NFL Playoffs | Teen Ink

NFL Playoffs

January 22, 2018
By dylanh520 BRONZE, Wyckoff, New Jersey
dylanh520 BRONZE, Wyckoff, New Jersey
3 articles 0 photos 0 comments

The time is here and the football season is starting to get very intriguing. The wildcard round was entertaining with the Titans vs. Chiefs, the Saints vs Panthers, and the Bills vs Jaguars game. The divisional round is approaching and the matchups are set  up to be Atlanta Falcons vs the Philadelphia Eagles, the  Tennessee Titans vs the New England Patriots, the Jacksonville Jaguars vs the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Minnesota Vikings vs the New Orleans Saints. Each one of those games should be quite interesting. There are a numerous amount of outcomes that can be made for who will be meeting up on February 2 at U.S Bank Stadium in Minnesota, but here are some predictions for each round.


The divisional round should be interesting, but not that hard to predict. The Falcons vs Eagles game should result in a Falcons win due to the for sure MVP candidate Carson Wentz being out due to a torn ACL. The Titans vs. Patriots should end up in a Patriots win due to better talent at every position. However, Titans safety Kevin Byard said after practice, “This is a playoff game. So I don’t really care if it was Joe Montana. You know what I’m saying? I’m trying to go out there and win the game. I want to make (Tom Brady) look like Blake Bortles if I can and try to catch a couple picks” (via the Tennessean). Unless the Titans offense comes up big, there is not a chance they can win against Tom Brady and the Patriots. The Jaguars vs Steelers game should be a close one. The Jaguars came up on top the last meeting these two had during the regular season in Week 5. “Sacksonville” (who get that name because of their ridiculous performance by their defensive line) has to come up big against the Steelers offense if they want to win. However, the inability to score on offense for the Jaguars is what could eliminate them from the playoffs. The Jaguars should win this game in a close match-up in an upset in Pittsburgh. This last game should be the best of the bunch, the Vikings vs the Saints. Both teams have good offenses and surprisingly good defenses. However, the Vikings had won the previous matchup this year in Week 3. The Vikings were the #1 ranked defense in the regular season, but Drew Brees has been throwing the ball with historic numbers this season, having the most accurate season of any QB in history. Due to the lockdown defense and holding two of the top five offenses in the league to under 10 points, the Vikings should come out on top. The result of the of the divisional round should make the next championship games be The Jaguars at Gillette Stadium against the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons at Minneapolis against the Minnesota Vikings.
The championship round will be exciting if the predictions are correct. The AFC Championship Game will be the Jaguars vs the Patriots. Tom Brady vs Blake Bortles in the semi-finals. If someone said that in the beginning of the season, you would think they were  crazy, well they was right. Sacksonville would be taking on their toughest matchup all year against the reigning Super Bowl champs, the Patriots. Tom Brady should have a tough time with the tough secondary that the Jaguars have in Jalen Ramsey and A.J Bouye. He should also have somewhat of difficult time passing to his tight end with the very athletic linebacker, Myles Jack, that will be matched up against Rob Gronkowski. However, the Patriots offense has so many underrated parts to it, and Brady can utilize anyone who is on the field. Calais Campbell and Malik Jackson have to come up big to put Brady under pressure so he can possibly make a mistake. Jacksonville’s offense will also have to come up big against an average Patriots defense. Blake Bortles, will have to have a big day in order for them to win. Unfortunately (for most people), it is most likely that won’t happen, and the AFC champs will most likely be the New England Patriots. According to the predictions, the NFC Championship game will be Atlanta vs Minnesota. This game has already happened and it was a tight one the entire time with the Vikings coming out on top 14-9. This game should be very similar with very limited amount of scoring. Case Keenum shouldn’t do too much with Keanu Neal, Desmond Trufant, and Robert Alford in the secondary, and with pressure of pass rushers in Vic Beasley Jr. and Adrian Clayborn. The run game with Latavius Murray and Jerick Mckinnon is what should let them score. The Vikings defense needs to play like they usually do and they will be back in their home stadium for the Super Bowl. History will be made because the Vikings will be in their home stadium when they play the Patriots for Super Bowl LII.


The predictions should result in a classic in the Minnesota Vikings vs the New England Patriots at Minneapolis for Super Bowl LII. The Super Bowl will not be predicted, because that can be saved when we get there. Now it is time to wait and see if the logic that was predicted can come into fruition.


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