Round-by-round NFL Playoffs predictions
- Predicting the NFL Playoffs: The Wild-Card Round
- Predicting the NFL Playoffs: The Divisional Round
- Predicting the NFL Playoffs: The Championship Round
- Predicting the NFL Playoffs: The Super Bowl
The NFL Playoffs are officially set with Week 18 answering all of the questions about the playoff picture. Teams such as the Denver Broncos and Tampa Bay Buccaneers clinched their trip to the playoffs while others such as the LA Chargers and Washington Commanders secured key playoff seedings.
The NFL Playoffs can be wildly unpredictable and there is bound to be more than one upset that takes the sports world by storm. There is more volatility potential this year than recent years as several teams have a legitimate chance of winning it all.
Now that the stage is set, let's dive in and try to do the impossible of predicting what happens in all 13 games in the NFL Playoffs.
Predicting the NFL Playoffs: The Wild-Card Round
Buffalo Bills defeat Denver Broncos
The Broncos had a much quicker turnaround than anyone could have expected with rookie quarterback Bo Nix and they earned a spot in the NFL Playoffs as a result. As great as the Broncos' story has been this season, though, it is hard to take them serious as a real threat.
Denver finished 2-6 against teams with a winning record with the two wins against the Buccaneers and a Kansas City Chiefs team that was resting its starters. It is hard to see any world in which this Broncos team can upset the Bills.
Baltimore Ravens defeat Pittsburgh Steelers
Mike Tomlin's team is known to give Lamar Jackson fits and if this game was in Pittsburgh then maybe the Steelers could pull off the upset after blowing the AFC North. Without home-field advantage, the Steelers are destined to lose their fifth game in a row.
The only path to victory for Pittsburgh is a Baltimore self-implosion, which certainly is possible, but not likely.
LA Chargers defeat Houston Texans
The Chargers were gunning for the fifth seed in the AFC against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 18 and that is exactly what the Bolts got. There is a reason why the Chargers wanted the fifth seed so badly as the Texans might be the most beatable division-winner in the AFC Wild-Card Round.
Of course, the Chargers will still have their hands full and this will undoubtedly be a close game that comes down to a wire. But when the dust settles, it will be the Chargers who upset the Texans at home with Justin Herbert peaking at exactly the right time.
Green Bay Packers defeat Philadelphia Eagles
A rematch from Week 1 in Brazil, the Philadelphia Eagles have a much tougher two-seven matchup than the Bills in the AFC. The Green Bay Packers are a dangerous team that matches up well against an Eagles team that wants to run the ball.
Green Bay has one of the best-rushing defenses in the league, ranking in the top 10 in every important run defense metric. Saquon Barkley will probably still have a big day, but the Packers can at least slow him down while Jalen Hurts has to go out and play a playoff game after essentially missing two weeks.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeat Washington Commanders
This is undoubtedly going to be the most entertaining game of Wild-Card Weekend as both teams are set up nicely to have offensive explosions against one another. This is also the hardest game of the slate to get a feel for, as anything truly can happen.
It'll naturally come down to the final seconds of the game and because of playoff experience and home-field advantage, the Bucs seem like the safer bet to win this thrilling game.
LA Rams defeat Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings have lost to two teams this season: the Detroit Lions and the Rams. After losing to the Lions for a second time in Week 18 to miss out on the No. 1 seed, the Vikings have to play the other team they lost to this season.
Minnesota may be a 14-win team but there are some holes the team has been showing for quite some time (even in wins). The Vikings have barely scratched past several non-playoff teams and were thoroughly outclassed in the second half against the Lions. The Rams will pick up where the Lions left off.
Predicting the NFL Playoffs: The Divisional Round
LA Chargers defeat Kansas City Chiefs
Yes, we have the fifth-seeded Chargers going into Arrowhead and beating the two-loss Chiefs to end thier bid at the first threepeat in NFL history. There is a reason why no team has won three Super Bowls in a row, after all.
This is the last team the Chiefs want to see in the Divisional Round as the Chargers have already played two close games against the Chiefs this season. It is really hard to beat a good team three times in one year, especially when that good team is coached by Jim Harbaugh of all people.
The Chargers were banged up in some regard in each of the last two matchups against the Chiefs. With LA having a clean bill of health entering the NFL Playoffs, the Bolts are set up nicely to pull off the upset.
Buffalo Bills defeat Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens routed the Bills early in the season in Baltimore and now it is the Bills' turn to get revenge on the Ravens. This is truly a toss-up between two elite teams with the two MVP frontrunners going toe-to-toe on the biggest stage.
The best version of Baltimore beats the best version of Buffalo but the Bills have been more consistent than the Ravens this season. For that reason, Buffalo seems like the safer bet, even if the game will inevitably come down to the wire.
Detroit Lions defeat Green Bay Packers
The Lions are going to have a tough game in the Divisional Round regardless of who advances and in this matchup, Dan Campbell's team hosts a team that they have already beaten twice this season.
Based on how the NFC is shaking out to this point in these predictions, many may consider this to be the true NFC Championship with the winner being destined to make the Super Bowl. But will the Lions complete that prophecy?
LA Rams defeat Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Rams will have to play this game on the road because they rested starters in Week 18 and the Buccaneers stole the third seed. It won't ultimately matter, though, as Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford will reach the NFC Championship yet again.
Los Angeles has the defensive front to fluster Baker Mayfield and has the passing weapons to go toe-to-toe with the Bucs' weapons. With a better head coach, the Rams take the game.
Predicting the NFL Playoffs: The Championship Round
Buffalo Bills defeat LA Chargers
This is where the storybook run ends for the Chargers and quite frankly, this is much farther than anyone expected the team to go at the start of the season. As disappointing as it would be to fall short, the season would still be considered a massive win to get to this point.
Buffalo simply has too much firepower to outmatch the Chargers in an outdoors road game in late January. If this game was played in the controlled environment of SoFi Stadium then the Bolts may have a better chance to beat the Bills in a shootout. But with the support of a hungry fanbase craving a Super Bowl appearance, the Bills will outmatch the Chargers.
Detroit Lions defeat LA Rams
This could have been a Wild-Card Round matchup if the Vikings beat the Lions in Week 18 but alas, it becomes the NFC Championship. This is a rematch from last year's playoffs and is the perfect NFC Championship for the NFL considering all the storylines.
The Rams will ultimately suffer the same fate as their Los Angeles counterparts, albeit in a closer game against the Vikings. Instead of a Los Angeles Super Bowl, NFL fans will instead get a Super Bowl between two of the most tortured fanbases in the league.
Predicting the NFL Playoffs: The Super Bowl
Detroit Lions defeat Buffalo Bills
Two tortured fanbases square off in the Super Bowl and only one can stand tall. This truly is the best Super Bowl matchup for neutral fans as these two teams both have racous fanbases that deserve to finally see some success.
Conventional wisdom says the Bills should win this game and they probably would be favored in the matchup. Buffalo has a better quarterback and isn't dealing with the litany of injuries the Lions are dealing with heading into the playoffs.
However, when the Lions are humming they are truly unstoppable and there is one game that Ben Johnson will go back and watch to come up with a gameplan to beat the Bills. Johnson will take a page out of Sean McVay's book and deploy a run-heavy offense similar to McVay's that led the Rams to a 44-42 victory.