Sunday, January 03, 2021

NFL Predictions Week 17 (Part II)

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NFL Predictions - 

Dolphins at Bills -

This is one of the biggest matchups in the AFC and will likely determine a lot in the AFC playoffs' picture. A win by the Dolphins and they are  in the playoffs. Not only that, but they would be the No.5 seed, even if all of the other AFC playoffs contenders also win! Of course, if the bills win then that where things get a little hairy for the Dolphins and they would need some help in the playoffs' picture! For the Bills, I don't think this game matters that much. A win and a Steelers' loss would put them in the No.2 seed, but I don't see how it would really favor them, though. It wouldn't hurt by any means, but the difficulty of the matchup probably isn't affected that much. If anything the seeding will only matter later on in the playoffs, in my opinion.

I think this is a really good matchup between two really solid teams. On one hand, you a team that we all expected to challenge for the AFC East when Brady and others decided to depart in New England. The Bills were already good enough as it was last season and I think their new additional put them over the top. I believe, they have a good enough offense and defense to win the whole damn thing! But to me, this team goes as Josh Allen goes and he has been awesome this season! As for the Dolphins, I didn't expect this out of them and I don't think nobody did! A win would put them at 11 wins and into the playoffs! Heading into the season, I had them at 4 to 6 wins and I thought that was fair! It crazy how quickly that they rebuilt without really adding any true superstar power. Name one player on that team who is considered a top-tier superstar? There isn't one, but they win by playing sound football as a unit and I think it says a lot about the coaching staff down in Miami! 

Prediction - This is a really tough game to predict as it could go either way really, but I am leaning towards the Bills in this one. I think the Bills has less to play for, but they have a real chance to knock out a possible playoffs' contender and you gotta do it anytime you got a chance. And I think they will!  

Jets at Pats -

The Pats has been bad this season and it is certainly a season forget in New England! Things actually started out promising for the Pats and some of us actually believed that they might be okay. But early on, the defense struggled which was probably a bad sign. The offense was going, but the limited offensive weapons was obviously concerning. As you expected, the production fell off in a bad way. I mean, this is a new offense for both Cam and the Pats. For 20 years, they were use to having Tom Brady being the quarterback and these guys are obviously two different players. I don't think Newton is the answer at quarterback, but I would love to see him back for another year and see if they can hit on anything. In year 2, that when we see the biggest upstick in production in a offense from a quarterback! 

The Jets has been on a roll of late and have now won back-to-back games and it has been vs teams with 9 or more wins. In week 15, they upset the Rams and last week it was the Browns' turn. So what has gotten into the Jets? Honestly I have no idea but it has been really fun to watch. They looked like a real team and frankly looked better to a few playoffs' teams. With all of the caproom that they have, they could be very good in 2021 and it wouldn't surprise me. Especially  with a new coach! If the Jets get the draft picks right, the FA signings right and the coach right, then they have a chance to be pretty good soon! 

Prediction - Call me crazy, but I love the momentum of the Jets and I think they are better right now than the Pats! I am sure the Pats aren't just gonna roll over for them, but the Jets are kinda on a roll right now! Give me the Jets! 

Steelers at Browns -

I am kinda surprised that the Steelers opted to rest some of their key players in this matchup, as win over the Browns would pretty knock them out of the playoffs with some help. And a win for the Steelers would mean that they would lock up the No.2 seed in the AFC. But maybe they think resting their stars for the playoffs is more important than playing. Personally, I have always thought having a week off is a mistake around this time, but that is just me, though. I am sure the backups that are in the game will fight until the very end for the Steelers, though. 

The Browns are on the other end of things as the Browns need to win to make the playoffs or at least lock their place in. They can still make the playoffs with a loss, but they would then need some help. But truthfully, they don't deserve to make the playoffs, if they can't beat the Steelers without some of their stars players. And with that said, the Browns will also being missing several players for covid reasons. That has been a major topic this week for this game. However, it looks like this game will go on as scheduled! 

Prediction - I am going with the Browns in this one as they will have a lot more to play for than the Steelers and I think not having Big Ben in this one is huge and I am not sure how productive the Steelers will be. Even with all of their starters, I kinda been lower and lower on the Steelers each week. So Browns probably would had been my pick either way!  

Ravens at Bengals -

The Ravens are one of the teams that control their own density in the AFC playoffs picture! A win by the Ravens, then they are in the playoffs! A loss and I think their postseason odds are a lot longer, as they would need a loss by the Browns or Colts. And it really wouldn't matter what happens to the Titans or Dolphins as losses by them wouldn't really matter too much for the Ravens to make the playoffs. So if you are a Ravens' fan, I would be keeping an eye on the Browns or Colts' games, if the Ravens are struggling to put away the Bengals today! 

The Bengals have played better than I thought that they would with Joe Burrow and actually have scored a couple wins over the past few weeks. But I am not sure if that is actually a good thing, I thought the only bright side to Burrow's injury was that the Bengals would improve their draft pick. They will still be in a good position to get a good player, but these wins have kinda hurt them in that regardless. As for week 17, I have a hard time seeing them doing much the high-powered Ravens with a load of momentum entering this game! 

Prediction - I am pretty high on the Ravens entering this week and I think they are one of the teams that could make a sneaky deep run in the postseason! It will be a tough road for them, but they are more than talented enough to get the job done! 

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