Hi, with the exciting first round of the playoffs approaching very quickly, here are my predictions for the 4 playoff games this weekend. Here it is:
Dolphins @ Steelers, My Predicted Winner: Steelers:
How could the Steelers lose this one. After running the table and playing great football the last few weeks lead by their insane offense with Big Ben, Le'Veon Bell, and Antonio Brown they couldn't lose this one at home. The Steelers O is as dangerous as ever while their D has stepped up lately and played pretty well. The Dolphins will need their O and D to play perfectly if they want a road win upset. Running Back Jay Ajayi has been really good, but I don't think he's enough to lead a stumbling offense with Matt Moore at QB to fill in for the injured Ryan Tannehill (who does have a chance to play this weekend though). Matt Moore has been a good backup, but I don't know if he has what it takes to beat one of the most dangerous teams in the league on the road. The Dolphins did upset the Steelers earlier this season but that was when they were struggling and Big Ben went down with an injury in that week and the Steelers are a much different team then they were then. Sorry Dolphins fans, the Steelers are too dangerous for them to play with.
Raiders @ Texans, My Predicted Winner: Texans:
This is one of the toughest games to call, but after thinking about it, the Texans will win. I know when you think of the Raiders, you think of one of the best teams in the league, but that was before MVP candidate Derek Carr went down and then backup QB Matt McGloin also went down and likely won't play this week either, leaving rookie QB Connor Cook at starter. Cook is a decent player, but I don't think he can beat a great defense like the Texans which has been on fire lately. The Texans have a confusing offense, but its not as bad as the Raiders. The Texans signed QB Brock Osweiler to a huge deal this off-season, but he has been playing TERRIBLY this season and so a few weeks ago, the Texans benched Osweiler and started backup QB Tom Savage, who played decently before he himself went down with an injury last week so Brock Osweiler will be at QB again. He at least knows the offense well. With 2 evenly matched terrible offenses without good QB's, the Texans D is much better than the Raiders and at home vs a rookie QB making his first start they should be pretty good. The Raiders had such Super Bowl promise until Derek Carr got injured, it really sucks for them but the Texans will win and somehow advance to the 2nd round of the playoffs.
Lions @ Seahawks, My Predicted Winner: Seahawks:
What people are calling one of the most "evenly matched" playoff games I don't actually think is evenly matched at all. The Lions barely hung on to a playoff spot at 6th seed after losing the last 3 playoff games with almost no defense at all and a decent offense meanwhile the Seahawks haven't been playing completely great either, but they only have lost 1 home game all season and they are post-season regulars and other teams know they don't go down without a fight. The Seahawks boast the loudest crowd in the league, making it one of the top 3 hardest teams to win a road game at. The Seahawks offense will have a field day at their home turf playing against one of the worst defenses in the league meanwhile the Lions offense will need to work for every yard against one of the best defenses in the league. If the Lions pull off the upset, it will have to be from their offense, because their D has never done much for them and playing a hard D, at an away stadium, coming off a 3 game losing streak will be hard. Don't believe me? Even the Lions coach is scared of the Seahawks, in a press conference he said it was basically impossible to cover Russell Wilson. You can't win with a coach that is scared of the opposing QB. This should be an easy win for the Hawks so they can keep on rolling on their post-season run.
Giants @ Packers, My Predicted Winner: Packers:
This will be a great game that will be very close. The Packers have won the title of almost everyone of the most dangerous team heading into the playoffs but the Giants are the kings of upsets so this will be a great one. Green Bay sat at a terrible 4-6 earlier this season, everyone thought they were out but Aaron Rodgers said Pack would run the table and boy they did. They won out ending with a 10-6 record beating the Seahawks, Vikings, Lions, and some more good teams. The Packers right now have the most dangerous QB in the league and their offense will be the most important thing for them because their D is garbage and can't do much for them. The Giants O has been decent lately. Odell Beckham and the receivers have been good, but Eli Manning has been very on and off and he will need to perform for the Giants to win. The defenses aren't even. The Giants have one of the best defenses in the league with DPOY candidate safety Landon Collins, lockdown corner Janoris Jenkins, star pass rusher Oliver Vernon and more while Green Bay has pretty much no one. The Giants will need their O and D to perform while the Packers O will need to play nearly perfect so it can carry their trash D. The Packers though are insanely tough to beat at their cold home field and in a close match, them having home-field advantage literally is one of the final reasons why I think they will win. Their insane O plus home field advantage grants the most dangerous team in the playoffs a win to move on.
If the teams I predict actually win, the divisional round will look like this:
Packers @ Cowboys, Seahawks @ Falcons, Steelers @ Chiefs, Texans @ Patriots.
Thanks for reading and we will see who does end up winning and moving on to the next round of the post-season!
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