Road to Super Bowl LVIII: Sports Gazette predict the 2024 NFL playoffs
The twists and turns of yet another rollercoaster regular season have come to an end.
We saw the rise of projected rookie of the year CJ Stroud, Lamar Jackson stride towards his second MVP accolade, and Christian McCaffrey steamroll his way to the rushing yards title, just to name a few moments.
The Kansas City Chiefs celebrate winning last year’s Super Bowl
Now the time has come to embark on the playoff journey, and the Sports Gazette’s predictions are in! Who will reach Super Bowl LVIII?
Sleeper Team
Ricky: Houston Texans
CJ Stroud has set the NFL alight since his arrival, and he has found ‘his guy.’ The chemistry between himself and Nico Collins has gelled fervently, and they proved that it can only get better in last week’s crucial ‘win and you’re in’ game. Not only that, their defence has some young studs- Derek Stingley Jr (when fit) and Will Anderson Jr (broke rookie sack record) for example have been very impressive this season. Don’t sleep on the Texans.
The Houston Texans selected CJ Stroud with the second pick of the 2023 draft
Eduardo: Cleveland Browns
Only one of two teams to go 0-16 in a season, Cleveland Browns fans finally have a squad to be proud of this year. They will watch their team in the playoffs for only the second time in 21 years.
Led by the 38-year-old quarterback Joe Flacco, who is on a four game 300+ yards throwing streak and has a 10-5 playoff record having won it all with the Baltimore Ravens over a decade ago.
Flacco has thrown at least one interception in each game, but the Browns have the defence to make up for it. Only the Ravens have held quarterbacks and wide receivers to lower ratings over 2023. Martin Emerson Jr and Denzel Ward, who could be questionable for the wildcard round, have competed as one the best cornerback duos of the season.
That’s if the opposition quarterback gets to throw the ball, under the pressure of Myles Garrett with 14 sacks this season. Expect to see one v the Texans who were in the NFL’s bottom 10 for sacks allowed.
Amari Cooper had his way with the Texans defence in week 16 with 265 yards and two touchdowns. His Browns have beaten both the Lombardi favourites this regular season, in the San Francisco 49ers and Ravens, so there is no telling how far they could go this postseason.
National Football Conference Champion
Ricky: San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers had a blip in their ‘playoff-esque’ test against Baltimore, and will be keen to rectify those mistakes, which I have no doubt they will. They are far too talented on both sides of the ball to not do so: Christian McCaffrey, Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Brock Purdy, I could go on. A lot factors on the health of left tackle Trent Williams- he is the difference between Purdy being well protected and not. Also bear in mind this is a Kyle Shanahan led team, they will be in that Superbowl if all are fit and healthy.
49ers won the NFC West with a 12-5 record
Eduardo: San Francisco 49ers
The NFC number one seed San Francisco 49ers will enjoy home comforts all the way through to the Conference Championships if they are to make it there, as expected. Lucky for them, their likely opponents, in the Dallas Cowboys, have a 4-5 losing away record that is a cause for concern.
This is in contrast to the Cowboys 100% home record, where they average 37.4 points per game. One such away trip for America’s team saw them get trounced 42-10 by the 49ers at the Levi’s stadium. Brock Purdy lit up the Dallas defence throwing for 252 yards and four touchdowns.
American Football Conference Champion
Ricky: Baltimore Ravens
Disclaimer: I am a Baltimore Ravens fan. Nevertheless, this has not influenced my decision and I am basing all predictions off regular season performance.
Baltimore has had a pretty special season, and quite frankly I do not see anyone that can beat them in the AFC apart from themselves. The losses to the Steelers, Browns and Colts were all implosions of their own doing, and they have learnt from those mistakes based off of their late season run in. If anyone can top them in my opinion it will be the Bills, with Allen’s ability to create magic out of nothing. The rest are just not of the same calibre.
Lamar Jackson leads the Baltimore Ravens into the playoffs as the one seed in the AFC
Eduardo: Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills have already had to overcome adversity this season to go from a 6-6 record to winning five games in a row and their fourth straight AFC East title.
As well as momentum being on their side, having already ramped up to playoffs intensity, this team has kept its cool in high pressure moments. No team fared better on third downs this season. It’s this resilience that emboldens me to predict them to reach this year’s Super Bowl.
Can they beat the Miami Dolphins or Kansas City Chiefs? Well, they already have. Lamar Jackson’s Ravens will be favourites but Jackson will have to change his fortunes from a 1-3 playoff record.
Josh Allen might have thrown 18 interceptions this season but you don’t get the rewards without the risks. And what are those rewards? 29 touchdowns and throwing for over 250 yards per game. If at his best, Allen’s rewards could stretch as far as a conference championship.
Super Bowl Champion
Ricky: Baltimore Ravens
As mentioned previously, the 49ers will have studied and learnt from the tape of the Ravens loss ten times over. It will be a perfect reflection of the two best teams in the NFL, and whilst very predictable, I believe it will be these two sides to face off for the Lombardi trophy. Why have I picked Baltimore? Mike MacDonald’s defence. It is a historically good defence, which took home the triple crown: the most sacks, most turnovers and the least points per game in the league. The Ravens are the first team in NFL history to lead all categories. Enough said.
Eduardo: San Francisco 49ers
Amongst the top five MVP candidates, the San Francisco 49ers have two. Mr irrelevant Brock Purdy finished the regular season with the best quarterback rating, while running back Christian McCaffrey was the rushing yards leader (1,459). This has resulted in a supremely consistent offence, being both fourth in the league for passing yards (4388) and third in the league for rushing yards (2,389). Overall, they have scored an NFL-high 61 touchdowns.
With no Lombardi trophy since 1995, they might well have been in the Super Bowl last year, if it wasn’t for an injury to Purdy, but this year they take their very capable roster into the postseason in full health. No excuses.
Vince Lombardi Trophy Visits the Pennsylvania Capitol / Governor Tom Wolf via WikiMedia Commons
