The Road to Super Bowl LII

The NFL Playoffs are underway and we are one weekend of football away from determining the matchup for Super Bowl LII. The interesting thing about this year’s playoffs is not only who competed, but also who didn’t make the playoffs.  In the NFC, three out of four teams from the NFC South Division (Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, & New Orleans Saints) advanced to the playoffs, but none were able to advance to the NFC Championship Game.  This season’s playoffs did not include the Seattle Seahawks, Arizona Cardinals or Green Bay Packers, although the Packers competed in last season’s NFC Championship Game.  The Saints and Panthers faced each other in the Wild Card Round with New Orleans emerging as the victor.  The Falcons won their Wild Card matchup with the Los Angeles Rams.  Despite having chances to win late in the fourth quarter, neither the Falcons (vs. Eagles) nor the Saints (vs. Vikings) were able to secure a victory to advance to the NFC Championship Game.  Instead, the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings will compete to go to Super Bowl LII.

The AFC featured the usual suspects (New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs), so I guess the biggest surprise was the absence of the Houston Texans who made it to the Divisional Round last season.  In the Wild Card Round, the Tennessee Titans defeated the Kansas City Chiefs only to get throttled by the New England Patriots in the Divisional Round.  The Jacksonville Jaguars defeated the Buffalo Bills in a low-scoring game (10-3) that only had one touchdown.  In the Divisional Round, however, the Jaguars put 45 points on the board (45-42) to prevent the Pittsburgh Steelers from returning to the AFC Championship Game.  They will face last year’s Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.  Although the Jaguars produced a thrilling victory against the Steelers in Pittsburgh, they will face a monumental challenge seeking a win over the Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA.   

Since 2002, only one team, the New York Giants, has prevented the New England Patriots from hoisting the Lombardi Trophy once they reach the Super Bowl.  Peyton Manning's teams (Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos) had a lot of success keeping the Patriots out of the Super Bowl, but will the Jaguars have what it takes to beat Tom Brady's Patriots at home?  I'm excited to see who emerges from the NFC Championship Game because I have a feeling they will be facing the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.  Enjoy the games.

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