built for this stage, and they have what it takes to do amazing things, especially at home. I expect a similar performance out of them in this one, but it’ll be another tough test. However, I don’t know if the Bucs are better on either side of the ball than the Rams were, so Detroit might have an easier time in that regard. They’ll need to have a much better second half if they want to not get too uncomfortable.

Tampa’s win last week was also euphoric for the likes of me for obvious reasons. But I have concerns of how realistic it is for them to replicate it. Don’t get me wrong, the Bucs dropped passes left and right and probably should have won by more than 23, but the Lions defense is much, much better than Philadelphia’s, and they probably won’t be slipping and sliding and missing tackles the way those Eagles embarrassingly did. I think Baker will do his thing for a bit, but just like last week, that Lions defense figures to make enough plays to keep them at arm’s length while their offense does the rest.

At the end of the day, I feel like that Week 6 matchup is a pretty good indicator that the Lions simply match up with the Bucs too well and do everything that Tampa does better. So, although this one should be closer than that game was, I still like Detroit to reach an improbable NFC Championship Game for the first time in three decades.

Chiefs 20-17 Bills

Sunday, 6:30 p.m. ET, CBS

Well, here it is. The seemingly unavoidable matchup that we’ve seen so many times already and should continue to see for the foreseeable future.

I must admit, I’m not as excited as everyone else is for this matchup. And I think there’s a clear reason why: I don’t buy into the Bills storylines.

“Patrick Mahomes finally has to come to Buffalo!” Um, the Buffalo that he’s never lost in? “Josh Allen is playing better than any other QB right now!” The same Josh Allen that has never beaten Mahomes in the postseason, even when he had one of the greatest statistical playoff runs of all time? “Mahomes finally has to go on the road!” What, the best quarterback of all time can’t play on the road? Give me a break.

Beyond all of that, I just feel better about the Chiefs than I do about the Bills for a couple of reasons. For starters, Kansas City’s defense is remarkable. Anyone saying that the weather last week was the sole reason for Miami looking incompetent is lying to themselves. That Chiefs defense is insane, and no matter how good Buffalo looks offensively, they will make themselves readily apparent in this ballgame.

My second reason is that the injuries are somehow getting worse for the Bills. Terrel Bernard going down is a massive loss for this defense which will need all hands on deck with Mahomes coming to town, especially in that front seven which could be the real difference maker if the Bills want to win this game. They also desperately need Rasul Douglas back. If neither of them can go, it’d make things a lot easier for the visiting quarterback.

Speaking of that quarterback, my third reason is that one Patrick Mahomes is suiting up for the Chiefs. I don’t care that this is his first road playoff game. I don’t care that the Bills are the hottest team in the NFL. I don’t care that Josh Allen is doing Josh Allen things. This is a quarterback that has never missed the AFC Championship Game in his career. I have no reason to believe that trend won’t continue. Sure, this offense isn’t blowing the doors off anyone like in the past. But they’ll grind you down on both sides of the ball and win with some old-school ball. That 2018 Patriots comparison I made a few weeks ago looks more and more true by the game. That formula, which has gotten them this far, will once again prove to be a winning one. And, if I go 2-for-2 in the AFC, the Chiefs will be hosting their sixth consecutive AFC Championship Game.

I know I’m sounding like a broken record here, but between Mahomes’ career playoff success — especially — against the Bills, I have to see it to believe it.

2022 MLB Season Preview and Predictions

After a nightmarish offseason filled with doubt that we would even see today, we have made it to Opening Day. Here’s my preview of the 2022 MLB Season, which promises to be a truly special one.

Cover photo taken from MLB.com

We have finally made it. After the most tumultuous offseason of the century featuring the horribly-long lockout and more CBA negotiations than we could deal with, we have reached Opening Day. All 30 teams will play a full, 162-game schedule. Baseball is back. And I could not be more excited.

This promises to be a very fun season on the surface, but I think having baseball after what we had to deal with during the lockout is as sweet as it gets. The offseason was fairly interesting both before and after the lockout, with plenty of trades and huge free agent moves. Spring Training is now over, and the reset button is hit on all of baseball. Let’s predict who will win their divisions and get to the Postseason, who this season’s MVPs will be, and who will win it all in October.

NL East Winner: Atlanta Braves

Considering the offseason this team had, it’s very hard to see them doing anything but repeating as NL East champs. Losing Freddie Freeman is brutal, but when you replace him with a 1B like Matt Olson, you don’t get much worse as a team. Combine that with the already abundant talent on the roster of the defending World Series champions and you have a team that can do plenty of damage in a mediocre division. The team is solid all-around with the bat and the glove, and the pitching staff is still absolutely loaded. Star OF Ronald Acuña Jr. will miss a good chunk of time as he continues to recover from last season’s ACL injury, but when he comes back, this team will get that much better. The Phillies also had a solid offseason and could make a run for the division title, but I’m sticking with the safe pick here.

NL Central Winner: Milwaukee Brewers

I have a love/hate relationship with the Brewers. I’m a pitching purist, and nobody has a better pitching staff than Milwaukee. Boasting names like Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, and Freddy Peralta in their rotation with guys in the bullpen like Josh Hader and Devin Williams, you simply are not going to knock this team around. On the other hand, I just find them so boring. It could be that their offense is a very basic one, not relying on anything flashy to score runs, but rather simply putting the ball in play and putting up numbers. Perhaps the offense will get a bit of a boost this year with Andrew McCutchen and Hunter Renfroe entering the outfield. And it goes without saying that Christian Yelich can be plenty dangerous if he ever returns to his old self. In any case, the NL Central is arguably baseball’s worst division (although the Cardinals are a solid bunch), so the Brewers will able to rack up plenty of wins en route to another division title.

NL West Winner: Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers are the MLB’s superteam. This is one of the most loaded rosters in the history of baseball, and certainly the most stacked one I have ever seen. They were already plenty good after last season, but after adding 1B Freddie Freeman in free agency, this looks like the most lethal team that we have seen in a long time. The rest of the infield is rounded out by a star-in-the-making in Gavin Lux at second, the fastest and perhaps the best contact man in baseball in Trea Turner at short, and the ever-reliable Justin Turner at third. It’s likely that Max Muncy or Chris Taylor will fill the new DH role that the NL has finally adapted. The outfield still has one of baseball’s best players in Mookie Betts, and if Cody Bellinger returns to form, then this somehow gets spookier. The pitching staff is almost entirely the same as last season’s, with Walker Buehler, my personal NL Cy Young pick, leading the charge. Clayton Kershaw and Julio Urias are ever-dangerous as well in the rotation, and the already-stacked bullpen got even better with the acquisition of Craig Kimbrel as the team’s new closer after Kenley Jansen left for Atlanta. In short, this is a bonafide 100-win team with talent the likes of which we haven’t seen in this much abundance in a very long time. They are the easy favorites to win the NL West, the NL pennant, and the World Series.

AL East Winner: Toronto Blue Jays

The majority of people are of the belief that the Blue Jays are the best team in the American League and perhaps a top 2 team in all of baseball. I am definitely in that majority. The Jays had one of baseball’s most talented rosters last year, but injuries derailed them all year long en route to missing the playoffs by just a couple of games. While two of the key members of the 2021 squad, 2B Marcus Semien, an MVP finalist, and SP Robbie Ray, the AL Cy Young winner, left in free agency, Toronto still boasts an incredible roster from top to bottom. To fill the gaps left by those departures, they acquired SP Kevin Gausman and 3B Matt Chapman, two very solid, consistent players that will contribute from day one. The lineup is as dangerous as it gets, with guys like George Springer and Teoscar Hernandez in the outfield and Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the infield. The rest of the rotation is also fantastic, being rounded out by Alek Manoah, Jose Berrios, and Hyun Jin Ryu. The Blue Jays have the best team on paper in the AL East and the American League as a whole, and it’s hard to argue against them riding that all the way to a division title, and perhaps a pennant.

AL Central Winner: Chicago White Sox

2021 was a fun time for the White Sox, returning to the top of the AL Central and the spotlight of baseball. This is a fun, young team that oozes swagger and keeps your eyes glued to the screen each and every night. In a horrible division, after a rather uneventful offseason, it’s hard to see that changing much. The lineup is still awesome, with guys like SS Tim Anderson, OF Luis Robert, 1B Jose Abreu, 3B Yoan Moncada, and more. The pitching staff is still one of baseball’s best, with a rotation featuring Lance Lynn and Lucas Giolito. This is an absurdly fun team that made a name for themselves last season, and I’m looking forward to seeing them continue to do their thing in 2022.

AL West Winner: Houston Astros

You just can’t kill this team, can you? Even after losing another World Series and losing one of their best players in Carlos Correa, the Astros are seemingly primed for another fantastic season. It helps that their roster is still one of the best in the sport, boasting plenty of offensive firepower and a strong pitching core. Even without Correa, the infield is plenty good with Yuli Gurriel, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, and a star-to-be in Jeremy Peña. In the outfield is the always-consistent Michael Brantley and a rising star in Kyle Tucker, and one of the best power bats in the league sits in the DH spot with Yordan Alvarez. The rotation has some rising young talent in Framber Valdez and Luis Garcia as well as some veteran greats in Lance McCullers Jr. and Justin Verlander. The Astros have all the makings of another potential World Series run. Despite the AL West being better than its usual self this season, it’s hard to see them getting knocked off their throne.

NL Playoffs

1 – Los Angeles Dodgers
2 – Atlanta Braves
3 – Milwaukee Brewers
4 – Philadelphia Phillies
5 – St. Louis Cardinals
6 – San Diego Padres

Nobody is stopping the Dodgers in the National League in their pursuit of following the Rams and bringing another “purchased ring” to Los Angeles. The Braves and Brewers have the pitching to contend, but it’ll be hard to knock off a roster as talented as LA’s. In terms of the Wild Cards, I like Philadelphia, St. Louis, and San Diego. The Phillies had a pretty good offseason, acquiring some big bats like Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber to add to a lineup that needed some power. The Cardinals were one of the hottest teams in the second half last year, and I think they can carry that into 2022. The Padres, meanwhile, were one of the worst teams in the second half of 2021, but with new management, a very talented roster (despite being without Fernando Tatis Jr. for a while), and an expanded playoffs, they should be good to reach the Postseason. I’d take the Brewers over the Padres and the Cardinals over the Phillies in the Wild Cards, and I foresee a NLCS threematch between the Braves and Dodgers, with LA winning the pennant and getting back to the World Series.

AL Playoffs

1 – Toronto Blue Jays
2 – Chicago White Sox
3 – Houston Astros
4 – Tampa Bay Rays
5 – Boston Red Sox
6 – Seattle Mariners

Ordering the division winners 1-3 wasn’t easy. I just ordered them based on their talent. I think the competitiveness of the AL East could steal some wins from Toronto, but I still like their chances of taking the top spot. I like Tampa Bay, Boston, and Seattle to secure the Wild Cards. The Rays are the Rays, and they’ll do their usual schtick to get to the Postseason (look for Wander Franco to have a huge season in the process). The Red Sox overachieved last year and had a solid offseason but are still nothing more than a Wild Card team in my eyes. The Mariners were oh so close to October in 2021, and after a very good offseason and the new expanded playoffs being implemented, I think they can sneak in as the final team. I’d take Houston over Seattle and Tampa Bay over Boston in the Wild Cards, and I’m predicting a potentially legendary 7-game ALCS between Toronto and Chicago, with the White Sox winning the pennant and getting back to the World Series for the first time in 17 years.

Before we get into that World Series prediction, I’d like to shout out my MVP picks for the upcoming season, starting with a bit of a personal one.

NL MVP Pick: Juan Soto, OF, Nationals

Yes, I am biased. No, I do not care. Juan Soto is the best player in the National League, and he is bound to capture the MVP this season. In the last three seasons, he has finished 9th, 5th, and 2nd in MVP voting. Only one higher spot to go. It’s also worth noting that he has increased his walk rate and decreased his strikeout rate in every season since entering the majors, establishing himself as the closest thing to Barry Bonds we have seen at the plate since… Barry Bonds. He is simply breaking every single advanced stat we have in baseball. 2021 started a bit slow for Soto, as he hit a lot of ground balls and couldn’t get the elevation he needed to put up huge numbers. But, he ended up figuring it out, slashing an unbelievable .352/.527/.644 in his final 78 games. If he carries that momentum into 2022 and somehow continues to get better at the plate, then we could see one of the best statistical seasons from a hitter in decades. On a team as putrid as the Nationals are, Soto will be padding his stats all season long. If he can stay healthy, then I think he will run away with that elusive MVP, adding to a World Series title, two Silver Sluggers, and a batting title, establishing himself as perhaps the best player in baseball. That is, if he hasn’t already done so.

AL MVP Pick: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B, Blue Jays

The son of Vladimir Guerrero finally had the season we were all waiting for in 2021. Vladdy was a menace at the plate, slashing .311/.401/.601 (led AL in OBP and SLG), hitting 48 homers (tied for the MLB lead) with 111 RBI, winning a Silver Slugger, and finishing second in MVP voting. We knew that he had all the potential to be one of the premier hitters in baseball, and he has done just that. He easily would have won MVP last season, but Shohei Ohtani happened. It’s hard to foresee Ohtani falling off, or even Mike Trout not returning with a bang, but it just feels like this is Vladdy’s year. I really like his chances to continue to clobber baseballs all summer long and bring an MVP home.

World Series Prediction: Dodgers over White Sox in 5 games

As I have said multiple times, nobody is stopping the Dodgers in 2022. The White Sox are a super fun team that can do some real damage in October, but this is simply too tall of a mountain for anyone in baseball to climb. Los Angeles is built for a championship, and it feels impossible to pick them to do anything but win the World Series. Maybe picking this series to be over in 5 games is a bit harsh, but it feels realistic. Dodgers win a ring for real this time, Freddie Freeman lifts the trophy for the second consecutive year, and Trea Turner takes home World Series MVP with his second championship in four years.

I cannot wait to look back on this in October, or even by the All Star Break, and realize how hilariously wrong I was about everything. That’s the real fun of all this, isn’t it? In any case, I am so, so excited that baseball is back, and I can’t wait to watch another great year of this beautiful game. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I know I will. Be thankful that we’ve made it here, and relish it.

All stats taken from ESPN and Baseball Reference.