The NFL playoffs are always an exciting time of year. This year’s 17-week regular season has left NFL fans on the edges of their seats all year. The narrative of the NFL was turned on its head this season—not a concussion joke. Last year, no one would have predicted that the Tennessee Titans, Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings would have made the playoffs. For example, the Jacksonville Jaguars have not had a winning season since 2007. 2007 is also the year the last time they made the playoffs. The Jaguars are first in their division this year. The last time a Jaguar fan was able to celebrate this accomplishment was the 1999 NFL season. We are currently watching the best Jacksonville Jaguars team of all time. “The Jacksonville Jaguars made the playoffs” is one of the wildest statements of 2018.
My favorite part of the NFL playoffs is the headlines and the stories they produce. “Will the Falcons get back to the Super Bowl?” “Todd Gurley for MVP?” “Can the Steelers beat the Patriots?” “Carson Wentz is injured so the Eagles will lose.” “Who can beat the New England Patriots?” The Minnesota Vikings have a legit chance of playing in the Super Bowl this year. This is a special possibility because the Super Bowl will be hosted by Minnesota this year. These headlines are put to the test when the ball is kicked off and the teams play the game.
The first two weeks of this year’s playoffs have been action-packed to say the least. The Titans, Jaguars, Saints, and Falcons won their wildcard matchups. Surprisingly, the Tennessee Titans found a way to rally back against the Kansas City Chiefs pulling off the upset and winning by one point (22-21). The play of the game for the Titans was when Marcus Mariota, the quarterback, threw a touch down to himself. Unfortunately for the Titans, they fell to the New England Patriots the next week by three touchdowns (35-14). The New Orleans Saints held on to a five-point lead to beat their rivals, the Carolina Panthers (31-26). The struggling Atlanta Falcons were relieved to defeat the Los Angeles Rams (26-13) and continue their Championship hopes.
As I mentioned earlier, the Patriots dominated the Titans in their win. To be fair, everyone expected the Patriots to dominate the Titans. I do not need to say anything more than: “Tom Brady.” The Jaguars survived the shoot-out against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Jaguars won (45-42), keeping their Cinderella season alive. The Falcons’ struggles finally caught up to them when they lost to the Eagles without Carson Wentz (15-10). Meanwhile, the Minnesota Vikings beat the New Orleans Saints by way of a walk-off touchdown to win the game (29-24). The spectacular winning touchdown by the Vikings is dominating meme culture right now.
My thoughts on this years NFL playoffs are all over the place. I still do not know how the Titans made it to the playoffs and I am not surprised that the Chiefs choked. I really wanted to see the Patriots and Steelers rematch, but the Jaguars had other plans. Who would have guessed that the Eagles would beat the Falcons? Overall, I want to see the Jaguars and the Vikings play in the Super Bowl and for the Vikings to win the championship on their home field.
