It's tough to predict the two teams that will make it to the Super Bowl at the end of the football season.Then in the next minute, predicting the Super Bowl winner among the two isn't easy either. Tough to predict the playoff picture every year and that's what makes the football season so exciting. However, out of ninety-eight seasons in NFL history, this season has been the most interesting and unusual one of all time. Why? Well, last year in the 2016-17 season, Dallas Cowboys were the number one seed in the NFC, who weren't expected to win their division. The New York Giants made it to the playoffs as a wild card team with an 11-5 record, which was led by their solid decent. A lot of people did expect the giants to make it to the playoffs, but no one and I mean no one expected two teams from the NFC east division (one of the worst divisions in 2015) to make it to the playoffs. Oakland Raiders in the 2016-17 season, made it to the playoffs for the first time since the 2002-03 season. The usual playoff teams, Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks, and the New England Patriots, all made it to the playoffs last season. The Atlanta Falcons also made it to the playoffs, but they didn't just make it to the playoffs. They made it to the playoffs as the number one scoring offense. Falcons offense was incredible and super hard for their opponents to slow down. Fast-Forward to the present postseason, playoff picture is so much different than that of last year. This year, teams like the Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Minnesota Vikings, LA Rams, and Philadelphia Eagles, all made it to the postseason. Half of the AFC postseason teams weren't in the playoffs last year. On the other side, five of the six NFC teams that made it to the playoffs, weren't in the playoffs last year. Just look how drastically NFL changes from one season to another. Eight of the twelve playoff teams from last year, didn't make it to the postseason this year. Who thought at the start of the season that the Tennessee Titans would make it to the playoffs this year? Who thought they would be the one of the two playoff teams from the AFC south division? How many of us saw Seattle Seahawks missing the playoffs, after being one of the most consistent Super Bowl contenders since 2012? At the start of the season, a good amount of analyst picked the Seahawks to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl at Minneapolis this year. I'm pretty sure, no one saw the Buffalo Bills making it to the playoffs after they let go of their best receiver in Sammy Watkins, losing Mike Gillislee to their divisional foe Patriots, and after they traded away their best defensive tackle, Marcell Dareus for basically nothing? Other than the blind Bills fans, nobody expected the Bills to make it to the playoffs this year. However, they somehow made it. Wildcard weekend came and went, and its time for the remaining eight teams to fight for the glory in the divisional round this week. Regular season was full of surprises for both AFC and NFC conferences, and now the playoffs are going to be no different. Anyone could come out on top. Seeing the New England Patriots or the Pittsburgh Steelers as the AFC team in the Super Bowl isn't going to be a shocker for anyone. The two franchises are well set and organized to make it to the Super Bowl this year. However in the NFC, anyone could make it to the Super Bowl, as it is very competitive, a lot better than the AFC conference, and plus five of the six teams that made it to the playoffs, weren't in last year's playoffs. So NFC playoffs is wild and more fun this year. Question is who is going to make it to the Super Bowl from the National Football Conference this year?
We are heading into the divisional round this week, which means four teams have already been eliminated, two from AFC and two from NFC. There is no point of talking about the two NFC teams that have been eliminated, about, their chances of making it to the Super Bowl. I am not going to talk about that, but I will share my thoughts of those teams before and after their playoff matchups. Los Angeles Rams had an year that changed the landscape of their division. NFC west division from 2012-2016, belonged to the Seattle Seahawks. They didn't win the division in all five years, as 49ers won it in 2012 and Arizona Cardinals won in 2015, but the Seahawks were the most dangerous team from that division in those years. In each of those five years, Seahawks won double digit games. Every single football fan was either very impressed or jealous of the Seahawks dominance from 2012-2016. Many fans wanted the Seahawks to fall, but no one saw, one of the three other teams from the NFC West division dethroning the Seahawks in less than five years from their run. But the Rams did. The Rams didn't sweep the Seattle Seahawks in the regular season this year, but in the second game between the two teams, which took place in Seattle, the Rams completely destroyed the Seahawks. It felt like, that the Los Angeles Rams snatched the division from the Seattle Seahawks. The 2017-2018 regular season ended with the Rams winning the division with an 11-5 record and the Seattle Seahawks missing the playoffs for the first time since 2011. I wasn't so sure about the Rams going into the playoffs and them winning the NFC this year, but I knew they would struggle in the playoffs. The Rams have talent all over the roster, but their offense was lead by a second-year quarterback and a third-year running back. Plus they were coached by a rookie coach, who also happens to be the youngest coach in the NFL. They got to host a playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons in the wildcard round. The Falcons went to the Super Bowl last year and they were led by a veteran quarterback, who is a top ten quarterback, Matt Ryan. Plus Atlanta Falcons, like the Rams have talent all over the roster and they are coached by a man, who has been to three of the last four Super Bowls. I picked the Falcons to win the game and they did. Though, I expected them to win in the last minute, but they won it pretty easily.
The other NFC team that couldn't move past the wildcard round are the Carolina Panthers. My thoughts on the Panthers before the season weren't so high before the season. They weren't so high even after they clinched a playoff spot with an 11-5 record. My apologies Panthers fans, but your franchise isn't going anywhere with Cam Newton as the quarterback. Two years ago in the 2015-2016, the Panthers went 15-1 and all the way to Super Bowl. Last year, they went 6-10 and finished at the bottom of the division. This year, they bounced back, finished the year with an 11-5 record and second in their division. Cam Newton has all the abilities in the world, but he is just not consistent, as in one game he plays so well, that people start comparing him to Aaron Rodgers and then in the next game he plays so awful that, people put him among the worst quarterbacks in the league, such as Blake Bortles (everyone is taking shots at Bortles recently). The other problem with Cam is his personality. When he and his team wins, he is happy and smiling while doing his press conference with the reporters. But when he loses, he turns into a very arrogant person, as he acts rude with the media and reporters at the conference. Those of you thinking that personality doesn't play a role with the play of the quarterback, whose in charge and the face of the offense, you are dead wrong. Look at the quarterbacks who have won the Super Bowl in the last few years; Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Russell Wilson, Joe Flacco, Eli Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger. What do they all share? They are all disciplined, buttoned-up, truly committed to football, and they keep themselves cool no matter what the result of the game is. Have you ever seen Brady or Wilson after a loss, treat reporters differently than they do after they win? The answer is no. Can we say Brady and Wilson are better leaders than Newton is? That shouldn't even be a question. The third problem with Cam Newton is, he doesn't value his position. He loves being a dual-threat quarterback, which is good, but he runs too much and takes too many hits. He punishes his body a lot by attempting to run between and over linebackers. Cam needs to stop that. His accuracy isn't the best anyways, but it also suffers more late in games after he has taken several hits during the game. Cam Newton is one of a kind and a truly talented player, but he is not winning a championship with his current style and approach. In the regular season, Cam and the Panthers lost a total of five games, with two of those losses coming at the hands of the New Orleans Saints. Ironically, Saints finished with the fourth seed and Panthers with the fifth seed, meaning, the two were scheduled to play one another in the playoffs. I knew all along, if the Panthers get to the playoffs, they will go one and done. I was certain that they would lose to the New Orleans Saints in the playoffs, if they play them for the third time. The game was close all along and Cam actually put one of his best performances. Yet, he lost! It wasn't all his fault, but in the key moments, when he had a chance to take the lead in the final seconds of the game and win it, he failed to produce.
The remaining four teams in the NFC are Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints, Minnesota Vikings, and the defending NFC champions, Atlanta Falcons. All four of them obviously worked really hard to get to this point. Of the four, we could say three of them have a pretty good chance to represent NFC in the big game. The team that has almost no chance of going to the Super Bowl, are the Philadelphia Eagles. Philadelphia finished the year with the best record in the NFC, but they lost their star quarterback, Carson Wentz late in the season against the LA Rams. Teams in the past have gone to Super Bowl and won with their backup quarterbacks, but there is no way, I see Nick Foles taking this team to Super Bowl and win it. If he did have a team like the 2000s Ravens, 2002 Bucs, or the 2015 Broncos, yes he would had a chance then. Eagles are really good, but their three competitors in the conference are just ahead of them in almost every aspect of the game. Eagles have a run game, their receivers are good, their front four is incredible, but their secondary tends to give up a whole lot of big plays and Nick Foles isn't taking over games late in the fourth quarter. Had Carson Wentz not got hurt, NFC playoffs would have been so much different. Hopefully, Wentz could stay healthy next year and the Eagles make a run for it next year. I don't see the Eagles beating Falcons this Saturday.
Since their last and only Super Bowl win, the New Orleans Saints have had one of the worst defenses in the league. I didn't predict the Saints to win their division before the start of the season. I didn't see them to even be respectable after their 0-2 start in the season, though they lost to two really good teams. Then the Saints went onto win eight straight games and became a real threat in the NFC. They finished the year with a 12-4 record thanks to a solid running game from Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara, and with the help from their surprisingly very good defense. The New Orleans Saints are the most balanced team in the NFL this year and it is the most-balanced team that wins the Super Bowl most of the time. As I just mentioned, they have a great ground attack, a very good defense, and a hall of fame quarterback still playing at a very high level. What he did to a very good Panthers defense this past week in the wildcard round, was absolutely great. I enjoyed watching him play in that game. Some of the throws he made were extremely difficult and beautiful to watch. Those throws weren't just beautiful, they were crucial too. His team really needed him to make those throws as their ground attack was completely shut down in the game. Brees finished the game with 376 passing yards, two touchdown passes and one interception. Having a hall of fame quarterback as your backup plan for offense is not that bad. This week, in the divisional round, Drew Brees will have to produce even more, as he and his team will travel to Minneapolis to play against the NFC North division champs, the Minnesota Vikings. The game is going to be really exciting and it will come down to the last drop. I believe Brees and the Saints will come on top and win the game on the road.
When was the last time, a home team hosted a Super Bowl in their own city? Never! Minnesota Vikings could become the first NFL franchise to host a Super Bowl in their own stadium. Wouldn't that be amazing? Vikings have a great chance of hosting a Super Bowl this year, as they have an incredible team and they are coached by a really good coach in Mike Zimmer. Early in the year, when the Vikings lost their starting quarterback Sam Bradford and then their rookie sensational running back, Dalvin Cook, many of us believed that the Vikings season was over and they would be extremely lucky if they make it to the playoffs. Well, luck did play a part, as their arch rival, Green Bay Packers lost the NFL's second best quarterback, Aaron Rodgers to an injury which ironically, took place against the Minnesota Vikings. Injury did put the Vikings back into the contention of the NFC North crown, but they just didn't rely on Rodgers injury and cruise along the season to win a playoff spot. The Vikings with their extraordinary defense and with a balanced offense won thirteen games in the regular season. Their 13-3 record was enough to clinch a number two seed and a first round bye in the playoffs. Vikings won so much without their starting quarterback and their starting running back? Yes, they were blessed with Case Keenum, who has been a backup quarterback since 2013. He has played for three teams in less than five years, because of his inconsistent play and not being good enough of a passer. However, this year, he has so far played like a true superstar quarterback. In the regular season, Keenum completed an astonishing 67.7 percent of his passes, tossed for over 3500 yards, 22 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. At the start of the season, had a Viking fan or someone in general, told me that, Case Keenum would lead the Vikings to a 13-3 record with the numbers I just mentioned, I would have just walked away from him or her. The thought of Case Keenum passing for over 3500 yards and completing over 67 percent of his passes would have been extremely difficult for anyone to process. But, Keenum did it. He had a career changing year and has the Vikings only two games away from a Super Bowl game. Minnesota Vikings does have a great duo of wide receivers with Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, a decent running game, a reliable tight end with Kyle Rudolph, and a mighty defense full of pro bowl caliber players. As of right now, the Vikings have the best defense among all the remaining teams in the playoffs. Players such as Everson Griffen, Linval Joseph, Anthony Barr, Harrison Smith, Xavier Rhodes, and Andrew Sendejo are a very special group of players. I have them losing to the Saints this week, but it would be epic to watch them go all the way to the Super Bowl and win it.
What's the best way for a team to redeem itself after a losing the biggest game of its franchise history? Come back next year and defeat the team that prevented you from winning that game. Atlanta Falcons made it to the playoffs as the final seed in the NFC with a 10-6 record and then dominated a very-talented LA Rams team on the road. This week they are favorites to win against the number one seed, the Philadelphia Eagles. I agree with Vegas that Falcons should win that game. They are more talented and more experienced. Also, they are playing with a chip on their shoulder. I am not saying the Eagles have no chance of beating the Falcons, but there is no area, offense, defense, or special teams, where Philly is better than Atlanta. Yes, the only way I believe Falcons could lose is if, they flat out choke and they have choked before in the playoffs. In order to erase the label of 'the biggest choke job in the history of the NFL,' Falcons need to win their remaining three playoff games. Falcons have the weapons to win this week's matchup, then next week, against the winner of the Saints and Vikings matchup, and then in the Super Bowl against the AFC champions. Fans and players of the Atlanta Falcons would love nothing more than to face the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl and defeat them. That would be the best way to right the wrong which took place last year. I and many NFL fans are rooting for Minnesota Vikings to win the Super Bowl, but having a Super Bowl rematch from last year, would be a treat for all football fans all around the world. It's just we haven't had a Super Bowl rematch from the prior year since the Cowboys and Bills played one another in back to back Super Bowls in 1992 and 1993 seasons. Most probably, Atlanta Falcons will make it to the NFC championship game and then lose to the New Orleans Saints in a shoot-out.
My picks for the NFC divisional round this week are: Falcons over Eagles by ten points and Saints over Vikings by less than a touchdown. Then in the NFC championship game, Saints will defeat Falcons with a less second stop on defense. New Orleans Saints will represent NFC in the Super Bowl!
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