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Posted by: Zaid Malik

January 18th, 2024

What we have grown to know as Super Wild Card Weekend is behind us, and we have the seemingly undernamed Divisional Round. Throughout the season when asked who the top 4 teams were in the NFC it really wasn’t too hard. There are about 4 billion prediction pages out there. Someone must have said the Bucs and Packers would be in there with the Niners and Lions. You know what give me one second. 

Just sifted through all of them; couldn't find one. 

Let’s start with the Packers heading to Santa Clara to face the 1 seeded 49ers. A thought just occurred to me. I was going to sit here and type ‘The Niners aren’t the Cowboys.’ They by no means are but why not? They seem to have a great year almost every year, and often they make a run, but they haven’t won the big one. They have the 1 seed, they have two MVP candidates in their QB and RB1, they were by far the most steady team in the NFC. Despite all of this, why can I see the Packers going on the road and shocking the world (if somehow that does happen the NFC Championship will either be Lions-Packers or Bucs-Packers which is absolutely nuts). The playoffs are all about teams getting hot at the right time and the Packers are just that. 

They are playing with house money, and that’s a dangerous thing. 

The Niners, outside of one game, looked like the best team in football all year. Unfortunately that one game was the Week 16 Monday Night beatdown they were given by the Baltimore Ravens. For looking good all year, Brock Purdy looked lost that night. All of this being said, all of this love for the Packers and questioning of the Niners, I find it hard to put my keys where my mouth is. They can’t go into San Fran and beat them…can they? I think they keep it close and Jordan Love balls out, but The Niners end up taking it by a score after 60 minutes, and get another shot to make it to the last game of the season. 

Niners 27

Packers 20

Baker Mayfield vs Jared Goff for a spot in the NFC Championship. That’s football right there. Two former #1 overall picks who were supposed to be the saviors of their original teams. They both had playoff success but were cast away because they weren’t in the perennial MVP conversation. I think it’s safe to say they have found their new homes and they are not for sale. They’ve introduced themselves to their neighbors and are ready for a long term commitment to a place they want to call home. 

The Bucs are interesting. A slept on Quarterback, a Head Coach who doesn’t talk about biting kneecaps and because of that doesn’t seem to get any attention, and one of the most steady Wide Receivers of the last decade. Mike Evans has been eating 1,000 yard seasons like it’s nobody's business. All this with a defense that may not have looked stout in the regular season, but just held the reigning NFC Champs to 9 points. The NFL is about stories, and I love the Bucs story. It is unfortunate that they are playing a story that is 32 years in the making. 

The Lions won their first playoff game in 32 years, and were gifted with another game on their home turf. In their first three drives against the Rams, they batted 1.000. They looked like a team possessed and Goff, Hutchinson, and MCDC took care of business. You don’t need to be a Lions fan to have the clips scattered across social media of Goff entering the locker room fire you up. The Lions are a special team right now and I expect it to continue against a Bucs team that may have reached their peak. 

Lions 31

Bucs 23

At the end of the day I’m just ten fingers typing. Who knows what’s going to happen. Only guarantee is we are in for a treat this weekend. Put your cozy pants on and get ready for some football. We only have three more weeks of it.