The Lions Den: Primer Playoff Preview Plus Projections
by jhward19 | 3 years ago | 0 Comments
Heading into the playoffs in season 6 of Primer (my 3rd season) I wanted to put together a write up to kickoff what will be possibly biweekly or at least semi regular blog post, The Lion’s Den where I’ll comment on league happenings and musings. As summer is upon us and the cycle winds down while Madden 22 looms, there has been a good share of turnover in the league and some new faces in the playoffs this year. These include the Browns, Eagles, Titans who snuck on past the TVA with a big win maybe before maybe after 10pm, and the upstart Falcons who overtook reigning primer GOAT Ostrich and his Panthers for the division and the 2 seed. Some big questions heading into ‘yoffs revolve around the teams that have consistently finished atop the league… Can Ostrich pull off a never before seen in the NFL 3 peat to cement his primer legacy? Wil Jonesy run the table all the way for 19-0 or will he suffer heartbreak similar to the greatest team to never win a title in the 08 Patriots? Can Strawblacks finally get over the hump and shake the label of just a regular season team, never mind the bungles cursed history? Will a team such as the Cowboys, Texans, Raiders or Vikings be able to build on the success of recent seasons and parlay that into a championship run or can a new face such as possibly the falcons make some noise? Lets tackle some divisional round matchups and find out.
AFC Divisional Round:
1. Bye: Jonesy’s J E T S JETS JETS JETS
Jets chase perfection, nuff said although the irony in perfection and the jets in the same sentence is not lost on me…
2. Bengals vs 7. Titans
This game figures to be a shootout as Strawblacks has never really struggled to put numbers on the board and the Titans new user is coming off a clutch 37-31 victory. Admittedly since he is quite new I haven’t studied the game tape so going with my gut here in projecting a welcome to the league type game and the Bengals to emerge victorious 42-24 behind explosive games from Mixon and John Ross.
3. Raiders vs 6. Bills
A matchup of 2 guys who have been in the league longer than I have and I’m sure have had some battles over in the AFC. Gudda finished the season strong taking 3 of his last 4 and runs into a somewhat sputtering raiders team that dropped 2/3 albeit to the Jets and Bengals. AFC has some teams that love to put up points and the Raiders lead by Ruggs sure are one of them so I project another shootout with the Raiders taking the cake 38-28.
4. Texans vs 5. Browns
Texans finish the season as just the 4 seed in a strong AFC, however history tends to repeat itself and the Texans last year were a wildcard team that rode a heater all the way to the not quite as coveted as the Simbardi, but the Sim Kelly Runner Up Trophy. Browns have also shown an ability to score but look for Texans CB and S user to throw a wrench in Cleveland’s passing attack en route to a 27-21 finish.
Moving on, I look forward to some enthralling matchups in the AFC and some crazy O/U lines if some of the high powered offenses atop the division face off. I think this is the year that Jonesy makes it out of AFC after 2 tough playoff losses and squares up with the best the NFC has to offer in the Super Bowl.
NFC Divisional Round:
1. Bye: How bout dem Cowboys
In a late seeding surprise (or I just wasn’t paying attention) the boys finish atop the conference with a tiebreaker over the falcons for the 1 seed behind a strong offense and a good user all season. We will have to wait and see if they can live up to the pressures that come with the #1 seed target on their back and a potential NFC championship rematch with Ostrich looming next round.
2. Falcons vs 7. Eagles
A pair of new teams this season, both of which have come out strong throughout the year to secure playoff spots. Falcon’s even knocked off defending champ Ostrich and stole the division from him on the 3rd or 4th tiebreaker and I expect to see him take his regular season success and turn that into playoff results behind an explosive game from rb Devoe and wr Morris. Look for a final score in the ballpark of 42-27.
3. Lions vs 6. Vikings
Montazuu has been lounging by the pool sipping mai tais so hopefully he has one too many and makes a costly mistake or 12 against me tonight… in actuality this should be a marquee matchup between two division rivals who split this year and eagerly await a chance to assert dominance over the other ;) I’d be remiss if I didn’t pick myself here to win 31-27 behind a late Kerryon my wayward son Johnson TD although Dalvin cook scares the bejesus out of me on the ground and will be one to watch out for.
4. Rams vs 5. Panthers
Gotta say I feel for the trickster winning his division and drawing the back to back champ round 1… it really do be like that sometimes. Ostrich aims to kick off his pursuit of a threepeat behind Nolan Banks and CMC on offense and a still strong Dline that wrecks havoc after the snap. Don’t underestimate the Rams however, as I expect this to be a close one with a 28-24 finish in the Panthers favor.
As much as I would love to pick myself to come out of the NFC, a more level headed analysis would have the winner of the conference semifinal projected matchup between the Panthers and Cowboys as the favorite to rep the conference in the big game. That said this is the year of the Ox not the ostrich and I look for the Cowboy’s to emerge out of a crowded field behind a strong Zeke led rushing attack.
While there has been much debate over which conference is better, the Super Bowl will be a perfect time to settle some scores and while I will always pull for my fellow NFC mates I think this is Jonesy’s year provided Hardman stays off the FG blocking team and he will be the last one eating crab legs atop the podium.