This year’s NFL season has been one of the craziest, most unpredictable seasons I can remember. Last week alone, there were three 17-point comebacks, which includes the most significant come-from-behind victory, a 33-point comeback by the Minnesota Vikings, in NFL history. No lead is safe! No team is safe! With that, although there are some significant front-runners to make and potentially win this year’s Super Bowl, what if we keep this craziness going?
What if two of the hottest teams playing at this moment, who are severe underdogs to do anything, make it to February 12th at SoFi Stadium and play for the Vince Lombardi Trophy? Here’s what has to happen for us to get a Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Detroit Lions Super Bowl (which, according to Bet MGM, is +100000, so yeah, there’s a chance!).
Week 15 just ended, and we have a small picture of what’s ahead. So let’s put on a pot of coffee and start with the AFC and what we know right now.
The Buffalo Bills (11-3, clinched Playoffs), the Kansas City Chiefs (11-3, AFC West Champions), and the Cincinnati Bengals (10-4) are the Elite. They are fighting for that coveted 1st round bye, which is more important than just getting the weekend off. The other two could meet in a colossal matchup in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
Kansas City’s remaining schedule is Seattle and Denver at Arrowhead Stadium, then at the Raiders in Las Vegas. With a bye on the line, that’s three wins, bringing them to 14-3 for the season. Keep in mind that Buffalo and Cincinnati have tiebreakers against them because they both beat Kansas City this season, which is another reason for them to win out despite having already won the AFC West.
This brings us to the Bills and Bengals, who conveniently play each other next Monday night, January 2nd, in Cincinnati. Huge stakes and Playoff implications! Potentially “Game of the Year” magnitude! If Buffalo wins, we stay the course. But I’ll take the Bengals in this one as “Joe Cool,” and they seem to have caught their stride. This will also give the Bills a little “wake-up call” that, again, they are vulnerable in this fight. A loss here will also be a substantial motivating factor if these two teams circle back to each other in January. Buffalo is at Chicago, then home vs. New England. Cincinnati is at New England, then home against Baltimore. All are potential wins due to the top-seed race and just being better than their competition.
If I’m right, that puts Kansas City (14-3) in the top spot, Cincinnati in the second (13-4), and Buffalo right behind them at three (13-4). So that’s set.
Good?
Good!
Moving forward.
In the Wild Card Race, you have the Baltimore Ravens (9-5) in the top spot, but a win at Atlanta will be followed by losses at home against Pittsburgh, then at Cincinnati. So they’ll stumble as the seven seed, with or without Lamar Jackson. Then, the Los Angeles Chargers (8-6) and Miami Dolphins (8-6) have winnable games the rest of the way, so look for them to finish 11-6. On the other hand, the New England Patriots (7-7) and New York Jets (7-7) have demanding schedules ahead. And after what the Patriots pulled last weekend against the Raiders, I’ll say they don’t deserve to win the rest of their games. So look for the Pats and the Jets to lose out, each finishing out of the Playoffs with 7-10 records.
This brings us to the AFC South. The Tennessee Titans currently sit in first place at 7-7 but are riding a four-game losing streak heading into the home stretch, which includes games at home against the Houston Texans and Dallas Cowboys and ending the season at the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are chasing the Titans for the division crown at 6-8. The Jaguars won the first matchup in Tennessee against the Titans two weeks ago, so a win in the season’s final game could be the tiebreaker needed for the Jaguars to win the AFC South. That’s what has to happen for the Jags to make the playoffs. If the Jags win out, they’ll be 9-8, which won’t land them a Wild Card. So the division title is their only way in. And that’s what I’m going to say happens. A win at the Jets this week, the Texans next, and a win against the Titans in week 18 secures the AFC South.
So, in my not-so-expert opinion, I have the division winners as Kansas City (14-3), Cincinnati (13-4), Buffalo (13-4), and Jacksonville (9-8), with the Los Angeles Chargers (11-6), Miami (11-6) and Baltimore (10-7) earning the wild cards.
In the NFC, the Minnesota Vikings (11-3) have won the NFC North after last week’s historic comeback. With nothing to play for, I have them losing to an inconsistent Giants team this weekend. A win next week would eliminate the Packers officially. Then, a loss at Chicago to close out the regular season.
Those two losses will end the Vikings’ season with a 12-5 record, opening the door for the NFC West Division champion San Francisco 49ers (10-4) to jump over them in the standings. The Niners will play at home against Washington, at Las Vegas, then home against Arizona. I see these as wins for the Niners. It’s looking more and more like the Niners will not be hindered due to the injury of Jimmy Garappolo. Brock Purdy is a kid who has been handed a set of keys to a brand-new Porsche.
The NFC South is a disaster. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-8) should win two of their last three games to stumble into the playoffs with an 8-9 record. So there’s no need to spend too much talking about them.
The NFC East is the opposite. All four teams are currently sitting in playoff spots, with the Philadelphia Eagles (13-1) and Dallas Cowboys (10-4) having already punched their tickets to the postseason. The Eagles will have a chance to wrap up the Division this weekend as they travel to Dallas for a much-anticipated rematch from Week 6, where the Eagles defeated the Cooper Rush led Cowboys 26-17.
To me, this is Dallas’s Super Bowl. The Cowboys will go all out this weekend, and that should lead to a Dallas Victory. So, give me Dallas this weekend, but with the remaining games against the Saints and Giants, the Eagles will not release their stranglehold on the Division.
Coming off their game this past Sunday Night in Washington, the Giants (8-5-1) and Commanders (7-6-1) are sitting in the other two remaining playoff spots, with the Seattle Seahawks (7-7) and Detroit Lions (7-7) right behind them. I can see the Giants riding the momentum from Sunday Night’s victory to propel past Minnesota this weekend. I can see the Giants ending the season at 9-7-1, which will get them in the dance.
Still, I feel a letdown the following week against Indianapolis and a tough matchup to end the season vs. Philadelphia.
Washington might be less lucky. I see back-to-back losses the next two weeks for the Commanders, who play at San Francisco and then home against Cleveland. I’m sure they can sneak in a win against Dallas in the season finale, who will likely be locked in the five and then rest their starters, but it will be too late. I don’t see Washington making the playoffs.
Both Seattle and Detroit cannot afford any more losses. And for Seattle, they have Kansas City this weekend, which will stick a fork in them. On the other hand, Detroit has three very winnable games coming up. At Carolina, home against Chicago, then finishing the season at Green Bay is a great way to continue their momentum on this little streak of winning six of their past seven games. Give me three more wins for Detroit, and with a 10-7 record, that punches their ticket to the Playoffs.
So my Playoff teams for the NFC are the Eagles (15-2), 49ers (13-4), Vikings (12-5), and Buccaneers (8-9) as your division champions, with the Cowboys (12-5), Lions (10-7) and Giants (9-7-1) rounding out the bunch.
Now, this is where this gets fun! Because to get our Jacksonville vs. Detroit Super Bowl, some crazy (bleep) has to take place. And if there ever was a season for this to happen, it’s this one!
Now, I have the Jaguars hosting the Miami Dolphins for Super Wild Card Weekend while Detroit travels to division rival Minnesota. Detroit beating Minnesota seems plausible. Nonetheless, two tough tests for our underdogs right off the bat! But they will persevere!
In other games, that weekend, look for San Francisco to handle the Giants. I’ll take Brady and the Buccaneers in an upset win at home against Dallas, Cincinnati over Baltimore, and Buffalo will take care of the Chargers in what should be a very entertaining game.
Many people say the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs is the best weekend of games of the season. The eight top teams in the league go to war, and unpredictable and unprecedented events occur. And in my bracket, it is just that! The Jaguars would have to go to Arrowhead Stadium and beat Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. And if that’s not enough, the Lions have to go to Philadelphia and beat the 15-2 Eagles (which they almost did back in week one this season). This is stuff they make movies about! How crazy would both outcomes be?
In the other two games that weekend, the Buffalo Bills would return to the crime scene, where I had the Bengals beat them during the Regular Season on Monday Night Football. I see a motivated Josh Allen not getting fooled twice, and the Bills get their revenge on the Bengals and go on to host the AFC Championship. And in a bit of a storybook ending, if this is Tom Brady’s last season, how fitting would it be if his previous game was in his hometown against the team he grew up rooting for? So I have Brady having one last monumental win in beating the Cowboys in the Wild Card round for his career to come full circle and end at the hands of the 49ers in San Francisco.
It’s been a wild playoff ride for our two beloved underdogs. Every sports show and analyst has probably picked against both Jacksonville and Detroit in every round and is probably saying that at this point in the playoffs, the clock will strike midnight on these Cinderella stories. But, I say No! I see Trevor Lawrence breaking the Bills’ Mafia’s hearts in Buffalo and Jared Goff dissecting an incredible 49ers defense as both these franchises head to the Super Bowl for the first time in their histories.
What an improbable ride for these two teams if it were to happen.
Does it make sense? No, of course not. But in a season where nothing has made sense, why should this be any different?
Good luck to you and your team if they are in playoff contention. But if you’re like me, and your favorite team just lateralled their playoff chances away, let’s jump on the Jags and Lions bandwagons and see if we can take this season to the looney bin!
