Bringing in the New Year with Powerful Picks

Russ: All right, fellas, so it’s heating up. And the season of single-digit weather is doing nothing to slow it down! So, as of today, the 4 NFC division winners are the Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Francisco 49’ers, and the Philadelphia Eagles, with the wildcard teams: Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, and the Green Bay Packers. Over in the AFC, so far we have only 2 division winners: Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs. The breakdown of all of this is madness. There’re some very good teams out here.

Patrick: Agreed. I do know I’m looking forward to this playoffs season. This may be one of the toughest years to predict…but I, also, believe it’s going to be one of the most exciting. Easily.

Donald: Agreed. Even without the Bears, I can’t wait to see what goes down.

John: I’m with you all. This year’s playoffs is wide open. It’s no longer about who’s the best team; now, it’s more who’s the hottest or, even, the healthiest. At the moment, the healthiest teams moving forward are the Los Angeles Chargers and the Green Bay Packers.

Russ: Ooh. – so, have you just named your Super Bowl matchup?

John: Well, I’ll say I believe both of those teams have a great shot at advancing deep into the playoffs, whereas a team who has been dominating this entire season—the Philadelphia Eagles—is breaking down. I believe the AFC will have a tougher time narrowing down the field. There’re three teams at the top of the conference with outstanding quarterbacks: Cincinnati Bengals with Joe Burrow, Kansas City Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes, and the Buffalo Bills with Josh Allen.

Donald: Very evenly matched. Any of those teams could pull it out—at least make it to the Super Bowl.

John: Because of the evenness of these three teams, it’s the clutch play of Joe Burrow that tips the scales in Cincinnati’s favor. So, my AFC pick is the Cincinnati Bengals.

Russ: Okay. Nice breakdown. Got me thinking about some things. That said, I’m going to roll with the Kansas City Chiefs coming out of the AFC. I do like the Bengals as well. I’m probably not as solid with my AFC selection—especially with the Chiefs’ less-thanstellar defense—as John is with his; however, I’m sticking with K.C.

Patrick: Who’re they matched up against in the Super Bowl?

Russ: Again, this is tough considering we’re not completely set in the seedings; with that, though, I’m going with the San Francisco 49’ers to beat Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers…and earn that trip to the Super Bowl.

Donald: Against Kansas City?

Russ: Yep.

Patrick: John, who do you have the Bengals taking on in the Super Bowl?

John: If the Philadelphia Eagles can get it together, which means quarterback Jalen Hurts is not hurt and ready to go, then they have a very good shot to make it happen. However, because that’s so wishy-washy, I’m going with the 49’ers.

Patrick: Who wins?

John: Joe Cool Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals over the San Francisco 49’ers .

Russ: Chiefs over the 49’ers.

Patrick: Straight to the point: Philadelphia Eagles over the Buffalo Bills.

Donald: So, you wanna know what’s going on, huh? Well, I’m not picking this year. I’m just going to enjoy these playoffs big-time. That’s what’s really going on.

Vendors Russell Adams, John Hagan and Donald Morris chat about the world of sports with Executive Assistant Patrick Edwards.

Any comments or suggestions? Email pedwards@streetwise.org