NFL Playoff Projections and Super Bowl Pick

Andy Magioncalda, Owner of a Crystal Football|December 16, 2021

With the season over three-quarters of the way done, its time to start looking into the future, and decide who takes home the Lombardi Trophy.

American Football Conference

AFC East Champions: New England Patriots

Great. And just when we all thought that the dynasty was over, the evil empire is already back. New England is once again one of the NFL’s elite clubs, led by a dynamic rushing attack, a stingy defense, and a surgical rookie quarterback in Mac Jones. With a win over the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, this team has proven it can beat anyone, no matter the weather. Whatever Darth Hoodie has in store for this team, be on the lookout.

AFC West Champions: Kansas City Chiefs

Forget the start of that season, when KC fielded a sloppy offense and a historically awful defense. In a matter of weeks, Steve Spagnuolo’s defense has gotten back into the top ten in terms of preventing scores, while the offense is starting to regain its rhythm, as we all knew it would with Mahomes under center. If this team continues to play like it has in the past few weeks, the Chiefs should be back in contention.

AFC North Champions: Cleveland Browns

Both Baltimore and Cincinnati have been very inconsistent in terms of on-field play, mostly by losing to teams that they should have beaten. Following a home win against Baltimore, however, Cleveland has a legitimate shot at winning a hazy AFC North, so long as Baker stays effective as a game manager, letting the rushing game and the Myles Garrett-led defense take care of the heavy lifting.

AFC South Champions: Tennessee Titans

Even with the Colts nipping at their heels, I think Tennessee is still the team to beat in the AFC South. Their defense has performed much better than expected, with multiple players such as Jeffery Simmons and Harold Landry III having breakout seasons, and when AJ Brown and Derrick Henry are back, expect this offense to be extremely dangerous, putting this team back into contention.

AFC Wild Cards

Buffalo Bills

Los Angeles Chargers

Cincinnati Bengals

AFC Bold Prediction: The Ravens miss the playoffs

This Ravens team has been way too inconsistent for me to call them a legitimate contender in the AFC. Baltimore’s dare-I-say gimmicky and inconsistent offense has not been able to sustain an average defense, which has mostly kept this team in games, but these Ravens have been unable to execute in the clutch. With a tough schedule for the remainder of the season, including two games against the Packers and Rams, Baltimore may miss out on the playoffs because of how inconsistent they have been.

National Football Conference

NFC East Champions: Dallas Cowboys

For once, Dallas has actually lived up to their expectations. Their offense is arguably the best in the league, with a dangerous rushing attack and arguably the NFL’s best receiving core in Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup. Their defense has also had an amazing turnaround under new defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, much improved from that dreadful unit we saw in 2020.

NFC West Champions: Arizona Cardinals

Even with a close loss at home to the Rams, Arizona is still in excellent position to take the division. Arizona, after all, is the most balanced team in the league, with a top five offense and defense. Of course, this team is led by arguably the best quarterback in the league in Kyler Murray, and a dangerous receiving core led by DeAndre Hopkins. The defense also is good in almost all aspects, led by a dynamic pass rushing duo in Chandler Jones and Markus Golden.

NFC North Champions: Green Bay Packers

This is probably Aaron Rodgers’ last year in Green Bay, and he sure is making the most of it. Headlined by an explosive offense and a top-ten defense, this team has proven, with wins against really good opponents such as the Rams and Cardinals, that Green Bay, as of right now, is potentially the most dangerous team in the league, even without former all-pros Jaire Alexander and David Bakhtiari. Now we will see if this team can finally not implode in the NFC Championship Game.

NFC South Champions: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

With MVP frontrunner Tom Brady leading the league’s best-scoring offense, and arguably the league’s best front seven on defense, this team is in good position to do damage in the playoffs. However, their secondary is cause for concern, which may come back to bite Tampa come playoff time. This, along with the multitude of good teams in the NFC, could end Tampa’s bid for a repeat.

NFC Wild Cards

Los Angeles Rams

San Francisco 49ers

Philadelphia Eagles

NFC Bold Prediction: The Eagles make the playoffs

Okay, I am not saying that the Eagles are about to go on a run, especially with the amount of contenders in the NFC. What I am saying, however, is that Philly is in great position to make the playoffs, as they have an easy schedule for the rest of the season. With one of the best rushing offenses in the league and a surprisingly serviceable defense, this Eagles team might very well make some postseason noise.

Now, time to actually predict how this will shake out.

Playoff Predictions

AFC

  • Wild Card Round: Buffalo Bills (5) over Cleveland Browns (4), Tennessee Titans (3) over Los Angeles Chargers (6), Kansas City Chiefs (2) over Cincinnati Bengals (7).
  • Divisional Round: New England Patriots (1) over Buffalo Bills (5), Kansas City Chiefs (2) over Tennessee Titans (3).
  • AFC Championship: New England Patriots (1) over Kansas City Chiefs (2).

NFC

  • Wild Card Round: Los Angeles Rams (5) over Dallas Cowboys (4), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3) over San Francisco 49ers (6), Green Bay Packers (2) over Philadelphia Eagles (7).
  • Divisional Round: Green Bay Packers (2) over Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3), Los Angeles Rams (5) over Arizona Cardinals (1).
  • NFC Championship: Green Bay Packers (2) over Los Angeles Rams (5).

Super Bowl LVI Prediction and Pick

This will be an entertaining matchup between the New England Patriots and the Green Bay Packers, with a rookie Mac Jones dueling against a veteran Aaron Rodgers. However, in the big game, I have confidence that Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ offense will be able to overcome the Patriots’ defense, with the Packers’ defense holding off a late Patriots comeback.

  • Final Score: Packers 28, Patriots 20.
  • MVP: Aaron Rodgers.