[twitch-status channel=””]The NFL playoffs can be very confusing. A few years ago it was difficult to find out who is playing who each round and nearly impossible to figure out when each team is playing. The NFL has done a much better job with this recently, to the point where if you spend 15 minutes online you should easily be able to deduce how your favorite team (or simply the team you are pulling for if your favorite team didn’t get an invite to the dance) might make it to the Super Bowl and when they will play on their way to get there. In this article I have highlighted which team is playing which, where the games will be played, what time/date each game will be played, as well as what station will be hosting each game. I have also given my pick for each round, leading up to my SB pick before the playoffs even kick off. Remember, you heard it here first, folks. *All times are U.S. Central Standard Time, predicted winners each round are in BOLD, projected opponents are in (parentheses)*.
Wildcard Weekend:
Saturday, January 7th:
Oakland Raiders @ Houston Texans, 3:35 pm on ESPN
Detroit Lions @ Seattle Seahawks, 7:15 pm on NBC
Sunday, January 8th:
Miami Dolphins @ Pittsburgh Steelers, 12:05 pm on CBS
New York Giants @ Green Bay Packers, 3:40 pm on FOX
I picked a clean sweep of the home teams through the first round. The Raiders/Texans game could be considered a coin flip, but I really did not like how the Raiders fared against the Broncos in week 17. I gave the edge to the team that has dealt with problems at the QB position all season long. I think Lions/Seahawks is a no-brainer to me, I’ll take Seattle all day at home. Let’s see if Stafford can work his 4th quarter magic over on the West coast.
Dolphins/Steelers seems like a gimme and, being a Steelers fan, I really don’t see a way a backup QB bests Big Ben in Heinz field. Giants/Packers is the game I am looking forward to most this weekend. The Giants have proven that they won’t go quietly, but again, I’m backing Aaron Rodgers at home.
Divisional Weekend:
Saturday, January 14th:
Atlanta Falcons vs. Highest Remaining NFC Seed (Seattle Seahawks), 3:35 pm on FOX
New England Patriots vs. Lowest Remaining AFC Seed (Houston Texans), 7:15 pm on CBS
Sunday January 15th:
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Highest Remaining AFC Seed (Pittsburgh Steelers), 12:05 pm on NBC
Dallas Cowboys vs. Lowest Remaining NFC Seed (Green Bay Packers), 3:40 pm on FOX
Many people who read this will likely disagree with my selections here, but that’s OK. That’s why we write these pieces in the first place, to spark conversation. I’d also like to point out that I went from a sweep of the home teams in the Wildcard round, to 3 out of 4 away teams winning this round. Falcons/Seahawks is a game that just HAS to happen; I wouldn’t want to watch them play anyone else. Atlanta is devastating at home and the only way they lose this game is if they play a team that has come into their house and beaten them before. I also think Seattle is more equipped for the playoffs than Atlanta. The winner of Raiders/Texans gets to be sacrificed on live TV at Gillette Stadium if the Steelers win, which I think is the biggest lock in the first round; Pats have a cake walk into the AFC Championship.
Chiefs/Steelers is another game that would be exciting to watch. I already mentioned that I am a Steelers fan, but I truly believe that the Steelers are simply a “playoff” team and that the Chiefs are built to win in the regular season. Besides that, the Steelers abused the Chiefs earlier this year and upset them brutally last year with a backup QB. Pittsburgh is the only AFC team who has the ability to beat New England as well; Kansas City wouldn’t have a prayer. Finally, a Cowboys/Packers rematch is headline worthy. I give the Packers the win in this scenario because the better QB is going to have the advantage in rematches. Dak Prescott is good, but is more of a game-manager than a true force at QB; if the Packers can keep Zeke contained enough for Rodgers to expose the back-end of the Cowboy’s defense then this game could be uglier than everybody thinks.
Championship Sunday:
Sunday, January 22nd:
Highest Remaining NFC Seed(Seattle Seahawks) vs. Lowest Remaining NFC Seed (Green Bay Packers), 2:05 pm on FOX
Highest Remaining AFC Seed (New England Patriots vs. Lowest Remaining AFC Seed (Pittsburgh Steelers), 5:40 pm on CBS
This is 1 of only 2 scenarios where Seattle gets a 2nd home game in the playoffs, the other would be the Giants beating the Packers in the Wildcard, then going to Atlanta and beating them on the road while the Seahawks would have to beat the Cowboys on the road… unlikely at best. Seahawks/Packers would be another rematch made in heaven. Seattle would host Green Bay if everything I highlighted were to work out (something very unlikely to happen). I went with Seattle here as well, not just because they are at home, but because I think they are going to figure out their rushing attack here in the next couple weeks and keeping the ball out of Rodgers hands is the ONLY way to beat the Packers. Surprised I didn’t go with my Steelers here? Me too. Even though I think the Steelers are the only AFC team capable of bringing down the house in Gillette Stadium, I think the Steelers have been struggling with ball protection on the road too much this season to beat Brady at home. If the Steelers don’t hand the ball over to Brady and can stop Blount in the redzone (something they have actually been very good at this season) they can pull away with a W, but a lot has to go right for that to happen.
Super Bowl Sunday:
Sunday, February 5th:
AFC Champion (New England Patriots) vs. NFC Champion (Seattle Seahawks), 5:30 pm on FOX
Wow, would the NFL (and Rodger Goodell) love me if I just successfully wrote the script for the NFL playoffs. Not only would we get to see 2016 season rematches between Seahawks/Packers, Cowboys/Packers, Patriots/Steelers, Chiefs/Steelers, and Falcons/Seahawks in the playoffs, but we would get a Super Bowl rematch of Patriots/Seahawks from Super Bowl 49. Someone has to buy me a lotto ticket if this happens. I’m not a maths person, but the odds would be astronomical if I got all of those right. Yes, I went with Seattle here because I truly believe they are the only team capable of beating New England in the NFC. The Patriots would have ridden a glorious season until this point with only 1 loss having Tom Brady at the helm. Guess what? That only loss…was to the Seahawks back in week 10! I know the Patriots beat them in the Super Bowl 2 years ago, and even though Seattle is a flawed team, we have already seen the Patriots lose the big dance not once, but twice to the New York Giants. I think Seattle is the new Achilles heel for the Patriots and I personally wouldn’t mind seeing the Patriots lose another Super Bowl to an inferior team. If I am wrong in any of my picks above, and the Patriots make it to the Super Bowl against any other opponent than Seattle, bet the house on the Patriots. I also think that if Green Bay makes it to the Super Bowl and plays anyone other than the Patriots, Aaron Rodgers is going to win people a lot of denaro $$$.
See my Championship teams above, if you are in an elimination challenge or simply betting before the playoffs start which team is going to win the game on February 5th, I’d be betting on 1 of those 4 teams.
