Welcome to part 2 of my 2022-23 NFL playoff predictions! A perfect six for six on my Wild Card predictions. Hopefully my Divisional predictions meet the same success.
Let's roll.
AFC
#1 Kansas City Chiefs vs. #4 Jacksonville Jaguars
No Tyreek Hill? No problem, according to the Kansas City Chiefs. Once again, the Chiefs are a powerhouse team led by Patrick Mahomes and their deadly air attack. The Jaguars face a much more daunting task, and they cannot afford to fall behind 27-0 again. Five turnovers against the Chiefs would be the equivalent of waving multiple white flags.
That said, even if Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars do fall behind, they have proven they can fight back and win. Doing so against the Chiefs would be an enormous but unlikely upset.
Prediction: Chiefs win, 35-24.
Result: Chiefs win, 27-20.
Comments after the game:
Good news for the Jaguars is that they only had two turnovers. Except this time, they occurred at the worst possible time and crushed their momentum.
The Chiefs advance to the AFC Championship for the fifth year in a row, but at what cost? Mahomes took a brutal hit to the ankle in the first half, and it could be an issue in a pivotal game against either Josh Allen or Joe Burrow. We shall see...
***
#2 Buffalo Bills vs. #3 Cincinnati Bengals
If you only have time to watch one game this weekend, make sure that one game is this game. All eyes will be watching the true showdown of these two teams after Damar Hamlin's frightening medical emergency at the start of 2023.
These two teams are the AFC's Super Bowl favorites, alongside the Chiefs. The Bills have all the reason and all the motivation to win for Hamlin. Josh Allen can lead the Bills to victory, but the turnovers against the Dolphins were extremely costly. The Bills are fortunate the Dolphins forgot how to properly manage time.
The Bengals, too, escaped a close call over the Ravens, but their victory was made possible by an incredible and record-setting fumble recovery and touchdown. Joe Burrow will lead the attack from the air attack, but he will need to be ready for the Bills to breach the Bengals O-line. Remember the Titans-Bengals game last year, when Burrow was sacked nine times? Even then, the Bengals still managed to find victory (courtesy of three costly Titans interceptions), and they could find victory again.
This game will be highly emotional and come down to the wire. Expect a battle for the ages.
Prediction: Bills win, 38-35.
Result: Bengals win, 27-10.
Comments after the game:
Well, that was an untimely demise. The Bills had all the reason and all the motivation to win but could not get it done. The narrow victory over the Dolphins in the Wild Card game was really a warning sign. A Super Bowl favorite like the Bills should have annihilated the Dolphins, and escaping by three points cast a shadow of doubt upon the Bills. This year may well have been the best chance for the Bills to finally win that coveted Lombardi Trophy. But alas, the Bills continue to fall short in their never-ending quest for their first Super Bowl.
On the other hand, the Bengals may well be the AFC favorite for the Super Bowl. A dominant performance on Buffalo's home field by Joe Burrow and the Bengals has put them on a collision course for another AFC Championship match-up against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
NFC
#1 Philadelphia Eagles vs. #6 New York Giants
The Giants are fresh off an "upset" over the Vikings. A thirteen team win with a negative point differential had no business anywhere near playoff success. Still, the Giants now have the confidence to win playoff games, and since the beginning of the century they have a habit of either going one and done or making deep playoff runs all the way to the Super Bowl. Don't remind Tom Brady.
It all comes down to whether Jalen Hurts has fully recovered from his shoulder injury. If so, the Eagles should cruise to victory. If not, the Giants may pull off a true upset.
Prediction: Eagles win, 35-28.
Result: Eagles win, 38-7.
Comments after the game:
We have some stunning highlight reel footage of the game:
Absolute rout. The Eagles are definitely the true #1 seed in the NFC.
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#2 San Francisco 49ers vs. #5 Dallas Cowboys
Are the 49ers the true top seed in the NFC? This team looks unstoppable. The 49ers have not lost a game since October 23, nearly three months ago. Since the fall, the 49ers have steamrolled everything in their path, and have added new weapons — Christian McCaffrey, especially — to create an overwhelming football powerhouse. Complementing the 49ers offense is a defense will turn any enemy O-line into a Swiss cheese-line.
The Cowboys have a daunting task ahead of them. They delivered to us the season (series?) finale of The Tom Brady Show, and their offense was clicking against a hapless Buccaneers defense. The 49ers defense is the exact opposite of hapless. A brick wall, perhaps. The Cowboys have zero room for error. One mistake, one turnover, and the 49ers will boot the Cowboys right back to Texas.
Prediction: 49ers win, 31-17.
Result: 49ers win, 19-12.
Comments after the game:
We have stunning highlight reel footage of the game's final play:
Another year, another Cowboys defeat in the Divisional round.
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