The 2016 NFL season playoffs is about to start and one question will be answered for sure.  Were there any good teams in 2016?  Outside of the Cowboys and the Patriots all NFL teams have been mediocre.  Some have made runs then cooled, others came on at the end for a mediocre record but made it.  Ratings have been down this year and we know why.  These teams are not that good.  There are several teams with double digit wins but I don’t buy it or them.  Most of them all had bad losses and suffer real weaknesses.  It seems straight forward that the Patriots and Cowboys Super Bowl is where we are headed.  But that is why they play the games as boomer might say.  Here is my prediction for the 2016 playoffs.

AFC

Oakland at Houston (-2.5)

Miami at Pittsburgh (-10)

Houston at New England

Pittsburgh at Kansas City

Kansas City at New England

NFC

Detroit at Seattle (-7.5)

New York at Green Bay (-4.5)

New York at Dallas

Seattle at Atlanta

New York at Atlanta

SUPER BOWL

New York vs. New England

 In the AFC Oakland won’t be able to handle not having a quarterback.  Houston at home should win.  If they can’t beat this Raider team at home in playoffs can we get rid of the Houston franchise?  Something to consider.  It will be a game on the boring side of the 21-17 type.  These 2 teams aren’t the ones that have the December head of steam going into the playoffs.  Miami has been on a run lately.  They have been playing with spirit and have won 8 of their last 10.  The game yesterday with the Pats may dampen their spirits going into the playoffs.  They were killed at home and it was a chippy division game.  Miami wanted to show the Pats how tough they were and it didn’t work.  Instead they were a bit steam rolled.  Sad face emoji all around for Miami folk.  Pittsburgh rested players and they have enough playoff experience.  The Miami and Pittsburgh game will be entertaining.  Miami won in Pittsburgh earlier this year.  But the inexperience and showy play of the Dolphins will make penalties costly.  Pittsburgh wins in a very good game to watch.  Detroit won’t be able to go into Seattle and pull out a win.  Once again Detroit is a team that can have flashes but you just never see them handle a team completely.  They still have an unpolished feel.  Seattle is having trouble scoring but they have the experience and Russell Wilson will game manage another playoff victory.  Now to those New York Giants.  They have that December head of steam going and this is familiar territory for them.  A lower seed in the playoffs forced to play good late in the regular season, and then go on the road in the post-season.  Another Giants thing is to have a great defense going into the playoffs.  Look at their points allowed in the last couple of months.  Impressive.  They shut down a Redskins team yesterday with a decent offense who had to win to get in.  Impressive again.  They go on the road and beat the Packers in Green Bay.  New England’s revenge against the Packers in the Super Bowl will be some other time.

During the divisional round New England will send the Texans away easily.  The Texans are still a team with no identity and they have not done well against the Pats at all.  Bill B. is just too good for them.  Kansas City is an interesting case.  They have a good coach and had another very good season.  But the playoff demons are there and the Steelers are a potent team.  What if the Chiefs need to score a bunch?  This is the game where the chiefs and Any Reid hold on to make it to the AFC Championship.  Relatively high scoring.  Pittsburgh can give up some points and that will be the difference.  30-27 Chiefs win.  Seattle goes to Atlanta and for once the Falcons don’t choke.  Because they score enough points they will have forced Russell Wilson to score 35 and it doesn’t happen.  Falcons win 35-24.  It is round 3 for the Giants and Cowboys this season.  The Giants are rolling and people are talking already about Pats vs. Giants round 3.  After a cozy regular season of Elliot and his chow man routine and everyone in Dallas falling all over each to state that the Cowboys are back they need to play a playoff game.  The Giants come in and take it from the Cowboys.  A good season for the Cowboys with a bright immediate future and I look forward to hating them more very soon.

Championship weekend.  The best football games of the year!  New England hosts Kansas City.  It is cold and the Pats have everything going now.  Brady is still upset.  Michael Floyd is now well established.  Defense has been continuing to trend up.  Tre Flowers is getting pressure every week.  A tough game with Kansas City ends with the Pats winning by 13.  The Pats just outlast the Chiefs and force them out of their game.  Alex Smith and the just OK Chiefs offense can’t keep up.  Brady leads the Pats to his seventh super bowl appearance.  In the NFC everyone can now understand what is happening.  A collision course between the Giants and Pats.  The Giants go into Atlanta and the Falcons score some but the Giants keep sticking around.  The Giants defense does a good job of keeping Atlanta from going up and down at will.  Eli and Beckham Jr. keep doing their thing and then the two weeks begin and my anxiety.

The super bowls that featured the Giants vs. Patriots were 2 of the most exciting events I ever watched.  Great theatre between two teams and cities that didn’t like each other sports wise.  Now the Pats want that revenge and Tom Brady sure as hell doesn’t want to be remembered as the guy that lost to Eli three times.  This one comes down to the last possession again but this time New England has the ball.  If you remember far back enough, the beginning of the Patriots reign came with routine end of game scores by Brady.  That hasn’t been necessary in a while.  But this time it will be.  This time the catch is made by someone from the old days.  By that I mean a player who you hardly know or are somewhat aware of if you are a viewer from outside of New England.  Malcom Mitchell or Michael Floyd or James White or Chris Hogan.  But they get it done and Goodell gives the trophy to Bob Kraft and Brady.

Now football is over for another year and we pretend that NBA basketball and NHL hockey aren’t boring.  Or that spring training equipment moving day is just around the corner.  But don’t worry Masters weekend will be here soon enough!