The 2016 NFL Playoffs Thread

For Super Bowl 50, which I have to specify because NFL seasons span two calendar years, and stuff.

I assume there will be some talk about this. Here is a container for said talk.

Unless it's the Packers (which I'm pretty confident it won't be), I hope we see a team with limited Super Bowl success or no success at all take the crown (not Minnesota or Seattle either though). I'm rooting for the Panthers, Bengals, and Chiefs as well.

Here's how I have it playing out

Chiefs vs Texans
Steelers vs Bengals

Chiefs vs Broncos
Bengals vs Patriots

Chiefs vs Patriots

Seahawks vs Vikings (rooting for Vikings)
Packers vs Redskins

Seahawks vs Panthers
Redskins vs Cardinals

Cardinals vs Panthers

Super Bowl: Cardinals vs Patriots

__________________

I am really looking forward to that Seahawks-Vikings game. I'll take Seahawks, Packers, Steelers, Chiefs this weekend.

__________________
Letterboxd

I got Seahawks, Redskins, Steelers and Chiefs. I really want the Bengals to win though.

As for my Packers, I don't know what the hell is wrong with them. Line play has been terrible, and the receivers have been below average. It will be nice to get Nelson and Montgomery back next year, to see Adams take a seat back and get Cobb back into his normal role. As great as Jones has been sometimes, there's other times he just doesn't create any separation.

I am probably underestimating the Redskins because I haven't seen them since like week 3. I don't think that team is good though.

Raul you want the Pats and you know it

I'm going with the Texans, Steelers, Seahawks, and Packers for the Wild Card games.

__________________

[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

Oh god, no.

I think the Steelers would present the greatest challenge for them, but they won't face off against each other unless it's for the AFC crown.

Nothing the Steelers do will surprise me, be it losing to Cincinnati on Saturday or going all the way to the Super Bowl. If you have one thing nobody can stop (which in this case might be throwing the ball), there's no ceiling on your team's potential. And if you rely on that one thing to win, then anybody who can slow it down can beat you.

Really hard to judge how good the Steelers are, especially given that they're without their star running back and All-Pro center, and went without Roethlisberger for a fourth of the season. One encouraging thing is how well they played against good teams: they beat Denver, Arizona, and Cincy, and lost by just a score to New England. So who knows?

Here are the current odds, by the way. Pretty clear tier among the top teams, three from each conference. Steelers are at the end of it, but they're all pretty bunched together:



Translation: nobody has any idea how this is gonna shake out. I think it's because there's a much bigger rock-paper-scissors matchup thing going on this year than in years past, where a lot of teams can have significantly easier or harder paths depending on who they end up having to play.

GO VIKINGS!!!!!!!


Were you the one that said you were both a Packers and Patriots fan???

As far as New England fans and media go, the Steelers are the only AFC team they've been talking about all year that scares them.

Both AFC games today: KC/Houston at 4:35 PM ET, then Steelers/Bengals at 8:15.

Chiefs are favored by 3, Steelers by 2.5 (got up to 3 yesterday for a bit).

Pretty much every analyst I've read thinks that, even with Dalton out, the one thing the Bengals might still be able to do well (throw deep) is the one thing that the Steelers are bad at defending. And the converse is true, too: the Steelers offense gets a lot out of the deep ball (or the threat of it, to be more precise), and the Bengals defend it well. So on both sides of the ball, big passing plays are a big deal, and in both cases it would seem to favor Cincy. Which is probably why the line is staying low.

Here we go.

I'll probably only get the chance to watch 1 or 2 games this weekend. Hoping to watch Pit-Cin, and then maybe Sea-Min tomorrow.

I'm gonna be pretty pissed if Vikings still get beat at home by a Lynch-less Seahawks...

That's surprising; they're still moderate favorites, and they probably should be. The early season struggles seem to have had a lot to do with injuries to the offensive line. They were stellar down the stretch and if you told me they were actually the best team in football, I'm not sure I'd disagree.

Dud of a game to start the weekend.

I'm over here hating Birfict with you Yoda.

Yeah, not a great guy.

Game's not over yet, but man, has it been messy. If the Steelers lose that erroneous whistle blow on the Shazier TD is gonna be talked about a lot.