No Seahawks no worries: Staff predictions for each divisional round game
By Lee Vowell
The Seahawks didn’t make it to the divisional round of the playoffs but they still made the playoffs, so yay! And the Seahawks will likely be better in 2023. Who wins in the divisional round though? Our staff takes a gander here.
Before we get into the picks, however, I’d like to give some standing updates. We do these picks every year and every year someone else finishes atop the standings. Do we know what we are talking about mostly? No. But we like to guess.
Here is where the standings are through the Wild Card round. And just as an FYI, some of us had the Seahawks beating the 49ers. Many of the favored teams in the divisional round are the same, though.
Staff predictions for every NFL divisional game, sadly without the Seahawks
Standings:
Lee Vowell 6-0
Matt Holm: 5-1
Michael Thompson: 4-2
Jake Luppino: 4-2
Andrew Bailie: 4-2
Max Downard: 4-2
Karley Sibert: 3-3
Todd Vandenberg: 3-3
Jaguars at Chiefs, 1:30 pm PT on Saturday
The Chiefs are going to win, right? They are the best team in football. They have Patrick Mahomes. And the Chiefs beat the Jaguars earlier this year 27-17. Still, Jacksonville has won 6 straight games.
Todd Vandenberg: Jaguars 26 Chiefs 23
Jake Luppino: Chiefs 38 Jaguars 23
Andrew Bailie: Chiefs 31 Jaguars 20
Michael Thompson: Chiefs 41 Jaguars 10
Max Downard: Chiefs 31 Jaguars 24
Karley Sibert: Chiefs 38 Jaguars 17
Matt Holm: Chiefs 38 Jaguars 27
Lee Vowell: Chiefs 34 Jaguars 24
Giants at Eagles, 5:15 pm PT on Saturday
The Eagles will get Jalen Hurts back for this game and that probably is the difference between Philadelphia making a deep run in the playoffs or not. Or maybe not. The Eagles’ defense hasn’t been great lately, especially against the run, and the Giants can run. This should be an interesting matchup between two NFC East rivals.
Todd Vandenberg: Eagles 19 Giants 13
Jake Luppino: Giants 24 Eagles 23
Andrew Bailie: Eagles 24 Giants 20
Michael Thompson: Eagles 31 Giants 17
Max Downard: Eagles 28 Giants 24
Karley Sibert: Eagles 24 Giants 17
Matt Holm: Eagles 23 Giants 20
Lee Vowell: Eagles 27 Giants 21
Bengals at Bills, 12 pm PT on Sunday
The Bills must be a team of destiny after all the turmoil they have had to overcome this season, most notably the injury to Damar Hamlin. But everyone has a destiny, good or bad. And Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has helped cause the destinies of several playoff teams over the last couple of seasons to be one of failure.
Todd Vandenberg: Bengals 33 Bills 26
Jake Luppino: Bills 34 Bengals 31
Andrew Bailie: Bills 27 Bengals 24
Michael Thompson: Bills 34 Bengals 31
Max Downard: Bills 28 Bengals 24
Karley Sibert: Bills 27 Bengals 20
Matt Holm: Bengals 27 Bills 21
Lee Vowell: Bengals 34 Bills 31
Cowboys at 49ers, 3:30 pm PT on Sunday
Will Cowboys QB Dak Prescott play a clean game? Will 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy finally be faced with an obstacle he can’t overcome in his rookie season? Which defense will be better? Whichever team answers the previous questions better will win.
Todd Vandenberg: 49ers 43 Cowboys 12
Jake Luppino: 49ers 27 Cowboys 23
Andrew Bailie: Cowboys 20 49ers 17
Michael Thompson: 49ers 27 Cowboys 24
Max Downard: 49ers 31 Cowboys 27
Karley Sibert: 49ers 31 Cowboys 24
Matt Holm: 49ers 31 Cowboys 17
Lee Vowell: 49ers 24 Cowboys 19