Dutch Lion’s 2024-’25 NFL Playoffs Preview

Dutch Lion’s 2024-’25 NFL Playoffs Preview

The NFL Playoffs start today with the Super Wildcard Weekend. Here’s our preview and predictions, all the way up to and including Super Bowl LIX (59).

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AFC Playoffs

1. Kansas City Chiefs (15-2) – AFC West Champions – bye
2. Buffalo Bills (13-4) – AFC East Champions
3. Baltimore Ravens (12-5) – AFC North Champions
4. Houston Texans (10-7) – AFC South Champions
5. Los Angeles Chargers (11-6) – Wild Card
6. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7) – Wild Card
7. Denver Broncos (10-7) – Wild Card

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AFC Wild Card Round

#7 Denver at #2 Buffalo – Buffalo is dominant at home in Rich Stadium/Ralph Wilson Stadium/New Era Field/Bills Stadium/Highmark Stadium (I know, it’s just silly. Plus, they are building a New Highmark Stadium, ready for play in ’26). The Bills Mafia doesn’t mess around! QB Josh Allen is just too good. Look for Denver rookie QB Bo Nix to be a little overwhelmed. Denver is good, but they’re not ready for this. Meanwhile, Buffalo is on a mission. PICK: Buffalo

#6 Pittsburgh at #3 Baltimore – Baltimore is excellent on offense this year. Their normally dominant defense is subpar, or at least they were, for more than half the season. However, they are first in points allowed and yards allowed over their last seven games, so that’s daunting for challengers. Pittsburgh has been Baltimore’s kryptonite, especially superstar QB Lamar Jackson’s. Nevertheless, we expect Baltimore to ride their momentum, their home-field advantage, and their high-powered offense to a victory over their hated rivals, the Steelers. PICK: Baltimore

#5 L.A. Chargers at #4 Houston – This is a really solid Wild Card matchup. Under HC Jim Harbaugh, the Chargers have transformed themselves into an AFC contender. We think L.A. will win on the road at Houston. PS Doesn’t it seem like the first playoff game EVERY SINGLE YEAR is the Houston Texans, usually at home in Houston? PICK: L.A. Chargers

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AFC Divisional Round

#5 L.A. Chargers at #1 Kansas City – Could Los Angeles (or Houston) come into Arrowhead Stadium and beat the Chiefs on their home field? We think they definitely could. Look at how many times the Chiefs snuck by opponents this year by one score, due to flubs by the opposition? The blocked field goal game, the fumble by the Raiders game, etc. all seem to always go Kansas City’s way. Maybe not here. Ultimately, we think they’ll win after a week of a rest, but we’re not that confident. PICK: Kansas City

#3 Baltimore at #2 Buffalo – This might be the greatest game in this year’s playoffs. TeamRankings.com has these teams ranked 2nd (Baltimore) and 3rd (Buffalo). Baltimore vs Buffalo in a battle of B’s…. “Q”B’s, that is. The quarterbacks are the best in the game. Lamar vs Josh. The winner of this game will be the AFC Champion. In fact, this matchup is so good it might require it’s own Preview column. So look for that if we have time. PICK: Buffalo

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AFC Championship

#2 Buffalo at #1 Kansas City – Buffalo is finally going to get their playoff revenge against the Chiefs. The Chiefs are actually not very good on offense this year. Their defense (and luck) have carried them to the #1 seed. Sure we can’t discount QB Patrick Mahomes and HC Andy Reid. They are masters, legends. However, it’s time for Buffalo to go all the way. Remember the 13 seconds game? I’m sure they do, even if you don’t. PICK: Buffalo

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NFC Playoffs

#1 Detroit Lions (15-2) – NFC North Champions – bye

#2 Philadelphia Eagles (14-3) – NFC East Champions

#3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7) – NFC South Champions

#4 Los Angeles Rams (10-7) – NFC West Champions

#5 Minnesota Vikings (14-3) – Wild Card

#6 Washington Redskins/Commanders (12-5) – Wild Card (FYI – “Aaron Schatz’s FTN Football Almanac 2024” had Washington with the very worst odds to make the Playoffs this year at 16.2%. For what it’s worth, the team with the best odds to make the Playoffs?…..the San Francisco 49ers, who did NOT make the field. “That’s why they play the games”. – Chris Berman)

#7 Green Bay Packers (11-6) – Wild Card

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NFC Wild Card Round

#7 Green Bay at #2 Philadelphia – Philadelphia is really good, whereas the Packers are a third place team. Of course, this year’s NFC North might be, might, have been the greatest NFL division ever. I’m pretty sure no second place team ever had more wins than Minnesota’s 14. I don’t think a third place team has ever had 11 wins, as GB did. Packers QB’s Jordan Love, his backup Malik Willis, and Philly’s Jalen Hurts have all had injury issues recently, but they are all cleared to play as of press time. The Eagles at home should win this game. PICK: Philadelphia

#6 Washington at #3 Tampa Bay – All the talk has been about D.C.’s rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels and Tampa’s comeback veteran quarterback Baker Mayfield. These teams are 4th (Tampa) and 5th (Washington) in points per game during the regular season. Can either of these teams stop one another? These teams are 16th (Tampa) and 18th (D.C.) in points per game allowed. This could make for a rather exciting game on Sunday Night. PICK: Tampa Bay

#5 Minnesota vs #4 Los Angeles Rams at Glendale, Arizona – The Rams lost their home-field advantage due to the L.A. wildfires. That sucks. But you know what, good for Minnesota. They won 14 games and don’t even get one home playoff game? That is crazy. 14-3! They lost to Detroit twice, and who else. Let me check…. at the L.A. Rams!, back in Week 8. Well, that’s interesting. Can Sam Darnold continue his amazing comeback run? Can the Rams regain their championship form from 2021? TeamRankings.com doesn’t think it’s very likely, as they rank the Rams 18th overall in the NFL, whereas the Vikings are 7th. We like Minny to win the rematch. PICK: Minnesota

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NFC Divisional Round

#5 Minnesota at #1 Detroit – This will be the third matchup of the season for these amazing teams. Detroit (15-2) versus a 14-3 Vikings team is astounding. Take away their previous two games and their combined record is 27-3. What! 27 wins and only 3 losses in the parity-driven NFL is astounding. In this game, we’ll have the everlong strategic problem when facing the same team so many times. The winner is confident, maybe overconfident. And they stick with their previous plan, because why not? It worked, remember.?. The loser has nothing to lose, so to speak, by switching up their game plan, because it didn’t work the first time, or two. Remember.?. That’s what makes these rematches so intriguing. Darnold played really awful the last time. Can he play better this time? Will Lions QB Jared Goff continue his torrid play? This situation is not unprecedented. In fact, I was just reminded of the 1986 NFC Championship between the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants. It was their third matchup of the season and the Giants won all three on their way to winning Super Bowl XXI (21), by scores of 27-20, 24-14, and 17-0. We might see this again with Minnesota and Detroit. The Lions won by scores of 31-29 and 31-9. This time? We shall see. PICK: Detroit

#3 Tampa Bay at #2 Philadelphia – Tampa Bay is 3rd in passing offense (yards) on the year, while Philadelphia is 1st in passing defense. So this is strength vs strength. Defense wins. PICK: Philadelphia

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NFC Championship

#2 Philadelphia at #1 Detroit – This is a battle between the top two seeds. In many ways, it’s the traditional “offense vs defense” matchup. Detroit is 1st in scoring offense (Philadelphia is 7th). Philadelphia is #2 in scoring defense (Detroit is 7th). But we all know it’s often the other side of the ball that determines the winner. Overall, TeamRankings.com has these teams ranked 1st (Detroit) and 4th (Philly). We think Detroit’s magical season will keep going, at least another step past last year, when they blew the lead at San Francisco is the NFC Championship. They’re on a mission this year. PICK: Detroit

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Super Bowl LIX (59)

#2 Buffalo Bills vs #1 Detroit Lions

Both teams are ready and worthy of becoming NFL Champions. Buffalo, for years, has been knocking on the door while Detroit just rose to prominence over the last two seasons. I hope we get to see this Super Bowl matchup. It would be fun, exciting, and great to see the fans from both franchises celebrate their first Super Bowl title. As you know, Buffalo is 0-4 in four appearances, while Detroit has NEVER made a Super Bowl. Their last NFL Championship was 1957, only 67 years ago. Anybody can have a bad half-century, right?

The battle between these teams would feature dynamic offense. These are the two highest scoring teams in the league this year, Detroit is first with 33.2 ppg while Buffalo is second with 30.9 ppg. Let’s make this happen by writing it into existence. We see Buffalo overcoming their past heartbreakers, both in recent years and in the 90s, by beating Detroit to finally, finally become World’s Champions. PICK: Buffalo