Hello readers! Another week of National Football League action is coming upon us yet again! The regular season is over and all the pretenders are at home in the cold while the contenders are here to play for the ultimate prize: the Lombardi Trophy. The NFL's 2nd season will have three weeks of intense, exciting football leading up to Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas. In this post, I will do the playoff results, Super Wild Card Weekend Preview and Picks and the TV Broadcast pairings for the six games this weekend. Let's get to work!
NFL Playoff Results
We now have the 14 teams that will represent both the AFC and NFC in the playoffs this year. The seven that each conference will have now have the ability and the chance to represent their conference in Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas. Let's look at the AFC.
Seeding
1st seed: Baltimore Ravens (13-4) (Clinched AFC North and Homefield advantage)
2nd seed: Buffalo Bills (11-6) (Clinched AFC East)
3rd seed: Kansas City Chiefs (11-6) (Clinched AFC West)
4th seed: Houston Texans (10-7) (Clinch AFC South)
5th seed: Cleveland Browns (11-6) (Clinched playoff berth)
6th seed: Miami Dolphins (11-6) (Clinched playoff berth)
7th seed: Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7) (Clinched playoff berth)
Super Wild Card Weekend Matchups
Cleveland @ Houston
Miami @ Kansas City
Pittsburgh @ Buffalo
Better Luck Next Year
Cincinnati (9-8), Jacksonville (9-8), Indianapolis (9-8), Las Vegas (8-9), Denver (8-9), NY Jets (7-10), Tennessee (6-11), LA Chargers (5-12), New England (4-13)
So there's the seven that will represent the AFC. It seems safe to say that this will be an interesting conference to watch. Any team on here could have the possibility to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. It's that good. Let's look at the NFC.
Seeding
1st seed: San Francisco 49ers (12-5) (Clinched NFC West and Homefield advantage)
2nd seed: Dallas Cowboys (12-5) (Clinched NFC East)
3rd seed: Detroit Lions (12-5) (Clinched NFC North)
4th seed: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-8) (Clinched NFC South)
5th seed: Philadelphia Eagles (11-6) (Clinched playoff berth)
6th seed: Los Angeles Rams (10-7) (Clinched playoff berth)
7th seed: Green Bay Packers (9-8) (Clinched playoff berth)
Super Wild Card Weekend Matchups
Green Bay @ Dallas
LA Rams @ Detroit
Philadelphia @ Tampa Bay
Better Luck Next Year
Seattle (9-8), New Orleans (9-8), Minnesota (7-10), Chicago (7-10), Atlanta (7-10), NY Giants (6-11), Washington (4-13), Arizona (4-13), Carolina (2-15)
The NFC was probably the weaker conference over the AFC. However, I do think that the top teams in the NFC can matchup well enough against the AFC. We shall see which team will hoist the Lombardi Trophy in a month's time.
Super Wild Card Weekend Preview
Super Wild Card Weekend will start in Houston, Texas and finish up in Tampa, Florida. There will be a six-game slate where 12 teams will play. Unlike the regular season, if they lose, they go home but if they win, they move closer to the Super Bowl. The weekend will feature two Saturday games, three Sunday games and a Monday night game. NBC and Peacock will have the Saturday games, CBS will show the Sunday early game, FOX will show the late Sunday afternoon game, NBC will show the Sunday night game and ABC/ESPN will show the Monday night game. Let's get to the picks!
Super Wild Card Weekend Picks
Note: All game times are in US Eastern. TW is me and CV is Cardinal Viking, my former roommate.
Cleveland @ Houston (NBC: 4:30 pm): TW: Browns; CV: Browns
The Browns lost to the Bengals and the Texans beat the Colts last week. The weekend starts with an intriguing matchup. You have the red hot Browns who have won four of their last five. Despite losing last week in a rather blowout to the Bengals, the Browns should have some advantage in this game. Joe Flacco has been in the postseason before and a fair amount of Browns players have as well. I think Kevin Stefansky will have his troops ready. Houston is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2019. They've come a long way from a year ago when they had won just three games. Houston lost to these Browns back in Week 16 with a 36-22 score. Safe to say I think the score will be a bit better in the Texans favor. Joe Flacco is a natural when it comes to road playoff games with seven wins on the road (one of them including the 2012 Divisional playoff against Denver). It'd be ideal for the Browns to have Myles Garrett play in this game and to have David Njoku ready as well. Houston has one of the top passing attacks in the league and Cleveland has the 2nd best pass defense. Something is going to have to give. I'll take the better experienced Browns squad.
Miami @ Kansas City (Peacock; 8:00 pm): TW: Chiefs; CV: Chiefs
The Dolphins lost to the Bills and the Chiefs beat the Chargers last week. It's going to be a bit chilly in Arrowhead for this game. Game time temperature of -2 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm not saying that the weather will be a factor but it is supposedly going to be 75 degrees in Miami and it'll be the aforementioned temperature. They're going to have to do some big physical play and keep the Chiefs off the field. Miami has a rush offense that can do it. Kansas City hasn't had the best season for a defending champion but at least they're in the tournament. Anything can happen at this point. All the problems that the Chiefs have had, the turnovers, dropped passes, etc. will need to get solved quickly in this game. Any sort of turnovers get amplified in the playoffs. They will need to play their best game of the season in this one. I'll take the home team Chiefs.
Pittsburgh @ Buffalo (CBS; 1:00 pm): TW: Bills; CV: Bills
The Steelers beat the Ravens and the Bills beat the Dolphins last week. The first of three games on Sunday. Pittsburgh got it done last week against the Ravens and had some help thanks to the Titans. The win and playoff berth was at a costly one. The Steelers will be without TJ Watt for the game. Despite the loss of their defensive leader, the offense has done its part in the Steelers wins this season. Pittsburgh's running game has been their bread and butter. Much like their counterparts of teams that won those Super Bowls in the 1970's and the 2000's. Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren of today aren't quite Franco Harris/Rocky Blier or Jerome Bettis/Willie Parker, they still have the grit to drive down the field. Buffalo is a run of the middle rush defense. So perhaps they could exploit that. The Bills secret to success is being a balanced attack. Josh Allen is largely a dual threat quarterback in every sense of the word. He is capable of throwing 300 yards and rushing for 100 yards. I do wish that the Bills would spend more time on trying to get other running backs involved in running the ball. If the Bills can protect the ball and run it down the Steelers throats, I think everything else will fall into place.
Green Bay @ Dallas (FOX; 4:30 pm): TW: Packers; CV: Cowboys
The Packers beat the Bears and the Cowboys beat the Commanders last week. A classic postseason rivalry renews for the first time in eight years the Packers and Cowboys will face off in the playoffs. The script for this game is that former coach Mike McCarthy faces off against his old team. His former quarterback Aaron Rodgers will not be playing in this game for Green Bay. This season's version of the Packers has been a team that has been playing well after starting off with a rough start. Jordan Love has stepped up and thrown less turnovers, the running game has gotten going as well. If there was a weakness for the Pack is their rush defense. They have given up 128.3 yards/game against running backs. Dallas has once again made the playoffs and have a top-5 offense. What probably makes them so much better is having every level of the defense being a versatile threat. Tony Pollard could be a possible threat to having a good game in running the ball. I think the Pack will take it.
LA Rams @ Detroit (NBC; 8:00 pm): TW: Lions; CV: Rams
The Rams beat the Niners and the Lions beat the Vikings last week. The dramaiest, drama-filled game full of drama that you'll ever see. The script shows that Matthew Stafford of the Rams goes back to his old stomping grounds and Jared Goff faces off against the team that drafted him. Doesn't get more spicy than that. The Rams come into this game with somewhat of a hot hand. As well as a rested quarterback, running back, and wide receiver. The Rams offense will be right up there with the Lions defense. It will be a challenge to Detroit's linebackers and defensive backs to ensure that the Rams offense doesn't get too comfortable in its surroundings. Detroit's offense is just as good. They just don't have a rookie wide receiver that can put up some yardage. If there was a difference between the two is that the Lions have two running backs that can put the hurt. The Rams have Kyren Williams which can put up some yards as well. That I think might be the difference between winning this game. I think its a tough game to say but I will go with the Lions.
Philadelphia @ Tampa Bay (ABC/ESPN; 8:00 pm): TW: Eagles; CV: Buccaneers
The Eagles lost to the Giants and the Buccaneers beat the Panthers last week. The Wild Card playoffs wrap up with a fairly interesting game in Tampa Bay. The Eagles are looking like a team that might be heading out as fast as they're going in. They've lost five of their last six games. Seems like that win over Buffalo was the tipping point for the Eagles. The sound of the playoffs might make them get back into playing better. There isn't one side of the ball that is playing worse, it feels like its a team effort in the losing. Tampa Bay will be hosting a playoff game for the 3rd straight year. All three of them against an NFC East team. Tampa has been an up and down team as well as Philadelphia. Their offense has steadied the ship (pun intended) while the defense has kept opponents from scoring 25+ points. If there was a good thing about the Bucs defense is that they're good against the run. Philadelphia likes to run the ball in more ways than one. The Eagles might be limited on offense as AJ Brown suffered a rough knee injury last week. If the Eagles are going to win, they're going to need to lean on Jalen Hurts. I think the Eagles will have enough to win in Tampa.
TV Broadcast Pairings
Note: Games in bold are being shown in my area, check local listings
Cleveland @ Houston
Noah Eagle, Todd Blackledge
Miami @ Kansas City
Mike Tirico, Jason Garrett
Pittsburgh @ Buffalo
Jim Nantz, Tony Romo
Green Bay @ Dallas
Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olson
LA Rams @ Detroit
Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth
Philadelphia @ Tampa Bay
Joe Buck, Troy Aikman
For more information on which game is being shown in your area check out:
Records
Cardinal Viking:
2023:
Week 1: 10-6
Week 1: 10-6
Week 2: 10-6
Week 3: 8-8
Week 4: 13-3
Week 5: 6-8
Week 5: 6-8
Week 6: 9-6
Week 7: 4-9
Week 8: 10-6
Week 9: 8-6
Week 10: 6-8
Week 10: 6-8
Week 11: 7-7
Week 12: 9-7
Week 13: 9-4
Week 14: 5-10
Week 15: 10-6
Week 16: 10-6
Week 17: 7-9
Week 18: 6-10
Total: 147-125
2017: 167-89
2018: 156-98-2
2019: 151-104-1
2020: 163-92-1
2021: 167-104-1
2022: 157-112-2
My record:
2023:
Week 1: 9-7
Week 1: 9-7
Week 2: 11-5
Week 3: 11-5
Week 3: 11-5
Week 4: 14-2
Week 5: 7-7
Week 6: 8-7
Week 7: 5-8
Week 8: 10-6
Week 9: 9-5
Week 10: 7-7
Week 10: 7-7
Week 11: 11-3
Week 12: 8-8
Week 13: 9-4
Week 14: 4-11
Week 15: 10-6
Week 16: 9-7
Week 17: 9-7
Week 18: 10-6
Total: 161-111
2012: 164-90-2
2013: 162-92-1
2014: 172-83-1
2017: 164-92
2018: 156-98-2
2019: 161-94-1
2019: 161-94-1
2020: 167-88-1
2021: 173-98-1
2022: 166-103-2
2022: 166-103-2
See you all after the Monday night game for the Week # Recap! Enjoy the games!
-Tom
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