To say the least, Week 13 was a week of upsets. I only got 9 games correct, so we’re going to do a quick redo. And I mean quick. Here’s the link: https://bit.ly/2DYk7u7. Here’s my last article that I will be referring to a lot in this article. Let’s get right into the picks.
AFC
In this scenario, the first two seeds are the same, as they both took care of work on Sunday. However, I have the Texans winning the AFC South, unlike the previous predictions. The Colts got shutout on Sunday, and with all Houston’s momentum, I don’t see them winning next week in Houston. The Broncos sneak in with a Week 17 win vs. the Chargers, a game that doesn’t matter too much for L.A.. The Steelers stay the same, as they will drop games vs. the Patriots and Saints back-to-back. The Steelers make the playoffs because of their Week 1 tie vs. Cleveland.
NFC
Some major shifts are going on in the NFC. The Saints dropped their game on Thursday night in Dallas, and they’ll lose their away game in Carolina. That'll put them at three losses for the year. At the three seed, we have the Vikings. Minnesota wins out and takes the three seed. The Cowboys ride their momentum to the #4 seed, and Chicago gets in as the first wild card team. The Seahawks get in by virtue of their win over Carolina in Week 12.
Key Games:
Vikings vs. Seahawks, December 10th, 2018, 8:15 P.M. EST: A Monday Night Football game in Seattle between two playoff teams, nothing quite beats it (besides Rams vs. Chiefs). Coming off a Bears loss in New Jersey, I think that the Vikings are going to play more motivated. They take the decisive road win, and Blair Walsh does not miss the kick, but only because he doesn’t play for either of the teams. However, he did previously play for both the Vikings and the Seahawks. Vikings 22, Seahawks 20.
Ravens vs. Chargers, December 23rd, 2018, 4:05 P.M. EST: If Lamar Jackson plays, I could see the Ravens having a legitimate chance. With Joe Flacco, I just don’t see it happening. If Baltimore wins, then the whole AFC North picture is switched and the Chargers could even slide to the #6 seed. There are just so many implications based off this game. Chargers 26, Ravens, 21.
Playoffs
I’m not going to do a game-by-game analysis for this bracket, since most of the matchups past the Divisional Round are the same. However, an especially interesting Wild Card Round matchup is Bears vs. Cowboys. I don’t think the Cowboys match up well enough for them to take the game, but it’ll definitely be a good game. In the end, the results are the same as my last article: Patriots 33, Rams 30.
