Finished up the season this week in my solitaire league. Division winners are Giants AFC East, Bengals AFC Central, Raiders NFC West, and Saints NFC South. The four wildcard teams are the Redskins and Steelers for the AFC and the Rams and Cowboys for the NFC. Two teams (Cowboys and Redskins) were propelled into the playoffs by Hail-Mary passes on the last play of their respective final regular season games! Seeding is as follows:
AFC NFC
1 New York Giants 5-0 1 Oakland Raiders 4-1
2 Cincinnati Bengals 5-0 2 New Orleans Saints 3-2
3 Washington Redskins 3-2 3 Los Angeles Rams 3-2
4 Pittsburgh Steelers 3-2 4 Dallas Cowboys 2-3
Playoff Game Previews
Dallas at Oakland - With the best record in the NFC the Raiders are peaking at the right time having beat two playoff bound teams in their final two regular season games, the Saints and the Rams. They have one of the top defenses in the league second only to New York and one of the top runners in Mark Van Eagan. The Cowboys, as mentioned above snuck into the playoffs in the final game of the season with a miracle bomb as time ran out. The Cowboys haven't scored more than 7 points in any game this year. They are only the second team in the 13 season history of the league to make the playoffs with a losing record. This game seems like a synch for the Raiders, but...on any given Sunday.....
Los Angeles at New Orleans - Both teams are limping into the playoffs having lost their final two games. The Rams beat the Saints in the divisional round last season in LA. The Rams are the defending NFC Champions and the most successful team in league history having played in 8 Superbowls and winning 5 of them. The Saints history is not quite as glorious. They have played in 4 NFC Championship games over the years and have lost all of them including two to the Rams. History is on the side of LA, but playing at home in the Superdome may be the motivating factor that launches the Saints to a fifth chance at an NFC title.
Washington at Cincinnati - The Bengals have a very potent offense second only in scoring to the Steelers and their defense has produced the most turnovers in the league. The Bengals visited DC in week 4 this season and their explosive offense and opportunistic defense was too much for the boys from DC. The Redskins won their playoff spot in Hail Mary fashion Monday night in New England during the final week of the season. Can they pull off another miraculous win?
Pittsburgh at New York - The Steelers won their final two games, but having won only one division game needed help to make the playoffs. They got that help as the Bengals beat the Eagles and the Giants beat the Colts in the final week of the season. Terry Bradshaw threw 5 touchdown passes in the final two games of the season, three to Benny Cunningham in a thrashing of the Cowboys at Three Rivers, and two to Calvin Sweeney during a snow impacted game at Cleveland. The Giants this season did just enough to get out of stadiums with a win. Their week 5 win over the Colts was the only game where they won by multiple scores. The off season blockbuster trade bringing Earl Campbell to New York has had mixed results. Campbell has been solid for sure but hasn't made the impact that the Giants were hoping for. The defense led by rookie Lawrence Taylor has been the silent hero the entire season having only given up 26 points in 5 games. The Giants have been to the last two AFC Championship games and have come up short in both. Will this be the season they finally get back to the Superbowl?
I'd love to hear your predictions!