NFL Playoffs Start This Weekend

Week 18 of the NFL season just concluded which means the playoffs are ready to begin. Many of the playoff teams went into the season with high expectations, but some of the teams were surprises. 

AFC:

The Kansas City Chiefs have been running the league for the past few years. 
They have been to four out of the last five Super Bowls and have been victorious in three of them. The Chiefs finished with a record of 15-2 and finished with the #1 seed which grants them home field advantage in one of the loudest stadiums. Many people didn’t think the Chiefs would be as good as they were the year before, but they proved everyone wrong by having one of the best defenses and a very strong offense. They didn’t do that much in the offseason which is why people thought they would take a step back. Although even on a down year from Patrick Mahomes, they are still one of the most feared teams. The Chiefs have a first round bye, which means even more rest. 

The Buffalo Bills were a surprisingly amazing team this year. They lost their star receiver, Stefon Diggs, in the offseason, leaving them with no offensive weapons. It was known that if the Bills were going to be a good team, quarterback Josh Allen would have to have the best season of his career. Allen was able to beat all odds and lead his team to the second seed in the AFC with a 13-4 record. Allen in the past was an amazing quarterback, but struggled with turnovers. This year, he has only turned the ball over eight times and is the favored person to win the NFL MVP. The Bills are set to play against the seventh seed, Denver Broncos on Sunday at 1 pm. 

The Baltimore Ravens had high expectations going into this year. Lamar Jackson is one of the most talented quarterbacks because he can throw that ball and run the ball. He is arguably the best rushing quarterback ever which creates a big threat to the defense. Although the Ravens already had a good run game, they added one of the best running backs in the league, Derrick Henry. With Henry distracting defenses, Jackson has been able to have the best season of his career. Jackson has won two MVPs and is a close second in this year's MVP race. After a dominant season by the Ravens, they won the AFC North with a record of 12-5. They are set to play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday at 8:30 pm. Due to the fact that both the Ravens and Steelers are in the same bracket, they have played each other twice. They both beat each other once, so it will be interesting to see who can be victorious when it really matters. 

The Houston Texans made the playoffs last year after a really good year from quarterback CJ Stroud. The Texans in the off season added superstar wide receiver Stefon Diggs and one of the best running backs in the league, Joe Mixon. Although they were already a very powerful offense, adding these two players made people think the Texans would be one of the best teams in the league. Throughout the NFL season, injuries hurt the Texans. Diggs tore his ACL, resulting in him being out for the season. Mixon missed a few weeks due to an ankle injury. Wide receiver Nico Collins also missed a few weeks due to a hamstring injury. And last but not least, wide receiver Tank Dell suffered a torn ACL and dislocated knee cap. Although these injuries were crucial, the Texans were still able to finish with a 10-7 record and finish the season with the #4 seed. The Texans play the Los Angeles Chargers in the first round of the playoffs on Saturday at 4:30 pm. 

The Los Angeles Chargers have been a very solid team the last few years. They have a star quarterback and a solid defense. In the past, they have had head coach issues and fired their coach before the season started. The Chargers hired the Michigan head coach, Jim Harbaugh, after he won the NCAA final. Nobody knew how the Chargers would do with Harbaugh at head coach, but it actually went surprisingly well. All year the Chargers have been beating good teams and showing that they are contenders. They finished with a record of 11-6 which made them receive the #5 seed. 

The Pittsburgh Steelers have always been a very solid team. Head coach Mike Tomlin has led the Steelers to 17 seasons of a winning record. In the beginning of the year, they were starting quarterback Justin Fields due to Russell Wilson's injury. When Wilson came back, the Steelers were on fire. This year the Steelers started off hot giving them a playoff spot earlier then most teams. Although they started 10-3 in the season, they began to fall off at the end of the year because of the difficulty of their schedule. They have lost the past four games, leaving them with the #6 seed and a record of 10-7. As a Steelers fan, this four game losing streak is concerning because I would love to see them beat the Ravens in the first round of the playoffs. 

The Denver Broncos have been a lower tier team the past few years. Last year, they had quarterback Russell Wilson and he wasn’t performing up to expectations. They decided to part ways with him and draft a quarterback in the draft. With the #12 pick of the 2024 Draft, they selected quarterback Bo Nix out of Oregon. Nobody knew if the Broncos would be worse or better than they were the year before. Surprisingly, Nix has been playing amazing this year as a rookie quarterback and has led the Broncos to a 10-7 record. The Broncos beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the last week of the season, giving them the last seed in the AFC. 

NFC: 

The Detroit Lions have been one of the strongest teams in the NFL for the past two years. Head Coach Dan Campbell has completely turned the Lions franchise around. With a great quarterback in Jared Goff, the best running back duo in the league, wide receivers Amonra Saint Brown and Jameson Williams, there is no surprise that this team is one of the best teams in the league. Although this team suffered major injuries in their defense throughout the season, they were still able to win the NFC and get the #1 seed in the playoffs. They finished the regular season 15-2 and have a first round bye in the playoffs. 

The Philadelphia Eagles for many years have been a very successful team. In the off season, they were able to sign arguably the best running back in the league, Saquan Barkley. Similarly to the Ravens, the Eagles already had a strong running game, so adding Saquan scared many NFL fans and teams. To no surprise, the Eagles were one of the most dominant teams finishing with a 14-3 record. Last year towards the end of the season they started getting worse, but this year they finished the season off strong, giving them high hopes in the playoffs. They are set to play the Packers on Sunday at 4:30 pm. 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were another team that made the playoffs last year, but weren’t very successful in the postseason. This year, quarterback Baker Mayfield has shown that he is a great quarterback and a great leader who can lead a team to the playoffs. They won the NFC South with a 10-7 record. Although the NFC South is generally a very weak division, they were able to show that they are a contender. Rookie running back Bucky Irving has been showing explosiveness the past few weeks after getting a real chance. Since Irving became a star role on the offense, they have been getting better every week. They have also beat the Lions and Eagles which shows that they have a good chance to make it to the Super Bowl. The Buccaneers play the Washington Commanders on Sunday at 8:00 pm. 

The Los Angeles Rams won the NFC West in a very tight battle with the Seattle Seahawks, granting them a playoff spot. The Rams were a very odd team to watch this year. Although they beat many good teams, they were losing games they should have won. This was most likely caused by the injuries of their wide receivers. The Rams have arguably the best wide receiver duos in the league, Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp. Once both Puka and Kupp were healthy they were winning important games. The Rams played in one of the most high scoring games of the year where they ended up beating the Buffalo Bills 44-42. The Rams play the Minnesota Vikings on Monday at 8 pm. 

The Minnesota Vikings had an interesting story this year. The Vikings lost quarterback Kirk Cousins in the off season and were left with no one. They signed quarterback Sam Darnold who historically hasn’t been very great. They also drafted quarterback JJ McCarthy with the #10 pick of the 2024 Draft. McCarthy tore his meniscus before the regular season which made Darnold the starting quarterback. Although Darnold isn’t considered a good quarterback, he had the best season of his career, putting himself top 5 in the NFL MVP race. The Vikings defense has also been incredible this year which is why they have been so successful. Unfortunately in Week 18, they lost to the Detroit Lions which gave them the #5 seed in the NFC versus the first seed. They finished the season with a 14-3 record. 

The Washington Commanders are arguably the most surprising team to see in the playoffs. Last year, they were one of the worst teams in the league, finishing with a 4-13 record, which resulted in the second overall pick in the draft. Caleb Williams was selected first overall to the Chicago Bears, so the Commanders ended up taking LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels. Daniels took the world by storm by putting up numbers that most rookies could never think of putting up. He led the Commanders from a terrible team to one of the best. Although they didn’t win the NFC East, they finished the season with a 12-5 record giving them the #6 seed in the NFC. 

The Green Bay Packers to no surprise were a good team last year. They have one of the youngest teams in the NFL, but that doesn’t matter because they are such a strong team. In the off season they signed running back Josh Jacobs. They already had Aaron Jones, but they thought Jacobs would be a better option. This was a smart decision because Jacobs had one of his best seasons and was one of the main reasons why they were so good this year. Quarterback Jordan Love suffered a minor injury during the season, but overall he has been having a good year. Love received a 4-year $220,000,000 contract in the off season after proving he is a very talented player. It will be interesting to see the Packers in the playoffs after losing last year in the divisional round. 

Make sure to watch all of these games and make your predictions on who will be victorious.