Post by NFL on Nov 24, 2020 21:09:49 GMT -5
AFC Matchups
#2 New England Patriots vs #7 Cincinnati Bengals
The Patriots return to the playoffs for the third consecutive season, winning their second division title in three years with the hopes of making another Super Bowl run after their championship season in 2018. Cincinnati is making their playoff debut after narrowly missing out in 2019.
The Bengals offense will need to carry them if they want to advance past New England. The Bengals have failed to score 150 points in 5 of their last 6 and if they fail to hit that mark this week they should not expect a wild card victory as New England has scored at least 150 points in all 11 weeks so far this season.
All Time: NE 1-0 vs CIN (Week 4 2019)
Last Five: NE (4-1, 178.88 ppg), CIN (3-2, 149.07 ppg)
#3 Pittsburgh Steelers vs #6 Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore makes their third consecutive playoff appearance, hoping to finally make it out of the AFC after failing to secure a Super Bowl berth in each of the last two seasons. Pittsburgh is back in the playoffs for the second season and looking to secure their first playoff win, this time as the AFC North champion.
This projects to be by far the closest of the AFC matchups and will likely look like the Steelers and Ravens matchup in Week 9, where Pittsburgh narrowly beat Baltimore. Pittsburgh has been far more consistent this season as they have not dipped below 145 points in a single week. Baltimore has picked it up as of late but did manage a pair of sub-140 point weeks midseason. Give Pittsburgh a slight edge due to consistency and a higher ceiling.
All Time: Bal 5-1 vs PIT (1-1 in 2020)
Last Five: PIT (4-1, 173.02), BAL (4-1, 164.54)
#4 Kansas City Chiefs vs #5 Tennessee Titans
Tennessee & Kansas City are both making their playoff debuts in 2020, with each team looking for a chance to advance to the divisional round. The Chiefs actually managed to make the playoffs with one fewer win than they had in 2019. Tennessee improves from a winless 2019 season all the way to 12-2 in 2020.
While it's fun to see that Kansas City won their division with a .500 record, this matchup is not close whatsoever. The Titans just had their worst week of the season with 142 points, yet Kansas City has topped that total ONCE all year. The only week the Chiefs managed 140 points was in Week 1 and they haven't hit that total since then. Barring the Chiefs having their best week of the year and Tennessee their worst, the Titans should be expected to advance to the divisional round.
All Time: KC 1-0 vs TEN (Week 4 2019 -- Chiefs won 33.93 to 13.65!)
Last Five: KC (3-2, 114.56), TEN (3-2, 186.62)
NFC Matchups
#2 Washington Football Team vs #7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Washington makes the playoffs (as the NFC East champion) for the first time after back to back 1 win seasons. Tampa Bay sneaks in as the NFC's last wild card team for the second consecutive year. Washington is hoping to begin their playoff careers undefeated while Tampa Bay is looking to bounce back after a first round exit to Philadelphia in 2019.
It's possible Tampa Bay is facing a similar finish as their 2019 season, but their offense is getting healthy at just the right time. The Bucs have the potential for big weeks, they just haven't shown it consistently. The WFT has shown flashes of being a top tier team, as they did last week, and if they can do that this week then this matchup should not be particularly close. Tampa can hang with Washington, as we've seen before, but this matchup will come down to how productive each team's offense can be in Week 12.
All Time: TB 2-0 vs WAS (1-0 in 2020)
Last Five: WAS (5-0, 175.63), TB (2-3, 142.01)
#3 Los Angeles Rams vs #6 Dallas Cowboys
It's now back to back division titles for the Rams, as they look to get back to the divisional round for the second consecutive year. Dallas, on the other hand, makes their playoff debut in hopes of upsetting the NFC West champions in the first round.
Like the AFC, this matches projects to be the closest of the three in the NFC. Neither team has been spectacular as of late, but they've managed to put up similar production down the stretch which makes this matchup appear close. It does seem as though it is the Rams game to lose, as Dallas has only hit 160 points once all season -- a number that the Rams have managed in 7 of 11 weeks. The 4 weeks LA has failed to hit that mark, though, have come in their last 5 games, so it's very possible Dallas can upset Los Angeles here in week 12.
All Time: This is the first matchup between these two teams
Last Five: LAR (4-1, 150.15), DAL (2-3, 142.85)
#4 Chicago Bears vs #5 Philadelphia Eagles
Chicago makes their return to the playoffs after missing in the 2019 season. They are looking for their second playoff win, as they were able to upset the Giants as a 6 seed in the 2018 playoffs. Philadelphia is making their third consecutive playoff appearance, one of only five teams to do so. They have yet to advance beyond the divisional round but are looking to return for back to back seasons.
These two teams have completely swapped places over the course of this season. Over the first five weeks of the season, Chicago was 2nd in scoring while Philly ranked 19th. Since then, the Eagles have ranked inside the top 10 in scoring while the Bears is ranked 19th. It'd be unfair to say this matchup should be leaning in one team's favor right now as both have proven to be highly productive as different points this season. However, Philadelphia is riding a lot hotter right now and it should be no surprise if they were to knock off Chicago here in the wild card round.
All Time: CHI 1-0 vs PHI (Week 6 2019)
Last Five: CHI (3-2, 133.61), PHI (3-2, 163.14)
#2 New England Patriots vs #7 Cincinnati Bengals
The Patriots return to the playoffs for the third consecutive season, winning their second division title in three years with the hopes of making another Super Bowl run after their championship season in 2018. Cincinnati is making their playoff debut after narrowly missing out in 2019.
The Bengals offense will need to carry them if they want to advance past New England. The Bengals have failed to score 150 points in 5 of their last 6 and if they fail to hit that mark this week they should not expect a wild card victory as New England has scored at least 150 points in all 11 weeks so far this season.
All Time: NE 1-0 vs CIN (Week 4 2019)
Last Five: NE (4-1, 178.88 ppg), CIN (3-2, 149.07 ppg)
#3 Pittsburgh Steelers vs #6 Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore makes their third consecutive playoff appearance, hoping to finally make it out of the AFC after failing to secure a Super Bowl berth in each of the last two seasons. Pittsburgh is back in the playoffs for the second season and looking to secure their first playoff win, this time as the AFC North champion.
This projects to be by far the closest of the AFC matchups and will likely look like the Steelers and Ravens matchup in Week 9, where Pittsburgh narrowly beat Baltimore. Pittsburgh has been far more consistent this season as they have not dipped below 145 points in a single week. Baltimore has picked it up as of late but did manage a pair of sub-140 point weeks midseason. Give Pittsburgh a slight edge due to consistency and a higher ceiling.
All Time: Bal 5-1 vs PIT (1-1 in 2020)
Last Five: PIT (4-1, 173.02), BAL (4-1, 164.54)
#4 Kansas City Chiefs vs #5 Tennessee Titans
Tennessee & Kansas City are both making their playoff debuts in 2020, with each team looking for a chance to advance to the divisional round. The Chiefs actually managed to make the playoffs with one fewer win than they had in 2019. Tennessee improves from a winless 2019 season all the way to 12-2 in 2020.
While it's fun to see that Kansas City won their division with a .500 record, this matchup is not close whatsoever. The Titans just had their worst week of the season with 142 points, yet Kansas City has topped that total ONCE all year. The only week the Chiefs managed 140 points was in Week 1 and they haven't hit that total since then. Barring the Chiefs having their best week of the year and Tennessee their worst, the Titans should be expected to advance to the divisional round.
All Time: KC 1-0 vs TEN (Week 4 2019 -- Chiefs won 33.93 to 13.65!)
Last Five: KC (3-2, 114.56), TEN (3-2, 186.62)
NFC Matchups
#2 Washington Football Team vs #7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Washington makes the playoffs (as the NFC East champion) for the first time after back to back 1 win seasons. Tampa Bay sneaks in as the NFC's last wild card team for the second consecutive year. Washington is hoping to begin their playoff careers undefeated while Tampa Bay is looking to bounce back after a first round exit to Philadelphia in 2019.
It's possible Tampa Bay is facing a similar finish as their 2019 season, but their offense is getting healthy at just the right time. The Bucs have the potential for big weeks, they just haven't shown it consistently. The WFT has shown flashes of being a top tier team, as they did last week, and if they can do that this week then this matchup should not be particularly close. Tampa can hang with Washington, as we've seen before, but this matchup will come down to how productive each team's offense can be in Week 12.
All Time: TB 2-0 vs WAS (1-0 in 2020)
Last Five: WAS (5-0, 175.63), TB (2-3, 142.01)
#3 Los Angeles Rams vs #6 Dallas Cowboys
It's now back to back division titles for the Rams, as they look to get back to the divisional round for the second consecutive year. Dallas, on the other hand, makes their playoff debut in hopes of upsetting the NFC West champions in the first round.
Like the AFC, this matches projects to be the closest of the three in the NFC. Neither team has been spectacular as of late, but they've managed to put up similar production down the stretch which makes this matchup appear close. It does seem as though it is the Rams game to lose, as Dallas has only hit 160 points once all season -- a number that the Rams have managed in 7 of 11 weeks. The 4 weeks LA has failed to hit that mark, though, have come in their last 5 games, so it's very possible Dallas can upset Los Angeles here in week 12.
All Time: This is the first matchup between these two teams
Last Five: LAR (4-1, 150.15), DAL (2-3, 142.85)
#4 Chicago Bears vs #5 Philadelphia Eagles
Chicago makes their return to the playoffs after missing in the 2019 season. They are looking for their second playoff win, as they were able to upset the Giants as a 6 seed in the 2018 playoffs. Philadelphia is making their third consecutive playoff appearance, one of only five teams to do so. They have yet to advance beyond the divisional round but are looking to return for back to back seasons.
These two teams have completely swapped places over the course of this season. Over the first five weeks of the season, Chicago was 2nd in scoring while Philly ranked 19th. Since then, the Eagles have ranked inside the top 10 in scoring while the Bears is ranked 19th. It'd be unfair to say this matchup should be leaning in one team's favor right now as both have proven to be highly productive as different points this season. However, Philadelphia is riding a lot hotter right now and it should be no surprise if they were to knock off Chicago here in the wild card round.
All Time: CHI 1-0 vs PHI (Week 6 2019)
Last Five: CHI (3-2, 133.61), PHI (3-2, 163.14)