KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It’s that time of year — NFL postseason prognostications — so here’s the latest to throw on the pile.
A year ago, I correctly predicted the Kansas City Chiefs to beat the San Francisco 49ers — bold, I know.
But don’t be too impressed.
I only correctly predicted three of the seven AFC playoff teams and four of the seven NFC teams.
Need more proof these must be taken with a grain of salt?
My predictions two years ago had Buffalo beating Green Bay in the Super Bowl only to have the Bills flame out in the Divisional Round and the Packers fail to even make the playoffs.
However, I did correctly pick 11 of the 14 NFL playoff teams, six in the AFC and five in the NFC.
Ahead of the 2021 season, I picked the Chiefs to beat the Packers in the Super Bowl — and both nabbed top-two playoff seeds only to be upset before the Super Bowl.
The Los Angeles Rams beat Cincinnati that season after I’d correctly predicted nine of the 14 postseason participants.
So, here we go again.
Using Pro Football Network’s free NFL Playoff Predictor, I picked every game on the NFL schedule (probably poorly) and here’s what I came up with:
PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS
AFC seeds
1. Kansas City (13-4)
2. Houston (13-4)
3. Baltimore (12-5)
4. Buffalo (12-5)
5. Cleveland (12-5)
6. Cincinnati (12-5)
7. Los Angeles Chargers (10-7)
Wild Card playoffs
(2) Houston over (7) Chargers
(6) Cincinnati over (3) Baltimore
(4) Buffalo over (5) Cleveland
Divisional playoffs
(1) Kansas City over (6) Cincinnati
(2) Houston over (4) Buffalo
AFC Championship Game
(1) Kansas City over (2) Houston
NFC seeds
1. Philadelphia (13-4)
2. San Francisco (13-4)
3. Green Bay (12-5)
4. Atlanta (12-5)
5. Detroit (12-5)
6. Dallas (12-5)
7. Los Angeles Rams (11-6)
Wild Card playoffs
(2) San Francisco over (7) Rams
(3) Green Bay over (6) Dallas
(5) Detroit over (4) Atlanta
Divisional playoffs
(5) Detroit over (1) Philadelphia
(3) Green Bay over (2) San Francisco
NFC Championship Game
(5) Detroit over (3) Green Bay
Super Bowl LIX
(1) Kansas City over (5) Detroit
Chiefs-Lions easily could have been the Super Bowl matchup last season, so why not make the Terez Paylor (Super) Bowl a reality on Feb. 9, 2025, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
Paylor is a Detroit native who adopted Kansas City as his new home after college, so the Lions and Chiefs were dear to the former Kansas City Star and Yahoo! Sports writer.
I know there's never been an Super Bowl three-peat, but it's has to happen sometime, right?
Why not Kansas City — with a generational talent at quarterback in Patrick Mahomes, an all-time great NFL coach in Andy Reid, the best tight end ever to play the game in Travis Kelce, and a future Hall of Fame defensive tackle in Chris Jones.
It would be oddly fitting for the Chiefs to make that kind of history in New Orleans, where the franchise's first Super Bowl title came 55 seasons ago.
Besides, we all know Kelce's girlfriend has enough cash to pay for another championship — wait, did I say that out loud? Heck, Kelce may have enough money after the "New Heights" podcast deal and other ventures for the conspiratorially inclined.
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