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The ending of a wacky NFL Season is about to meet the wackiest Playoff season in league history. Missing from this year’s playoffs are the blue bloods we have become accustomed to seeing in the postseason. Replacing the Washington Redskins, New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers from last year are the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota Vikings and Buffalo Bills.
The Patriots and Steelers still have their rightful place as top seeds in the playoffs but it is still refreshing to see some new blood in the playoff picture.
Wild Card Weekend provided the surprises I expected. The Tennessee Titans and Atlanta Falcons were last minute additions to the Wild Card Round but still found a way to flip the predicted bracket and are looking to make a deep impact in the next rounds. The New Orleans Saints and Jacksonville Jaguars simply took care of business to prove why they earned division championships.
If I learned anything this season it was to throw out past history and faith in a team based on brand recognition. With that said, let’s take a look at the re-matches in this year’s playoffs.
First up is Saints vs Vikings. An instant classic that opened the season and saw the Vikings knock off the Saints 29-19.
A lot of things have changed since this matchup. Sam Bradford is no longer the Vikings QB and Adrian Peterson will not be stinking up the field for the Saints. Both teams have also grown by leaps and bounds since this encounter. Looking at this growth and the previous matchup, I am going to have to go with the Saints to get their sweet revenge and advance.
In the other re-match, we are going back to week 5 when the Jaguars blew out the Steelers on Heinz Field.
This game is notable because of the ridiculous amount of interceptions thrown by the Steelers and the fact that I was in a bar without a Jaguars fan insight that exploded with cheers at every Steelers action of self-destruction.
While I don’t believe things will go down like this again I have been high on the Jaguars all season because of games like this. The Jags biggest problem is consistency and I DO NOT feel comfortable after the Wild Card Round game but it’s a change year and the south will rise. I’m picking the Jaguars to advance to the AFC Championship.
We will have the pleasure of watching the Titans take on the Patriots and Falcons take on the Eagles for the first time this season.
The favorite to win the Super Bowl will meet another unpredictable team in Foxborough. I’m going to go with the Titans to shake things up. Their improbable victory against the choke artist Chiefs didn’t make much sense to me on paper but Kansas City has their own set of playoff problems. Whether Patriots fans want to admit it or not, the chinks in their armor are showing. The Titans are ready to exploit them and do what it takes to win.
Atlanta is a team notorious for being in the right place at the right time. They are in the Playoffs because they won all the right games at the end of the season and they are going to continue this streak with a victory over the Wentzless Eagles.
The South will rise in the Playoffs and proof of this dominance will be in the AFC and NFC Championship games.
The Titans are living the dream because of a victory over the Jaguars but things will be different this time around. I’m picking the Jaguars to punch their ticket to the Super Bowl.
The NFC Championship will be a weird matchup. For the third time this season the New Orleans Saints will play the Atlanta Falcons. I can pick this game either way after two close games that were split by both teams. At the end of the day, I have to go with the Saints because they are the better all-around team.
Super Bowl 52 will be a matchup between the AFC South Champion Jacksonville Jaguars and NFC South Champion New Orleans Saints. The Battle for the South will be won by the Jacksonville Jaguars in a game for the ages.
There are many words I could use to describe this season… Frustrating, Amazing, Spectacular, Breathtaking, Crazy, Unpredictable
At the end of the day, one word sums it all up. FUN!!!!!!
The unpredictability kept me on my toes and I’m looking forward to more of that in the playoffs and the big game.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
KING OUT!!!!!!!
