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Who Can Win the Super Bowl in the NFC

Who in the NFC Can Win the Super Bowl

By Matt Quinn

 

 

Last time we covered the AFC side of things. Now we’re going to dive in to the NFC Playoffs and the four teams that remain. Not only will we delve into how each remaining team can or cannot win the Super Bowl, I’ll also close out with some Divisional picks. So let’s take a look at each team left in the NFC Playoffs.

 

Washington Commanders

 

The Commanders have been one of the great stories of this season. After ownership was changed from Dan Snyder, a whole new coaching staff and attitude took its place. Dan Quinn has done an excellent job in his first season as head coach, taking a team that had just four wins and little hope last year, to a 12-win team and bonafide threat in the NFC Playoffs. Rookie QB Jayden Daniels has been great this season, most likely earning Rookie of the Year honors with his tremendous play. If the Commanders can continue to get excellent play from him, as well as vastly underated WR Terry McLaurin paired with a strong rushing attack, the Commanders can compete with anyone offensively and could get a long awaited Championship if everything falls their way. What could prevent them from winning the title is the defense. It by no means is a bad defense but if you’re looking at where the weak links on this team are, it’s on defense. They have gotten a boost since the insertion of Marshon Lattimore, but rushing defense will especially have to be better, as that’s primarily where they struggled this year and they will possibly have to go through the best running backs in the game to get there.

 

 

Los Angeles Rams

 

The Rams have battled through a ton of adversity this season. Starting 1-4 with injuries piling up, there was even talk of trading star receiver Cooper Kupp at one point because the season felt basically over. Fast forward several months, and the Rams are winners of the NFC West and just have come off a big time win against the 14-win Minnesota Vikings after the game was relocated due to devastating fires in Los Angeles. So if there is anything that can win a Super Bowl it’s resilience and the Rams have that in abundance. Not to mention a coach and QB that have won a Super Bowl together once before so they know what it takes to get there. Ultimately what will prevent them from winning a Super Bowl is possibly the talent of teams like the Eagles, who they face this weekend, or even the Lions down the road, finally becoming too much to overcome for the Rams. This team is a tough group mentally, so it will be hard for anyone to knock them off.

 

 

Philadelphia Eagles

 

Now we get to the teams that are considered the favorites in the NFC. The Eagles have been a very good team all year long. Fielding possibly the most complete team of anyone in the entire playoffs, they have playmakers on each side of the ball. Saquon Barkley went over 2,000 yards this year and could have broken the single season rushing yards record if not for being rested on the last day of the season. Jalen Hurts has also been fantastic. Having weapons like A.J. Brown, Devonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert to throw to have made Jalen’s job alot easier. On defense they are absolutely loaded. The front seven is amongst the best in the league and with defensive backs like C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Quenyon Mitchell, not to mention veteran Darius Slay Jr., this defense is extremely well-rounded. They will be tough to beat but if they are to be beat it will be if they struggle to make plays on offense. They won pretty comfortably against the Packers but there were times throughout that game they were unable to do much offensively. Possibly the biggest concern however, is kicker Jake Elliot, he missed an extra point last week and has had his struggles throughout the entire year. If that rears it’s ugly head in the playoffs, they will be in trouble.

 

 

Detroit Lions

 

The number one seed in the NFC and arguably the best team in the league throughout the whole season just seem like they’re destined to get to the big game this year. With the most explosive offense in the league captained by the most sought after Offensive Coordinator in the NFL, the Lions have made defenses heads spin all year with some of the plays they’ve drawn up. It doesn’t matter if it’s a hook and ladder play or even a fake fumble play, they always have some tricks up their sleeve. It’s going to be incredibly difficult to stop this offense, as it has all year. It’s the defense that could cause some concern. We all know they’re going to score points on offense, but the defense has shown that it has the ability to give up points when facing equally good offenses. And one thing there is no shortage of in the NFC, let alone the entire playoffs, is offense. If the defense lets them down, it could be their ticket back home to watch the Super Bowl, rather than a ticket to the game itself.

 

 

Divisional Round Picks

 

I will keep this part brief, since we’ve already covered in detail, every team left in the playoffs at this point.

 

 

Texans at Chiefs

 

For this game, the Chiefs have been on a long layoff since their last game. Look to see some early rust that the Chiefs will eventually knock off and advance to the AFC Championship game yet again. I have the Chiefs winning 27-17.

 

 

Commanders at Lions

 

This game is going to be alot more fun than some people might realize. Both of these teams can score points in bunches and I think we will see a shootout with the Commanders coming out on top in my shock upset of the playoffs. The pressure will be on the Lions to take care of business and though everything on paper tells me I should take the Lions, I’m taking the Commanders in a stunner. Jayden Daniels will have to be the one who wins it, but I believe that he gets the job done here 34-31.

 

 

Rams at Eagles

 

This game comes down to who can impose their will in the trenches. Last time these teams met earlier in the year, Saquon Barkley had a field day, rushing for 255 yards and 2 tds and also hauling in 4 receptions for 47 yards. The Rams cannot allow that to happen again or the result will be the same. I think homefield advantage plays a big factor here and the Eagles get the ground game going and win 28-24.

 

Ravens at Bills

 

Potentially the game of the week brings a close to the divisional round on Sunday night. The Ravens and Bills are both rolling right now but I think the Derrick Henry effect will be the difference here. If Henry starts to have runs like he did last week, the Bills will lose this game. Josh Allen has been tremendous but the Ravens ability to keep the ball could be the difference here. I like the Ravens going into Buffalo and winning 31-28.