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It is playoff time. And before the kickoff for the first of the postseason games this coming weekend, I wanted to make a bracket, if you will, of how I think these playoffs are going to go, and which two teams I believe will win each conference and meet in the Super Bowl. Some teams look great right now. The top team, I think, would be the Kansas City Chiefs. They had the league’s best record, and as defending champions, they started off as favorites, and never did anything that compromised that elite billing. They and the Green Bay Packers are the only two teams that get to rest this coming weekend. Are the Chiefs automatics for the Super Bowl? Well, I am not one who believes that any given team is predestined to win it all. After all, there are injuries, there are teams that figure other teams out. There are upsets. I think that we have all likely seen our share of things like that. I mean, if either Aaron Rodgers or Patrick Mahomes suddenly were to go out with an injury, almost everyone would agree that this would alter expectations about who is likely to win a game against them, right?
Are there teams out there that can challenge either of the top two seeds? In fact, I think there are. The Packers appear more vulnerable to me than Kansas City. After all, the Pack has lost some bizarre games in the last two seasons, and they also really got hammered by the 49ers last season. No, San Fran did not qualify, so the Pack do not have to worry about them. But what about a tough team that finds a way to ground them? Could the Packers recover enough to win if that happens?
The Chiefs can win regardless, I think. They can win a tough, low-scoring game, and they can light up the scoreboards with the best of them.
Still, there are teams that could potentially knock off either of the top two seeds. The question, though, is will they?
For the AFC, I think that the two teams that have the best chance of knocking off the Chiefs would be the Bills and the Ravens. Both of those teams are loaded with talent, and they also both entered this postseason with just a ton of momentum. Potentially, either team could possibly upset the defending champions, although they would have to play at an incredibly high level.
On the NFC side, I feel that the Packers are more vulnerable than KC is. I could see the Saints getting hot and winning, even if they got beaten by the Packers earlier in the season. Tampa Bay could also potentially get hot, and give the Packers a tough game, possibly even upsetting them. And the Seahawks, if they get hot and win two straight games to reach the NFC title game, could possibly manage an upset road win.
Paradoxically, while I think that the Packers are the more vulnerable of the two teams, I also think that the NFC teams that they could potentially face tend to be weaker. The Chiefs, meanwhile, are in a very strong position, yet they should receive serious tests, as already mentioned, from solid AFC teams. Again, I am especially impressed with the Bills, although I am not sure that they are quite up there yet to knock off the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, which is a tall order.
Here, then, are my predictions for these playoffs:
AFC Wildcard:
Buffalo defeats Indianapolis
Baltimore defeats Tennessee
Pittsburgh defeats Cleveland
NFC Wildcard:
New Orleans defeats Chicago
Seattle defeats LA Rams
Tampa Bay defeats Washington
AFC Divisional Round:
Kansas City defeats Baltimore
Buffalo defeats Pittsburgh
NFC Divisional Round:
Green Bay defeats Tampa Bay
New Orleans defeats Seattle
AFC Championship Game: Kansas City defeats Buffalo
NFC Championship Game: Green Bay defeats New Orleans
Super Bowl LV: Kansas City defeats Green Bay
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