2023 NFL Playoff Prediction
It’s official, the NFL Playoffs are here— the time of year when seasons are made and where seasons end. Seeds one through seven in the AFC and in the NFC are set in stone. There are some very interesting matchups in the wild card round that will be extremely entertaining.
No. 7 Miami Dolphins at No. 2 Buffalo Bills
The Bills and The Dolphins will break their 1-1 season series tie with this game. The Bills have a clear edge in this matchup, but something that makes the odds even more one-sided is that the Dolphins’ starting quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, who has missed the last two weeks in concussion protocol, will remain out for their game on Sunday. To make matters worse, their backup quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater went down and was ruled out for a minimum of two weeks, with a dislocated finger. That leaves rookie seventh-rounder Skylar Thompson to lead them in their playoff berth. The Dolphin's very unsettling quarterback situation isn’t the recipe to typically result in an upset, especially against a team that is playing with their emotions still attached to Damar Hamlin, their safety who’s currently recovering from his heart attack that occurred in week seventeen against the Bengals. Buffalo will play inspired football throughout the postseason, and nobody should underestimate what they can do. The Bills are one of the most talented teams in the NFL, and I see no possible outcome where the Dolphins squeak out a win in this wild-card matchup.
No. 6 Baltimore Ravens at No. 3 Cincinnati Bengals
Yes, we just saw this game happen. The Bengals triumphed over the Ravens 27-16 in the final week of the regular season, but this game should look different than your typical AFC North rivalry game. The Raven's star quarterback, Lamar Jackson, is not entirely ruled out, but he’s likely to miss his sixth game straight due to a knee injury. Just like the Dolphins, their backup quarterback is injured as well, so their third-string, Anthony Brown, has been taking snaps during practice. When these teams played last week with Anthony Brown running the offense, there was hope that he might show flashes that he would be able to lead his team in the playoffs, but that didn’t happen. He threw for 286 yards and had two interceptions, while Joe Burrow threw for 215 yards along with a touchdown. The Ravens’ pass rush went to work last week against the Bengals’ offensive line, which led to the Bengals losing right guard Alex Cappa to an ankle injury. Cappa is the second starter that the Bengals lost on that right side, which could create some potential problems for the Bengals’ running game, and possibly make life a bit harder for their quarterback, Joe Burrow. The Ravens made the smart choice to rest their star tight end Mark Andrews and running back J.K. Dobbins last week, so their return in the AFC wild card will give the Bengals a different challenge. The Ravens are attempting to throw some curveballs at the Bengals, such as the addition of players to their team that were injured as well as throwing a few new plays into the mix. I don’t see how they can win this game without Lamar Jackson running their offense. The Bengals have won eight games straight, and their momentum may be too strong for the Ravens to overpower. The Bengals will leave this wild card game victorious.
No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers at No. 4 Jacksonville Jaguars
This game features two up-and-coming quarterbacks who’ve led their teams to new heights: Justin Herbert who is twenty-four and helped the Chargers earn their first playoff berth since 2018, and Trevor Lawerance, the #1 overall pick in 2021 who has been one of the league’s most accurate passers and led his team to their first playoff appearance since 2017. These two teams met in week three of the regular season, and it wasn’t a pretty sight— the Jaguars blew out the Chargers 38-10. The Jaguars’ defense, led by edge rusher Josh Allen, had four quarterback hits and held Herbert to a passer rating of 74, who was playing through a rib injury. Luckily for the Chargers, Justin Herbert is healthy now, but that can’t be said about the rest of the Chargers team. The head coach of the Chargers, Brandon Staley made an unexplainable decision to play all of the Chargers starters in a meaningless week 18, and receiver Mike Williams left the game early and reportedly needed help walking after the game. Star pass rusher Joey Bosa might have aggravated his groin injury in his second game back after missing twelve games straight. Trevor Lawerance is without a doubt the headliner when it comes to the Jaguars, but their run game is very underrated. They gained over 140 yards on the ground against the Cowboys and Jets, whose defenses are very solid. Travis Etienne is in the top ten among running backs in the NFL this year for yards per carry and yards per game. Due to the extensive injuries that the Chargers are facing at the moment and the amount of momentum that the Jaguars have going for them, I am taking the Jaguars to make it to the next round of the playoffs.
No. 7 Seattle Seahawks at No. 2 San Francisco 49ers
Now moving on to the NFC wild-card matchups. Most preseason playoff predictions had the Seahawks being one of the worst teams in the NFL, and making the playoffs was out of the question prior to the season. This cloud of doubt that was over the heads of the Seahawks organization was primarily due to the thought downgrade at the quarterback position. The season didn’t quite turn out the way anyone expected, because the Seahawks are now in the playoffs for the tenth time in Pete Carrol’s thirteen seasons coaching the team. Despite this great feat and proving everyone wrong, Seattle will go into this matchup as the heavy underdogs, against their division rivals, the 49ers, who have won ten games straight. The 49ers cleaned up during the regular season, even though the team has had to play with three different quarterbacks They lost Trey Lance early on in the season due to a broken ankle that season-ending surgery, and. then they faced even more trouble when Jimmy Garoppolo broke his foot. Then the “Mr. Irrelevant”(the last pick of the draft) from the 2022 draft became their starting quarterback. Everyone expected him to be average at best, but he’s been better than that for the 49ers and has led them to wins every week since he was named the starter. Purdy will continue to benefit from playing in a quarterback-pro offense with passing to Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, along with having the option to run it to star running back Christain McCaffrey. In the system Coach Kyle Shannahan has set up for Purdy he won’t need to throw long balls, so it should take away some of the pressure for the rookie quarterback. San Francisco should also have an easy time running the ball against the Seattle defense, which lost some key players to season-ending injuries. The great San Francisco 49ers have one weakness, which Geno Smith and the Seattle offense should use to their advantage. The 49er's defense is very strong, but they are the worst in the league at covering long balls. If by some miracle Geno Smith can use this to his advantage, there is a faint path to victory, but other than that I see the 49ers walking away with the win.
No. 6 New York Giants at No. 3 Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings have eleven total one-score games, and the Giants have gone 8-4-1 in a similar matter, so this on paper looks like it’s going to be one of the most evenly-matched games of the weekend. The Vikings have expected their great record to fade away, mostly because of their love to win games in the dying embers of a game. The Vikings won week 18 by a last-second field goal, a little bit of luck from a blocked punt, and two vital takeaways. The Viking's victory wasn’t all luck, because the team also torched the Giant's defense through the air: tight end T.J. Hockenson had 109 yards and two touchdowns, and their star wide receiver Justin Jefferson had 133 yards with one touchdown. The Giants throughout the season suffered extensive injury losses, but luckily many key players were just activated to practice and might be game ready by this weekend. The Giant's defense brought back to practice this week linebacker Azeez Ojulari, cornerback Adoree Jackson, defensive lineman Leonard Williams, along with safety Xavier McKinney. Having them available would be a huge win for the team, and would help contain the Viking's passing attack. I can see an upset happening here if some of the players on the Giant's injured list are cleared to play this weekend. I think the Giants will walk away with the win.
No. 5 Dallas Cowboys at No. 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers struggled this season, but per usual Tom Brady found a way to make the playoffs. The Buccaneers had a losing season, with a record of 8-9. They had to squeak out multiple victories this season, and they relied completely on 45-year-old Tom Brady to win the team the NFC South. There were clear glimpses that Tampa Bay opened up its playbook in a must-win matchup against the Carolina Panthers in week 17. Brady had 432 passing yards, and 207 of those passing yards and three touchdowns went to Mike Evans. The Bucs have an elite offensive tackle, Tristan Wirfs, which helps Brady get a little more time in the pocket. The Cowboys on paper are the favorites in this game, but if we learned one thing from the last 20 years of football, it’s that you never can count out Tom Brady in the playoffs. Tom Brady transforms into a whole different player in the playoffs, and with each pass, he throws seems like he can’t miss his target. Even though the Cowboys are slotted to win, I believe Brady is going to pull something out of his back pocket and leave the game with a win.
The NFL Playoffs are going to be incredibly interesting, and there are so many matchups with the possibility of an upset. Make sure to watch all the games!
By Avner Belsky