viman96
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Though there don't appear to be a lot of surprises ahead in the NFL playoffs, anything can happen.
At midseason, the Seattle Seahawks seemed to be heading to a Super Bowl LI showdown against the New England Patriots. The Seahawks didn't finish strongly and suffered some injuries, and they look more vulnerable after not getting a bye. The Patriots, however, still have a great chance to make the Super Bowl because of home-field advantage and the weakened field in the AFC (Oakland, Miami and Houston all have quarterback injury issues).
My midseason predictions look pretty good, though I missed on a couple. I thought Rex Ryan would get another year in Buffalo, and I picked Detroit to win the NFC North.
Time for another look into my crystal ball with 10 playoff predictions:
1. The most important player in the playoffs is Aaron Rodgers. He's the hottest quarterback -- and the Packers are the hottest team -- entering the playoffs. Rodgers has thrown 18 touchdown passes and zero interceptions in his past seven games. It's not out of the question for Rodgers to stay hot and lift Green Bay over Dallas and into the NFC title game in either Atlanta or Seattle, though I see another team advancing to the Super Bowl from the NFC.
2. Dak Prescott will be the first rookie quarterback to advance to the Super Bowl. Prescott has beaten all the odds. People thought the Cowboys were crazy to trust the fourth-round pick to start after Romo and backup Kellen Moore were injured. Prescott won 13 games, and he has put up some of the greatest rookie quarterback stats in NFL history. Prescott and the Cowboys have home-field advantage and a great chance to win two games.
3. Seahawks defensive end Frank Clark will be the breakout player in the playoffs. With opponents putting up so much resources to stop Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril, Clark, who had 10 sacks this season, will having single blocking, which means he can cause havoc.
4. New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, one of the top head-coaching candidates, will wait another year for take a new job. The success of the Patriots will dictate that. If the Patriots go to the Super Bowl, Jacksonville, Los Angeles and San Francisco won't wait until February to make their hires. The 49ers might be in the best spot to wait because they need to hire a general manager, but McDaniels might not want that job in the end. Now, if McDaniels does leave the Patriots, look for former 49ers coach Chip Kelly to be a top candidate to replace McDaniels and run the Patriots' offense.
5. Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell will be the rushing star of the postseason. Bell starts against the Dolphins this weekend, and they rank 30th stopping the run. If the Steelers win, they face the Chiefs, who rank 26th against the run, in the divisional round.
6. The Lions are retaining coach Jim Caldwell, but they could still be the playoff team with the most coaching turnover after the season. They could lose offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin to head-coaching jobs.
7. Brock Osweiler will make it easier for the Texans to keep him as the starter next season if he beats the Raiders -- even if he doesn't play a great game. Tom Savage is still in the concussion protocol and won't be ready to face the Raiders.
8. There will be one or two running back surprises in the wild-card round of the playoffs this weekend. The four NFC teams in the wild-card round have unproven backs -- Paul Perkins (New York Giants), Thomas Rawls (Seattle Seahawks), Zach Renner (Detroit) and Ty Montgomery (Green Bay). One or two of these backs will have a big week.
9. Atlanta offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan will have the most offers to be a head coach and likely take a job soon.
10. The Patriots will beat the Cowboys 24-14 in Super Bowl LI.
At midseason, the Seattle Seahawks seemed to be heading to a Super Bowl LI showdown against the New England Patriots. The Seahawks didn't finish strongly and suffered some injuries, and they look more vulnerable after not getting a bye. The Patriots, however, still have a great chance to make the Super Bowl because of home-field advantage and the weakened field in the AFC (Oakland, Miami and Houston all have quarterback injury issues).
My midseason predictions look pretty good, though I missed on a couple. I thought Rex Ryan would get another year in Buffalo, and I picked Detroit to win the NFC North.
Time for another look into my crystal ball with 10 playoff predictions:
1. The most important player in the playoffs is Aaron Rodgers. He's the hottest quarterback -- and the Packers are the hottest team -- entering the playoffs. Rodgers has thrown 18 touchdown passes and zero interceptions in his past seven games. It's not out of the question for Rodgers to stay hot and lift Green Bay over Dallas and into the NFC title game in either Atlanta or Seattle, though I see another team advancing to the Super Bowl from the NFC.
2. Dak Prescott will be the first rookie quarterback to advance to the Super Bowl. Prescott has beaten all the odds. People thought the Cowboys were crazy to trust the fourth-round pick to start after Romo and backup Kellen Moore were injured. Prescott won 13 games, and he has put up some of the greatest rookie quarterback stats in NFL history. Prescott and the Cowboys have home-field advantage and a great chance to win two games.
3. Seahawks defensive end Frank Clark will be the breakout player in the playoffs. With opponents putting up so much resources to stop Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril, Clark, who had 10 sacks this season, will having single blocking, which means he can cause havoc.
4. New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, one of the top head-coaching candidates, will wait another year for take a new job. The success of the Patriots will dictate that. If the Patriots go to the Super Bowl, Jacksonville, Los Angeles and San Francisco won't wait until February to make their hires. The 49ers might be in the best spot to wait because they need to hire a general manager, but McDaniels might not want that job in the end. Now, if McDaniels does leave the Patriots, look for former 49ers coach Chip Kelly to be a top candidate to replace McDaniels and run the Patriots' offense.
5. Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell will be the rushing star of the postseason. Bell starts against the Dolphins this weekend, and they rank 30th stopping the run. If the Steelers win, they face the Chiefs, who rank 26th against the run, in the divisional round.
6. The Lions are retaining coach Jim Caldwell, but they could still be the playoff team with the most coaching turnover after the season. They could lose offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin to head-coaching jobs.
7. Brock Osweiler will make it easier for the Texans to keep him as the starter next season if he beats the Raiders -- even if he doesn't play a great game. Tom Savage is still in the concussion protocol and won't be ready to face the Raiders.
8. There will be one or two running back surprises in the wild-card round of the playoffs this weekend. The four NFC teams in the wild-card round have unproven backs -- Paul Perkins (New York Giants), Thomas Rawls (Seattle Seahawks), Zach Renner (Detroit) and Ty Montgomery (Green Bay). One or two of these backs will have a big week.
9. Atlanta offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan will have the most offers to be a head coach and likely take a job soon.
10. The Patriots will beat the Cowboys 24-14 in Super Bowl LI.
