2017 Conference Weekend Predix

Written by Sam DeCoste

It is the penultimate week of the NFL season. By Sunday night, we will know who will play for the Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl LII. Two teams will win and advance to the big game. But two other teams will be going home, and wondering what could have been. The worst week to lose during the entire NFL season is the Conference Championship, as it is the closest game to the Super Bowl, and there is nothing like playing in a Super Bowl. New England, Jacksonville, Minnesota, and Philadelphia will all play for the rights to play in the Super Bowl this weekend. Are you ready?

My overall record last week: 2-2

Lock of the Week record: 14-3

note: Lock of the Week is over until the 2018 regular season

My overall regular season record: 174-82

My overall postseason record: 4-4

Jaguars @ Patriots

This is some matchup. Arguably the best offense in the league squares up with the best defense in the league for a ticket to the Super Bowl. We should be in for a ride. This Jags defense is for real. During the regular season, they allowed 16.9 points per game, 169.9 passing yards per game, and they’ve sacked opposing quarterbacks 55 times. They match up brilliantly with the Patriots. They have players who can cover Amendola, and Cooks, and Lewis, and even Gronk. With speed and cover ability like Telvin Smith, Jalen Ramsey, and AJ Bouye have, this ball hawking secondary can make it a long day for Pats pass catchers. Not to mention that their pass rush is deadly. To beat the Patriots, the Jaguars must collapse the pocket and pressure Brady from the interior, with Marcell Dareus and Malik Jackson. They can also expose the outside tackles with Yannick Ngakoue and Calais Campbell on the edges. Denver beat New England in the 2015 AFC Championship by putting pressure on Brady, and by locking the receivers down. If the Jags do that, they can go and win the Super Bowl. But...two words: Blake Bortles. I am concerned with his matchup. Last week, the Patriots defense swarmed Marcus Mariota and neutralized a pretty good offense. In the fourth quarter, at one point, the Titans had only seven points. The Patriots had as many sacks. That is insane. The Patriots are utilizing no-name pass rushers like Tre Flowers and Eric Lee to make plays, and the secondary, which struggled earlier in the season, has cleaned up and they are communicating efficiently. If they follow the Buffalo Bills’ gameplan from Wild Card Weekend, which was to stop the run and force Bortles to beat you through the air, then the Patriots will walk over Jacksonville, because the defense cannot hold for four quarters if their offense keeps punting it away, or even turns it over. Besides, the GOAT is on the other side. You know who I’m talking about.

Prediction: JAX 13, NE 38

Vikings @ Eagles

Undoubtedly, the two most consistent teams in the NFC are playing this week, and they each deserve to be here. That includes Philadelphia. They cruised through the regular season, finishing with a 13-3 record. They pounded the rock with one of the league’s most explosive rushing attacks, and receivers like Alshon Jeffrey, Nelson Agholor, and Zach Ertz are making plays. But don’t forget that ferocious defense. Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, and even Tim Jernigan are causing nightmares for opposing offensive lines, and wrecking games. Not to mention that the secondary with Patrick Robinson, Ronald Darby, Malcolm Jenkins, and Rodney McLeod are all having fantastic seasons. The Eagles deserve to be here. That defense stopped the best offense in the league on paper last week in the Falcons. When your defense allows 10 points to elite offenses, in the playoffs, you’re gonna win plenty of ballgames. However, Minnesota is coming off of the wildest victory of the season. For most of the second half, it looked like the Case Keenum we’ve become accustomed to for the past four years was coming back: a backup caliber quarterback which missed open throws and turned over the ball too much. He’s in a tough spot here, because the Eagles defense is elite and he has to play on the road, in cold weather. So Minnesota will need to establish the ground game with Jerick McKinnon and Latavius Murray to set up play action and move the ball on this great defense. And their defense is absolutely capable of shutting down Nick Foles and the Eagles offense. For as great as Philly’s defense was, their offense was simply pathetic. Yay, Nick Foles played as a competent quarterback. That’s fantastic. But give me a break, Foles did not play well last week. He’s missing throws, he holds onto the ball too long, and if he is forced to throw the ball to win, he’ll be exposed. He’s facing an even better defense than his own. For two and a half quarters, the Vikings completely shut down the Saints offense. Brees played horribly, Kamara not Ingram ever got going, and the Saints had no answers. If they play like that, the Vikings will be forever remembered as one of the great defenses. This game is closer than everybody believes it to be, because Minnesota is coming off of such a crazy victory, and they could be in for a stinker, on the road, in cold weather, in a hostile and fired up Eagles crowd. I can’t wait for this game. It’s so tight between these two teams. I’m just barely going with Philadelphia.

Prediction: MIN 19, PHI 20


Works Cited
Levy, Dan. “8 Takeaways after the Eagles Surprise Win over the Vikings.” Billy Penn, 24 Oct. 2016, billypenn.com/2016/10/24/8-takeaways-after-the-eagles-surprise-win-over-the-vikings/.