NFL Wild Card Playoff Predictions

NFL Wild Card Round Playoff Predictions

NFC

Carolina Panthers Vs New Orleans Saints

Division matchups are always some of the best matchups you will see in the playoffs because both teams know each other so well and tend to elevate their game when they face off against each other. This will definitely be one of those games! The Panthers have been a silent killer all season long, they really haven’t been talked about much even though they went 11-5. If they were in the AFC they could easily walk into the Championship game! The Panthers defense has carried them all the way up to this point because the offense has been very suspect. Outside of Cam Newton they have no offensive weapons at all! The Saints on the other hand I believe are the most complete team walking into the playoffs this season. They are led by a phenomenal defense, they have an excellent ground attack with Kamara and Ingram, and Drew Brees continues to have another solid season! I expect this to be a very close matchup and whoever is able to take advantage of the few opportunities given will win. I believe the Saints are a better team and more poised than the Panthers and will come out on top in this one!

Saints over Panthers 21-17

Atlanta Falcons Vs Los Angeles Rams

The Rams have probably been one of the biggest surprises of the season. Not only did they win their division, but they absolutely dominated for the entire season. The Rams have been really consistent on offense and defense, and play a well-balanced game. The Falcons are on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. There has been no consistency at all in any way, you never know what the hell you’re going to get from the Falcons on game day! I do think this will be a fun game to watch because I think both teams matchup well against each other and both teams have a ton of fire power on offense. I have a feeling this game could end up being a shootout and if that’s the case I give the edge to the Falcons. While the Rams have a lot of offensive weapons, I think the Falcons are much better suited to win an offensive battle because of the connection between Matt Ryan and Julio Jones. The two of them really know how to zone in and I think are one of the best quarterback to wide receiver duos in the league. Julio Jones is by far the best receiver in the game because of his awareness on where he needs to be at every moment in the game, from his hands to his feet he is always reliable. The margin is slim in this game and the Falcons have a huge advantage with a player like Julio Jones!

Falcons over Rams 37-27

AFC

Tennessee Titans Vs Kansas City Chiefs

This will probably be one of the worst games of the weekend because it will be so one sided. The Chiefs started off strong, but have really cooled off the second half of the season. They are a Jekyll and Hyde team because you never know what team you will get on any given Sunday, but with that being said the Titans have consistently been mediocre all season. They backed their way into the playoffs and haven’t been consistent in any way, shape, or form. I expect the Chiefs to dominate this game from start to finish.

Chiefs over Titans 35-13

Buffalo Bills Vs Jacksonville Jaguars

The only people who care about this game are Bills and Jaguars fans, other than that this looks like a total snoozefest! The Jags have been one of the surprise teams this season and have done so with a dominating defense! This defense will dominate you at the line, have your quarterback running for days or on his back, and they can cause turnovers for points. On the offensive side of the ball they’re fairly mediocre and have been up and down throughout the season, but have played well enough with this stacked defense to get the wins. I have no idea how or why the Bills are in the playoffs? I guess that just goes to show how awful the AFC was this season, but here they are fighting for a chance at the Super Bowl. This one is real simple, for me at least. The Jaguars are a much better team in my opinion than the Bills because of their defense. I believe the defense will take over this game and set the offense up with great field position for the easy score and the Jags will run away with this one.

Jaguars over Bills 28-10

College Football Playoff Predictions

College Football Playoff Predictions

Georgia Vs Oklahoma

This matchup seems like kind of a waste of time because I don’t see either of these teams actually winning the National Championship! I’ve been waiting for Georgia to fall off all season once they caught fire, because they’ve always seemed like a fraudulent team to me. Don’t get me wrong they’re a good team, but I just don’t see them holding up the trophy when it’s all said and done. Baker Mayfield won the Heisman Trophy this year and it was well deserved since he has been the only reason why Oklahoma is even in this position. Mayfield has lit up just about every defense he has faced this season and has had some really major upsets along the way, most notably against Ohio State. It actually pains me to say this, but I believe he will get another big win against Georgia. Both of these teams can score like crazy and I believe we will see a shootout in this one, but the way this season has played out that kind of a game plays into Mayfield’s favor. He has made a ton of clutch plays this season and has been really smart with the ball for the most part. Also, Bob Stoops is no longer the coach so his loser stench has left the building and the Sooners are building something new. For the record, the fact that I am giving all these compliments to the Sooners actually pains me since I hate them with every fiber of my being, but hey I can only speak the truth! I believe Oklahoma will walk away as the winner in this matchup!

Oklahoma over Georgia 45-41

Alabama Vs Clemson

Well here we go folks round number three between Alabama and Clemson! It won’t be for the National Championship, but it should be another great matchup between these two teams! Clemson has continued to dominate college football this season by playing great defense. Usually Clemson is known as an offensive powerhouse, and they still have a good offense, but this season it is all about that defense! They are very difficult to score against and at the end of the game if everything is on the line for a win, they end up on top! Now with that being said Alabama also has an insane defense! As a matter of fact, statistically they are better! They also have a well balanced offense and it’s never a good thing to be playing the Crimson Tide following a loss because usually they kick your ass! I expect this to be a defensive battle between both teams and whoever is able to take advantage of whatever small opportunity they have to score will win. I think the edge in this matchup goes to Alabama because they have an exceptional running back, Damien Harris, who averages 8 yards per carry and can make a big play at any time. Also, like I said before Alabama is coming off of a loss and are probably pissed off, they don’t usually lose two games in a row, so naturally I’m just expecting to see Alabama back in the National Championship.

Alabama over Clemson 17-14   

2017 World Series Prediction

Division Series Record (2-2)

Championship Series Record (1-1)

2017 World Series Prediction

Houston Astros Vs Los Angeles Dodgers

There is no question that this World Series will feature the two best teams from each League. The Dodgers have been the most dominant team from start to finish in every single way! The starting pitching is great from top to bottom, the bullpen is lights out, and the batting lineup is pretty much unstoppable! The Astros are, for the most part, a mirror image of the Dodgers, most notably with the starting pitching. The trade for Verlander late in the season has really paid off for them with this postseason push!

 I expect every single game in this series to be a hard fought battle because both teams can dominate on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball and can win in many different fashions. The edge in this matchup I believe will be in the bull pen. The Dodgers bullpen has been one of the best in the league and is very difficult to score against, whereas the Astros have had problems all season with their bullpen. I hate the Dodgers and will always root against them forever and for always, but unfortunately I feel like this is their year and I keep expecting them to choke because that is what they have been known to do over the years, but this team is different. They don’t have any quit no matter the circumstance and they are very poised in the moment. Also, I have watched them absolutely obliterate all of their opponents in the postseason and it hasn’t even been close. This Dodgers team looks like a Championship team to me.

Dodgers over Astros in 6 games

ALCS & NLCS Predictions

Division Series Record (2-2)

ALCS & NLCS Predictions

ALCS

New York Yankees Vs Houston Astros

I’m in complete shock that the Yankees were able to make it this far, they faced a great team and dominated them without their best player, Aaron Judge. He had an awful series, but they still dominated an excellent pitching staff. With that dominance though, I think that ends in this series. The Astros have been playing great baseball from start to finish and dominated the Red Sox in the previous round. I don’t believe the Yankees have enough fire power to keep up with the Astros. If it becomes an offensive shoot out, the Astros have no issues scoring. If it becomes a pitchers’ duel, the Astros have probably the best starting pitching in the league. If it becomes a defensive battle, well shit I’m taking the Astros over everyone! The Yankees don’t match up well at all in this one, they may be able to get a couple of big wins in the series, but I don’t believe they can take the series. This looks to be the Astros year!

Astros over Yankees in 6 games

NLCS

Chicago Cubs Vs Los Angeles Dodgers

It seems like it’s been awhile since we’ve last seen anything from the Dodgers because they were the only team to sweep through the Division Round of the playoffs! While the rest is nice, I don’t believe they want to face off against this red hot Cubs team. The Cubs look to be right back on track and as strong as they were during last years’ playoff run! The Cubs batting lineup hasn’t had any trouble scoring runs in the postseason and the starting pitching has been good enough to get the job done. As we’ve seen so far in the playoffs, starting pitching has been fairly mediocre all around, as long as the bullpen can come in and stop the bleeding it doesn’t seem to matter if your starting pitching is lights out like in seasons past. The Dodgers also can score a ton of runs, so I’m expecting this to be a fun series to watch with a ton of offense to keep you on the edge of your seat. The Dodgers have been notorious chokers over the years in the playoffs, most notably when they dominate the regular season. Until they can prove that they can win in the clutch I can’t take them and right now the Cubs are on fire and look to be just getting started. This should be a fun series to watch, but I think the Cubs will come out on top because they know how to get the job done, unlike the Dodgers!

Cubs over Dodgers in 6 games

ALDS & NLDS Predictions

ALDS & NLDS Predictions

ALDS

Boston Red Sox Vs Houston Astros

The Astros have been one of the most dominant teams since the start the season and I don’t believe they are about to cool down. The Astros are stacked from top to bottom. The starting pitching is solid, the batting lineup is unstoppable, and on defense it’s tough to get anything by that infield! The Red Sox have been extremely inconsistent from starting pitchers, to the bullpen, and throughout the batting lineup, I’m actually really shocked they ended up winning their division. These two teams are practically polar opposites and that does not play into the Red Sox favor. The Astros are playing too well for me to pick against them, especially against a floundering Red Sox team!

Astros over Red Sox in 3 games

New York Yankees Vs Cleveland Indians

I have a feeling this is going to be a very mediocre series. The Yankees have been a fun team to watch and they definitely have a bright future with that batting lineup, but their starting pitching is straight up garbage! They will not even be able to compete with the Indians in any way once things get out of hand. The Indians have an excellent starting pitching lineup. Any one of these guys can go out there and dominate on the mound, and they are known to give up very few runs. That is not the case with the Yankees at all, they are lucky if the starting pitcher makes it past the third inning these days. The Indians are by far the superior team on every level in this matchup from the pitching to the hitting, I don’t believe the Yankees will be able to keep up in this one.

Indians over Yankees in 3 games

NLDS

Chicago Cubs Vs Washington Nationals

The Cubs aren’t even half the team they were last season, quite frankly they should feel lucky they even made the Playoffs! I’m not sure what the problem is with them since they are basically the same team as last season? They have had to deal with some injuries to the starting pitching, but nothing major. Even the batting lineup isn’t as good as it was last season, they are lucky if they can drive in a run these days. The Nationals, on the other hand, have been one of the best teams all season long. The starting pitching has been one of the best in the league, but the bull pen is a whole other story. The Nationals offense was on fire prior to Bryce Harper’s injury and if he can’t back into the lineup and play how he played prior to the injury the Nationals have no shot at a World Series. With that being said I still think the Nationals overall are the better team and have the edge in this matchup. The Cubs have been way too unreliable throughout the season and the pitching has been way too inconsistent for me to trust them to win a series against the Nationals.

Nationals over Cubs in 4 games

Arizona Diamondbacks Vs Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers dominated this entire season, aside from the last month, but they still finished the regular season on top! Now, it’s Playoff time and that hasn’t been a fulfilling time for the Dodgers in quite some time! Even their pitcher, Clayton Kershaw, has been known to blow his wad consistently throughout the Playoffs in the past, so this should be an interesting series to watch. At first glance this looks like it should be an ass kicking, which I wouldn’t be surprised by, but I am not sold at all on the Dodgers. They are going up against a division opponent who has been on fire this second half of the season. The Diamondbacks should not be overlooked in this matchup. They don’t have a ton of big names, but they have a few guys who can make a ton of big plays, and like I said the Dodgers in the post season has been nothing but a chokefest over the years. I think this will end up being the best series in this round of the Playoffs and while I believe it’s going to be close, I give the Dodgers the edge because they are a much better team overall than the Diamondbacks. The Dodgers have plenty of time to choke this post season, it’s just not going to happen in this round!

Dodgers over Diamondbacks in 5 games