Playoff Predictions - all games

I thought it might be fun to have a playoff predictions thread for all the games. We can list the predicted final scores.

I'll start for this weekend's Wild Card Round:

49ers 31, Seahawks 13
Jaguars 34, Chargers 27
Bills 27, Dolphins 13
Vikings 24, Giants 17
Bengals 34, Ravens 10
Cowboys 23, Bucs 20

Obviously I'm going with high-scoring favorites this weekend!

I notice after all his bluster, Jmp is still picking the Bills to win by 2 scores and also picking Brock Purdy to win comfortably

Fins-Bills is going to be a repeat of Georgia-TCU in terms of watchability. The final score might not be exactly 65-7, but it'll be in that ballpark.

Yes, the Purdys will win comfortably (and will serve as the NFC's patsy in the Super Bowl).

The Jags clobbered the Herberts 38-10 this season, something everybody seems to be ignoring on purpose. I fail to see how they won't win again, and I'm rooting for them to win big and stop the Herbert media fellating.

Bengals over Ravens. Even if the NFL has to help them along a bit (and they might). The league doesn't want to see a third string QB beat Burrow, especially after it already looks like they screwed Cincy on purpose.

Bucs over Cowboys. Mark my words, Brady has at least one playoff win left in him, and the Cowboys are the perfect team to give him one via choking. If I was the gambling type, I'd lay down significant money on this happening.

Giants over Vikings. Gather 'round the campfire kids, and let Uncle 316 tell you about a playoff game from way back in '97. Yes, we had cars back then. No, we didn't have social media. ANYWAY...the Giants came swaggering in with a mind blowing, even today I can't believe it +25 turnover margin...and went staggering out with a 1-point loss after harking up 10 points in the final minute and a half. Also, at the end of the game the same Giants players that had forced all those turnovers and were all about team unity were literally arguing with each other right there on the field, and at least a couple almost came to blows!

Why do I bring this up, you ask? Because now, today, the Vikings come swaggering into this game wearing the Team Of Destiny label with pride, and just like the Giants back then their luck is going to end spectacularly. There's no way on God's green earth the only 13-win team in NFL history with a negative point differential (worse than the Fins!) is going to win a playoff game. Also, it would be such a Vikings thing to do. I can even see their players arguing with each other too.

Not planning on watching a second of the playoffs BTW. I don't feel the need to bother when I already know how this story's going to end.

Great post!

Of course I'm expecting the Bills to win by 2 scores!  I may be talking about how the Phins can win, but I'm not blind. Phins have too many injuries at key positions.

As for San Fran, they've already kicked Seattle's ass twice so no reason to expect anything different here. The NFC sucks, and Purdy just might have a cakewalk to the Super Bowl with CMC and that defense.

I could see definitely see the Bucs upsetting the Cowboys. But I'd love to see Brady eliminated in round one!

49ers 27, Seahawks 16
Jaguars 28, Chargers 27
Bills 37, Dolphins 10
Vikings 31, Giants 21
Bengals 24, Ravens 17
Bucs 23, Cowboys 20

49ers 31 Seahawks 24
Jaguars 24, Chargers 17
Bills 31, Dolphins 14
Vikings 24, Giants 17
Bengals 28, Ravens 17
Cowboys 23, Bucs 10

The Only Game to Me that has a Chance for an Upset is Jags/Chargers and the Bucs Offense Might actually be Worse than Ours, Think they will have Lowest Score this Weekend,

Yeah, I expect the Jags-Chargers to be the best game this weekend. That could be a classic.

Just saw that a rookie QB drafted in the 7th round hasn’t started a playoff game in over 70 years, well before the NFL existed - and this year there will be two (Purdy and Thompson)! And - Anthony Brown might start for the Ravens, and he was undrafted.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/2023-nfl-playoffs-brock-purdy-skylar-thompson-to-become-first-seventh-round-rookie-qbs-to-start-since-1950/

The Giants are my second team, and I may be saying this with heart over head but... I think Daboll and Martindale are excellent coaches and will get a big win in Minnesota.

I don't know how they have that team where it is, given how thin their roster is, but whatever they are doing it's working. Watching their defense is night and day from the Fins. No missed tackles, players swarming to the ball, Thibodeaux turning into a beast of a pass rusher, lots of three and outs.

I think the Giants win a close one. Call it 20-17.

If they do lose, it will probably be due to Justin Jefferson. They have no one in the secondary with even a chance to cover him. Pass rush will have to get to Cousins and rattle him. And I think they will.

Purdy is the new Brady. Grier made a franchise-destroying mistake by passing him up. That is all.

I predict a Jacksonville comeback in the 2nd half

What a Comeback, 24-3 in the Second Half. Chargers Choked like the Dogs that they are. Great Call Carson.

Jmp is drinking in celebration somewhere right now, I just know it

The good: Herbert losing saves Grier from the ultimate indignity of seeing not one, but TWO QBs he passed over in the draft win playoff games on the same night. Also, this choke job ought to cool down the media's Herbert man crush.

The bad: A 9-8 team has won a playoff game which means there's no way it's happening again tomorrow. Also, it makes the Chargers loss look even worse and angers me even more  I kept telling everybody they weren't that good. And now, when the Bills go up by 27 tomorrow, they won't let up knowing what just happened.

All in all I'll settle for being happy the Herberts lost, since it's likely the only thing about this postseason that'll even remotely give me the slightest pleasure.

Also, Degarmo's soul must be getting a kick out of this, seeing as he always liked Lawrence

Jags just became the first team in the Super Bowl era to win a playoff game with a Turnover margin of -5 or worse BTW.

https://stathead.com/tiny/UB91e

As well as having the third largest comeback win in NFL postseason history, and the biggest comeback in Jags history as well.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/comebacks.htm

BTW Jags kicker Riley Patterson went to Memphis so you had to know he'd come through in the clutch

CarsonChris wrote:I predict a Jacksonville comeback in the 2nd half

That one's right up there with white1 calling for Boyer's firing back when the Fins were winning 5 straight to reach 8-3 I see I'll have to step up my game...

finskev wrote:What a Comeback, 24-3 in the Second Half. Chargers Choked like the Dogs that they are. Great Call Carson.

I don't personally hate Herbert. Really, I don't. Hell, he seems like an okay guy to me, certainly a better person than Womanizing Watson for sure. But dammit, I just can't help rooting against him for...reasons.

Yet more proof that absolutely nothing halts a team's momentum like a regular season bye: the Jags were 3-7 before their bye and have now won a playoff game, while the Fins were 7-3 before their bye and ended up losing 5 straight and barely scraping into the playoffs. Both teams finished 9-8 despite the Jags being 4 games under .500 and the Fins 4 games over before their week 11 byes.

Jags have made big comebacks this year. The games I've watched they seem to get a lot of wide open receivers. That happened last night after the halftime adjustment. The Chargers have big body receivers and no speed. Their number 1 receiver was out. Keenan Allen has lost a step. The Chargers don't have a very good run game. I saw the writing on the wall. I really wanted Pederson to be our head coach. Thought he got a bad deal in Philly.

SOFT ASS OL. This is the Playoffs and they are all out nursing injuries.

CarsonChris wrote:Jags have made big comebacks this year. The games I've watched they seem to get a lot of wide open receivers. That happened last night after the halftime adjustment.  The Chargers have big body receivers and no speed. Their number 1 receiver was out. Keenan Allen has lost a step. The Chargers don't have a very good run game.  I saw the writing on the wall. I really wanted Pederson to be our head coach. Thought he got a bad deal in Philly.

He will win a SB in Jacksonville. What Brees was to Dolphin QBs Pederson will be to Dolphin coaches. I see it coming now. Dammit

The Chargers forgot that Ekeler is the best player on their team. It's criminal that he had just 13 carries and 2 catches. Unbelievable. Herbert was a non-factor after halftime - that's been an issue too many times in his college and pro careers.

Hey white, your Giants are kicking ass!!!!! Up 17-7 right now!

JMP wrote:Hey white, your Giants are kicking ass!!!!!  Up 17-7 right now!

Too soon I know, but I just can't help but point out that white1 and I were the only ones to call a Giants win.

Aaand it's over. Giants win, Vikings' historically unprecedented luck comes to an end.

Now as you all know, I'm the humble, modest type who's uncomfortable patting myself on the back but white1 can do so if he wants

The only question now is, given that Skylar Thompson almost proved too much for the Bills to handle, does this mean the NFL will now rig this next game to get the Bengals outta here? I'm saying yes. They've come too far now to NOT keep helping the Bills, at this point why would they care if the Bills have to face a 3rd string QB for the second playoff game in a row? Anything to eliminate any major threat...

Tom Brady needs to announce his retirement today. What a gutless, despicable performance last night. He was HORRIBLE. He threw more bounce passes than a basketball team. Time to move on to the next chapter of his life - he's done.

Cowboys kicker Brett Maher may want to follow Brady into retirement. FOUR missed extra points??? Are you kidding me???

On the positive side last night, Dak Prescott played like a superstar. The lockdown offensive line sure helped, but Dak was in a zone. It'll be real interesting to see how he fares against San Fran next week.

DolFan 316 wrote:They've come too far now to NOT keep helping the Bills, at this point why would they care if the Bills have to face a 3rd string QB for the second playoff game in a row? Anything to eliminate any major threat...

so again, someone explain to me why the Bengals have to go to Buffalo, yet Buffalo would not have to go to KC - when KC had nothing to do with the game cancellation?

and to boot, the NFL is trying to make it as hard on KC as possible...

When owners approved the idea, the league began the search for a stadium that could work. According to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, the Chiefs made requests of the league.

The NFL apparently didn’t listen.

“A league source said the Chiefs indicated they wanted an outdoor site on natural grass,” Jones wrote. “They ended up getting a covered stadium on turf.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/closer-look-nfl-neutral-discussion-161746086.html

btw, the Dolphins voted against the neutral site proposal.

JMP wrote:Tom Brady needs to announce his retirement today.  What a gutless, despicable performance last night.  He was HORRIBLE.  He threw more bounce passes than a basketball team. Time to move on to the next chapter of his life - he's done.

Sadly, he won't. Brady already threw his wife and kids under the bus for getting in the way of football, and in his mind once his NFL playing days are over he's nothing. Oh sure, there's that cushy announcer/analyst gig (I forgot which) waiting for him but for a guy with Brady's mindset that would be like living in purgatory. Having to talk about the NFL while watching OTHER guys actually play? I'm telling you, that's his personal nightmare. And it's not like he'll ever get the post-NFL endorsement deals like the Manning brothers. No, this guy will literally be the first player in NFL history to hang on until age 50. Even George Blanda didn't make it THAT long. And season after season SOME team will re-sign him because hey, it's Tom Freaking Brady the real life NFL cheat code.

mercury22nathan wrote:so again, someone explain to me why the Bengals have to go to Buffalo, yet Buffalo would not have to go to KC - when KC had nothing to do with the game cancellation?

and to boot, the NFL is trying to make it as hard on KC as possible...

When owners approved the idea, the league began the search for a stadium that could work. According to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, the Chiefs made requests of the league.

The NFL apparently didn’t listen.

“A league source said the Chiefs indicated they wanted an outdoor site on natural grass,” Jones wrote. “They ended up getting a covered stadium on turf.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/closer-look-nfl-neutral-discussion-161746086.html

btw, the Dolphins voted against the neutral site proposal.

The NFL has been lusting after a Chiefs-Bills playoff rematch specifically to test out their new playoff OT rule they invented out of anger that their chosen champions didn't win last season. Also, because this time they can rig the game so that the "proper" team wins. It's all right out in the open just like societal corruption as a whole. At this point they might as well just make another new rule that the Bills are the only AFC team allowed to reach the Super Bowl. The way this clown world is I wouldn't even be surprised if that actually happened!