First Round of the NFL Playoffs

In the AFC the 5th-seed Chargers will take on the 4th-seeded Jaguars. These two teams are both very good on offense and decent on defense. The matchup of young quarterbacks will be interesting to watch. Justin Herbert and Trevor Lawrence are both playing in their first playoff games. In the first meeting between these teams, the Jacksonville Jaguars dominated the chargers with a 38-10 win. In the playoffs, the game will most likely come down to which defense can create a takeaway. Chargers fan Adam Couch, a sophomore, says that he believes the Chargers will win in a game where Herbert will put up good numbers. “Justin Herbert will throw for over 350 yards and two touchdowns when he leads the Chargers to his first playoffs win in his career”. 

Another AFC matchup is the 6th-seeded Baltimore Ravens will go up against the 3rd-seeded Cincinnati Bengals. If Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is not healthy by the game the Bengals are most likely going to win this game by double digits. The Baltimore Raven’s offense has been very stagnant without Jackson while on the other side, the Cincinnati Bengal’s offense is a top-five unit in the NFL. If the Ravens want to win this game they will have to force at least two takeaways and control the clock. “I think Burrow and the offense will dominate Raven’s defense and Chase will score three times,” said sophomore Marc Benz. What will most likely happen is the Bengals win by 14+.

The final AFC matchup is between the 2nd-seeded Buffalo Bills take on the 7th-seeded Miami Dolphins. The last time these two teams met it was one of the most entertaining games of the season ending with the final score of 32-29 seeing the Bills inch past the Dolphins. Both of these teams have very dynamic offenses but the deciding factor will be the defenses. The Buffalo defense has been very good all season helping the Bills to a 13-3 regular season record. The Dolphins have been one of the most mid-defensive units all season and nothing has seemingly clicked for them. The secondary will probably struggle against the Bills which will give the Buffalo Bills the win. The Bills are also playing for teammate Damar Hamlin who was rushed to the hospital after a hit on Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins. Hamlin has been fighting for his life and the Bills will be fighting their hardest for their teammate.

In the NFC the 4th-seeded Tampa Bay Buccaneers will take on the 5th-seeded Dallas Cowboys. The Buccaneer’s season has not gone the way almost everybody thought it would but with an 8-9 record they snuck into the playoffs due to the NFC south being the weakest division. Even with their record, the team has shown they can put up a fight. The Cowboys have been very hit or miss this season and with notoriously bad playoffs quarterback Dak Prescott leading the offense the Cowboys will probably be upset by the Buccaneers. This game could either go three ways the first being the Buccaneers win in a close game behind the veteran leadership of Tom Brady, and the second way this game could go is the Buccaneers get blown out while everything in the Cowboy’s offense clicks together. The final way I could see this game going is a low-scoring game where both teams’ defenses dominate and the Cowboy’s defense will prove that it is an elite group.

The 6th-seeded New York Giants are taking on the 3rd-seeded Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings have been the most hit-or-miss team all season with games where they look unstoppable and others where they look like a division III team. The Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has been heavily criticized by the media in recent times due to his play in big games. The Giant’s defense is looking to make the media critical of Kirk Cousins on the other hand the Viking’s star wide receiver Justin Jefferson is looking to have a huge game vs the Giant’s questionable defensive backs. This game will most likely come down to the play of Kirk Cousins if he plays well the Vikings will win but if he plays badly they’ll lose it’s as simple as that.

The NFC’s most entertaining game will be the 2nd-seeded San Francisco 49ers will take on the 7th-seeded Seattle Seahawks. The 49ers have had the best defensive unit throughout the whole season and they will look to continue their dominance vs the Seahawks offense that put up points in a flash with wide receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett catching passes from out of nowhere star veteran quarterback Geno Smith. On the other offense, the final pick in the draft out of Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy will look to help lead the 49ers’ explosive offense. This game has a deep-rooted rivalry and will be a physical and emotional game. The 49ers will either win in a dominant fashion or a close game in my opinion. Seahawks fan sophomore Drew Klemstrud believes the 49ers will win due to their defense “As much as I want to see the Seahawks win, I just don’t believe they will. The 49ers will win by 10 points probably with the Seahawks offense only starting to play well in the 4th quarter while the 49ers will run down the clock for the win”.