The NFL post-season begins Saturday, and this year’s format is a brand new adventure: the league added a third game card spot to this conference this season, meaning 12 teams participate in the first weekend, while the Chiefs and Packers sit out and wait on their opponents in the division round. Who will be king then? Will the Chiefs find the outfit they are missing during the final weeks of the regular season? Will Aaron Rodgers continue his tour at MVP level? Or will another team come out of the woodwork to give those groups money? The RingerThe NFL staff members make their playoffs below.
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Kevin Clark: It is with a heavy heart that I choose almost entirely chalk, with the exception of perhaps the Super Bowl. There is a reason for this: this season has been determined by small edges getting big. If you do some things really well, that’s all you need to do. We have no idea what the toll of limited training time is on players and staff, or the tension of such a complicated season. But it all matters. I’ve been saying since August that most people in the league view this season’s result as an razor of an Occam: the simplest explanation is the best. That means Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, Aaron Rodgers, and a talented Packers team event in the Super Bowl.
It was the highest season of all time, and I pick the best attack in football by scoring points, the Packers and the best quarterback in the sport in Mahomes. It may sound simplistic, but in a season with so many variables, it’s best to go with the most talented teams that need the least to win the Super Bowl. Football Outsiders give this Super Bowl game a 21 percent chance of happening, and it’s easy to see why. There are few things more automatic than this quarterback finding their skills – Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill in the case of Mahomes, and Davante Adams in the case of Rodgers. And both defenses are definitely good enough to make that happen – the Chiefs are tenth in points against, the Packers are 13th.
There are clear paths for a handful of other teams – I like the Ravens, and the Bills are currently the hottest team in football. But I don’t think any of them can beat Mahomes in the AFC. It sounds like junk science, but it just stays true: Mahomes is inevitable, and he’s the tiebreaker between the Chiefs and the teams that are close to them.
In the NFC, the teams with the best cases – the Saints and Bucs – have big question marks that the Packers do not have. Drew Brees’ average meant for airfield is almost half a meter shorter than last year, when he threw impossibly short passes, and his health still worries me after having a punctured lung and multiple ribs. The Bucs simply did not put together enough impressive games in a row, even though they recently beat four consecutive bad teams. It’s the weirdest season of all time, and I’m ready to believe anything, but in the playoffs I can only trust the two best teams.
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Danny Kelly: I mostly went here with the chalk sticks, but for me the Chiefs, Packers and Bills stand out above the rest of the national season. The three teams are led by large-armed, dynamic and MVP-competitive backs, each of whom has shown the ability to go into God mode in an instant and win their respective teams. And although I really wanted to choose that Aaron Rodgers and the Packers (who ended the regular season, were first in both points per game at 31.8, and the offensive DVOA of Football Outsiders) or the dice on the Josh Allen-led bills (which is just that he scored 56 points on the previously stingy Dolphins defense and averaged 37.9 points per game over their last eight games), it’s hard to bet against an experienced, high-octane group like the Chiefs.
The defending champion obviously has the unique advantage of having Patrick Mahomes in the center, and while it’s true that Kansas City has not been as sharp as the Packers or the Bills in the past month, the team feels like a sleeping dragon. it is ready to wake up and blow flames. Under the skilful guidance of Andy Reid, the head coach, the Chiefs are just as good as any team can be. Kansas City is able to create and utilize mismatches with Travis Kelce, who finished second in the NFL in receiving yard (1,416) this season, while hampering 11 touchdowns. And regardless of the defense the Chiefs face, no one on the field is fast enough to keep up with Tyreek Hill, who scored 1,276 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Kansas City is also unmatched in its ability to play in every conceivable style of play. Whether the Chiefs are looking for a slow, run-centric style, full of scorched earth with an up-tempo, pass-happy attack, or think and dunk their way down the field, Reid and Mahomes have the ability this year shown to succeed. No lead is safe against this team. They are basically impossible to adapt. And they are very difficult to prepare. For these reasons, the Chiefs are my choice.
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Rodger Sherman: I love seeing Josh Allen, who has completely turned into an unstoppable ThrowGod. I like to look at all the years Aaron Rodgers is still Aaron Rodgers. I like when Russ cooks, and I like when the Ravens run. But it feels like all the other things in the NFL are a subplot when compared to Patrick Mahomes. Interestingly, Kansas City was less than the bulk of the bill, while the bills knocked everyone out, but I still think we would be foolish to pick any team other than the Chiefs.
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Danny Heifetz: Three years ago, the Saints were knocked out of the playoffs by Stefon Diggs at the Minneapolis Miracle. This year, the Saints will match Diggs in the Super Bowl series, but this time Diggs will be on the Bills and the losing side.
The bills that the AFC wins will hardly feel like an upset anymore. Just as dominant as the Chiefs were, their sloppiness has to catch up with them at some point. No team is better suited to put them off than Buffalo – although the Chiefs may not even make it to the second round, given the way the Ravens played.
But when I think of the Super Bowl, the team I keep coming back to is New Orleans. This group is talented, deep and healthy. They can win many kinds of games. Best of all – extreme football cliché warning – they play complementary football. New Orleans has the best running game and the second best defense in the NFC. The feedback from Alvin Kamara may have missed the Bears game while recovering from COVID-19, but Kamara missed a game against the Bears last year and backup Latavius Murray ran for 119 yards and two touchdowns.
The Saints are also bringing back key players at the right time. Receiver Michael Thomas is eligible to return from the injured reserve this week, and their elite offensive line is likely to get some starters as well. Taking out a Super Bowl at age 42 is risky, especially if he is likely to have to beat Aaron Rodgers in the NFC Championship game at Lambeau Field. But New Orleans has the best offensive line and the deepest defense in the conference. This time the Saints will be on the right side of a miracle.
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Nora Princiotti: Before we get to more urgent matters such as the Super Bowl, for example, I want to pay attention to my prediction of a brown upset over the Steelers in the game card round. I felt much better about this prediction before Cleveland had several key people – including head coach Kevin Stefanski, left-back Joel Bitonio and receiver KhaDarel Hodge – test positive for COVID-19 this week. I considered responding to this information in a rational / cowardly manner by changing my choice, but after much thought (read: not much), I decided to stick to it. Team of fate! Until they meet the Chiefs in the division round, that is.
About the Chiefs. It’s my AFC choice to return to the Super Bowl after beating Josh Allen and the Bills in what’s a very fun conference championship game. The Bills have the better defense and special teams, but I still believe the Chiefs have another gear that will let them loose in the playoffs. They also have Patrick Mahomes, who feels relevant.
However, Kansas City will not repeat as Super Bowl champion. The honor will go to the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers, who will put all of his u-set quarterback energy into this playoff game.
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Kaelen Jones: There could be reasons to worry about the Chiefs, as they have won six consecutive games decided by six points or less before dropping their final in Week 17 while resting key players. And then there is still Patrick Mahomes’ turnover happiness, who could possibly run out against a good team in the playoffs. But even if the Chiefs dig themselves a hole, Mahomes is already one of the best QBs ever when he was behind. He has an elite skill and is surrounded by All-Pro caliber players in Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill. After Mahomes and Co started their Super Bowl run last year, there are not many reasons why they should not be the favorite to win, even though the team has not played consistently at its highest level this year.
There is one possible obstacle in the way of Kansas City to the Super Bowl: the Buffalo Bills. Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll opened the season for Josh Allen this season, and Allen’s astronomical leap was greatly aided by his talented support team, including the NFL’s leading receiver in Stefon Diggs. The bill attack was amazing all season, and their talented defense woke up at the right time. This is not to say that the bills are enough to overwhelm the Chiefs, but that they can at least compete with them.
However, the Packers have succeeded this season due to Aaron Rodgers’ MVP caliber game. Green Bay is one of the few teams that can boast any form of true home field advantage. That combination could be enough to get Rodgers back in the Super Bowl. But despite how efficient the Packers have been – and how legendary Rodgers is – it’s not enough to scare me off choosing the Chiefs.
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Riley McAtee: Choosing the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl feels a bit like cheating. They have the best record in the NFL, are the defending champions and are the best favorites to repeat. And while I do not think this Kansas City team is an unstoppable juggernaut, I do think they are the team with the least error in the league. If we look at the rest of the AFC, it’s hard to pick a team that can dethrone the Chiefs. I do not quite trust the Bills (which the Chiefs beat earlier this year) yet; the Steelers offense has looked horrible for more than a month; and the Titans have the worst defense of any playoff team. The Ravens got their offense back on track last month, but they play on the road all post-season. And of course, the Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes, their unmistakable trump card.
The Chiefs can definitely lose, and one team they can beat is the Packers. Chiefs-Packers would be a dream Super Bowl game. They are the best teams of every conference, they have two best backs in the NFL, and it’s a rematch of Super Bowl I. It’s also a game that must contain offensive fireworks, as the Chiefs and Packers have the first two offenses. has. by DVOA, but is mediocre on the other side of the ball (17th for Green Bay, 22nd for Kansas City). We were robbed last season of a duel between Aaron Rodgers – Patrick Mahomes when Mahomes missed the game against the Packers due to his knee injury, and now is the time for the universe to fix it.