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EyeKanFly

Head Bear Master/Galactic Emperor

Age: 34

Location: Gotham

Well I'm a Giants fan so this season has been their most exciting in years. Despite their poor record, their playing has been a huge improvement. Last time they had a season over .500, all their wins were by a field goal or less. This year, the vast majority of their losses were by one score. I'm glad they fired Daboll, regardless of his connection with Dart and Skattebo.

I guess I'll throw my predictions in the ring, they're mostly similar to both of yours with some exceptions.

LA Rams 20 - CAR Panthers 17
I think this will be closer than most people seem to think/assume. Yes, the Rams are clearly a better team, but they under-performed expectations this season and imo they've been wildly inconsistent. The Panthers have been consistently mid, but they did beat the Rams at home earlier this season and I think they could at least come close for the rematch.

GB Packers 21 - CHI Bears 24
Another rematch, each team took one over the other with the home team winning by a touchdown each time. I can see this one playing a little closer, and it's probably my most anticipated game of the weekend.

BUF Bills 36 - JAC Jaguars 30
While wins haven't been consistent for either team, they've both consistently put up 20+ points with few exceptions, and multiple 30+ and even 40+ games. This game should make for an offense-heavy shootout.

SF 49ers 20 - PHI Eagles 26
The 49ers had a fairly easy schedule, with decisive wins against teams like the Titans, Browns, and Colts post-Jones' injury. The 49ers' only wins against evenly matched teams came in week 1 against the Seahawks (by 4), week 5 agains the Rams (by 3 in OT), and the Bears in week 17 (by 4). Their losses to the Rams and Seahawks were both blowouts. They beat the Bears when both teams had already clinched the playoffs, and they lost to the Seahawks when the division and conference were on the line. I don't think they can bounce back.

The Eagles know how to lock in for the postseason. As a Giants fan, I always say that the Eagles are the NFC east team I hate the least. I hate the Cowboys because duh, I hate the Commanders because they were the Redskins under Snyder for way too long, and I hate the Giants because I love them and they're my team but they suck and I hate them. So that leave the Eagles, and I have family from Philly and eh it was fun to root for the underdogs during their super bowl wins against the Patriots and Chiefs "dynasties". I think the Eagles have this game handily.

LA Chargers 14 - NE Patriots 28
Yeah I don't think the Chargers have it in them. The Patriots surprised everyone this season, and if it weren't for some early-season losses they would've taken the conference. Even though they had 4 wins basically built into their schedule with the Jets and Dolphins, they played well against those teams and all others, even in their losses to the Bills and Steelers. If the Chargers had played better (or... at all) last week against the Broncos, I may have been singing a different tune here, but I think this is the team that is least deserving of the playoffs this year, despite having a better record than the Steelers or a few NFC teams.

HOU Texans 26 - PIT Steelers 20
I don't think the Steelers will win but I think they can put up a fight. I was very skeptical when they signed Rodgers but it seems like that played out well for them. I don't like all the talk about firing Tomlin, he's had an amazing career and I don't think he deserves it after a season that exceeded (my) expectations. Though I wouldn't be mad if the Giants picked him up. The Texans surprised me this season as well. With the exception of the Titans and the second half of the Colts' season, the whole division was actually really solid this year.

I guess I'll also make some predictions for future rounds. As much as I'd love to see something crazy like a Bears vs. Jaguars super bowl, my prediction is Patriots vs. either Seahawks or Eagles. Eagles if I had to bet I guess. And I think the Pats will beat the Bills in the conference final. Will root for the Eagles if they're against the Pats but otherwise will be rooting against them 😜
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51 Washington, D.C. albums!

Repo

BeA Sunflower

Location: Forest Park

EyeKanFly wrote:

LA Rams 20 - CAR Panthers 17
I think this will be closer than most people seem to think/assume. Yes, the Rams are clearly a better team, but they under-performed expectations this season and imo they've been wildly inconsistent. The Panthers have been consistently mid, but they did beat the Rams at home earlier this season and I think they could at least come close for the rematch.

GB Packers 21 - CHI Bears 24
Another rematch, each team took one over the other with the home team winning by a touchdown each time. I can see this one playing a little closer, and it's probably my most anticipated game of the weekend.

Nice predictions!!!

Chicago (the city) needed this! Really happy the Bears pulled this out. This was their Super Bowl. And to win it in such an epic, come-from-behind fashion is pretty much storybook. A better ending than Stranger Things?! 🤔

MadhattanJack

Just to end the list

Gender: Male

I have to say, this season has pretty much smashed the record for the number of times I've gone off to do something else on Sunday afternoon, only to come back a couple hours later and find out that I've completely missed some sort of huge dramatic comeback win by the team that was trailing by 14+ points early in the second half.

Repo

BeA Sunflower

Location: Forest Park

MadhattanJack wrote:

I have to say, this season has pretty much smashed the record for the number of times I've gone off to do something else on Sunday afternoon, only to come back a couple hours later and find out that I've completely missed some sort of huge dramatic comeback win by the team that was trailing by 14+ points early in the second half.

Ha! Half of those of because of Chicago! CArdiac Caleb strikes again!!!

Go Pats!!! \m/

Repo

BeA Sunflower

Location: Forest Park

CA Dreamin wrote:

Repo wrote:

Who ya got winning next weekends games?!

Nice to finally see another commenter here. Fly Eagles fly! Wild Card Weekend, let me see:

AFC

BUF Bills 30
JAX Jaguars 27

This is the most intriguing game of the weekend. This could go either way. I think it all depends on which version of Buffalo shows up, the one who got blown out by Miami, or the one who blew out Pittsburgh? The one who fell behind 21-0 to NE, or the one who rallied back to win that game? The Bills have had their ups and downs, but we all know how good they're capable of being when they bring their A game, and they usually do come playoff time. For at least one game, anyway. True, they've notoriously choked in the later rounds, but they've won in the wild card round in 5 straight seasons. That's something to consider. It's also worth considering the Jaguars are at home and have won 8 straight games. Yes, six were against easy opponents, but the other two were double-digit wins over the Chargers and Broncos. I think they are a legit SB contender. Oof, this is so hard to call. I have Buffalo, but I could see myself changing my mind. Either way, I'm definitely not gonna miss this game, it'll be a nice lead-in to the Eagles-49ers on Sunday.

Oh wow, CA Dreamin'! You almost got this game exactly! 🙌

CA Dreamin

Gender: Male

Location: LA

MadhattanJack wrote:

I have to say, this season has pretty much smashed the record for the number of times I've gone off to do something else on Sunday afternoon, only to come back a couple hours later and find out that I've completely missed some sort of huge dramatic comeback win by the team that was trailing by 14+ points early in the second half.

Like the Bears on Saturday night. I underestimated Caleb Williams. Once the Packers went up 21-3, I smirked thinking my outlier prediction was rock solid. I thought the nerves and inexperience would get into Williams's head. But he proved me wrong and led the Bears to a comeback win. It goes to show just how streaky the Packers are. They're streaky even within a game's 4 quarters. They looked great in the first half, then flattened out in the second. They still should have won the game. Their kicker, McManus, let them down. The guy missed a PAT and two FGs. One missed FG was long, and that's understandable, but the mid-range FG and PAT he missed in the closing minutes were inexcusable, and made the difference. If McManus had made his kicks, GB would have been lining up for a game-winning FG on their final drive. Instead, they were down 31-27 and needed a TD. They almost got there, 20-25 yards short. But credit to Chicago for fighting back. They played well when it mattered.

Repo wrote:

CA Dreamin wrote:

BUF Bills 30
JAX Jaguars 27

Oh wow, CA Dreamin'! You almost got this game exactly! 🙌

True, but I'm 3/5 overall on predictions while you are 5/5, so who's really doing better here? Haha.

Repo wrote:

Bears by 10. (For the first time all season the Bears will stun everyone and not wait until the 4th quarter to start playing!!! 😅)

You were wrong about that one. Bears down 21-6 entering the 4th quarter, then they started playing.

Repo wrote:

49ers by 1.
BUT, I'll be pulling for you guys. I LOVE the city of Philadelphia. (Just don't EVAH' expect me to route for the 76ers!!! 😅)

EyeKanFly wrote:

SF 49ers 20 - PHI Eagles 26
As a Giants fan, I always say that the Eagles are the NFC east team I hate the least. I hate the Cowboys because duh, I hate the Commanders because they were the Redskins under Snyder for way too long, and I hate the Giants because I love them and they're my team but they suck and I hate them. So that leave the Eagles, and I have family from Philly and eh it was fun to root for the underdogs during their super bowl wins against the Patriots and Chiefs "dynasties".

Aw, I appreciate it when those I suspect to be Eagle-haters actually have a nice thing or two to say. A Patriots fan, a Giants fan, and an Eagles fan actually getting along (mostly, kind of, sort of 🤣 ). I'm not too upset about us losing. Given the way we played this year, I wasn't expecting a Super Bowl repeat. I thought we'd beat the 49ers, but then what? Having to beat Chicago on the road in the next round, followed by LA or Seattle in the round after. It didn't seem very likely. So maybe the early exit is a good thing, demonstrating that we've indeed regressed and have issues to address. Hey, we went down in the wild card round two years ago, fixed our problems, and look where we got last year. We need a better O-line and a better offensive coordinator.

Last point, EKF was totally right about the Rams-Panthers being close. We all predicted the right team, but Repo and I were way off about the margin of victory.

Repo

BeA Sunflower

Location: Forest Park

CA Dreamin wrote:

Repo wrote:

CA Dreamin wrote:

BUF Bills 30
JAX Jaguars 27

Oh wow, CA Dreamin'! You almost got this game exactly! 🙌

True, but I'm 3/5 overall on predictions while you are 5/5, so who's really doing better here? Haha.

Six for six!!! 😉 🕺

But, boy THIS ...

Quote:

HOU Texans 27
PIT Steelers 13

I've always respected Aaron Rodgers, and I'm glad he's back in the playoffs. But hey, he's not in his prime anymore. And the Steelers aren't anything special overall. I'm going with the Texans because they're on a 9-game winning streak, and also because the Steelers struggled against Top 10 defenses this year, especially in their most recent three. They scored 10 against the Chargers, 7 against the Bills, 6 against the Browns. Houston has the #1 defense in the NFL, so I wonder if even my 13-point prediction for Pittsburgh is generous. It might be Rodgers's final game. And if so, like Manning, Brees, Brady, and Big Ben, at least he finishes his career in the spotlight of a playoff game.

The Texans defense is going to give Rodgers traumatic nightmares for the rest of his life. 🤣 Rodgers is going to take such a beating that he might just retire before the game is even over. The main reason the Ravens lost on Sunday night had nothing to do with a missed field goal. They couldn't get to the quarterback. That will NOT be a problem for the Texans defense. Their defense is legit scary.

Texans by 10.

... was a tough game to watch!!! 🫣 And Steelers defense felt the same way by the end although at least they showed up for the first 3 quarters! Rodgers did NOT want to be there from the jump. Getting old sucks eggs! 😅

Ok guys , what are your picks & thoughts for the Divisional Round?! 🤔