Will the Bills, Eagles, 49ers or Chiefs make it?

Catch sight of! The NFL playoffs are just around the corner.

Catch sight of! The NFL playoffs are just around the corner.
picture: Getty Images

The NFL regular season is over. No need for RedZone or multiple TVs set up in the den to really enjoy football. There’s one matchup left on the college football calendar, and the NFL will be playing game after game over the next five weeks — along with a flag football and skill contest in Las Vegas

New Year’s Day is over, which means there are very few football games left on the calendar until September. However, the ones that remain are some of the most important in the entire sporting calendar. March Madness style. Game 7s all round.

It’s the 2022 football season there now. Georgia and TCU will be playing for a title on Monday night but once the weekend arrives the pros will begin their singles eliminations Competition.

As always, there were enough backups to take the field in week 18 for the championship game to happen in most of your fantasy leagues last weekend. I enjoyed the irony of a game-changing mistake by the Indianapolis Colts that actually hurt the victorious Houston Texans, but it’s widely known Which teams have the best chance of lifting the Lombardi Trophy on February 12?

But even the best aren’t perfect, so let’s examine some of the imperfections they must overcome for ultimate victory.

Is the Kansas City Chiefs roster strong enough?

The Kansas City Chiefs decided to put the weight of the entire franchise on Patrick Mahomes’ shoulders, and did so at a bargain price considering quarterback contracts signed this past offseason. If you win an MVP in your first season as a starter and one championship the next, while counting fever dream stats, management will set one “You” in the team.

With that trust in Mahomes, the Chiefs refused to make Tyreek Hill the highest-paid Wide receivers in the NFL. Instead, they brought in Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Juju Smith-Schuster to shoulder the burden. They scored 182 receptions combined, but neither reached 1,000 reception yards. Also, a defense that was in the top-15 in the weighted DVOA last season has dropped to 20th place.

Even though Mahomes is the best player in the NFL, there are always 22 people on the field in this sport. He will need multiple players at all stages of the game to make crucial moves. If not, a new round of Jake from State Farm commercials could be filmed early.

Can the Buffalo Bills win it all with Josh Allen as quarterback and top rusher?

All season, the Bills have struggled with running to establish a running game. It’s not that Devin Singletary and James Cook were ineffective, but much of their success can be attributed to Josh Allen’s performance on location. He has carried the ball 124 times and leads the Bills in quick touchdowns and yards per carry.

That could be why Nuance’s old, ill-advised football starter Allen made some appearances in the second half of the season. An offense that doesn’t have a full backfield is a problem. An offense that relies on its quarterback to carry the burden of both the running and passing game is too much for even the best.

Thankfully, the Bills have some reliable pass catchers, but when Allen has to carry the ball almost 20 times and still have to make all the shots, it might be asking too much.

Did the San Francisco 49ers build the 2000 Baltimore Ravens 2.0?

A rookie who didn’t practice as a starter until week 14 and was also the very last pick of the draft. It would be logical to think that whatever Brock Purdy’s 49s would get off the third string should be considered found money.

In this case the 49ers are swimming in booty like Scrooge McDuck and Joe Lacob, and the Golden State Warriors for not losing a game with Purdy as QB 1. They didn’t even lose the game in which he had to be substituted for an injured Jimmy Garoppolo.

Purdy has averaged more than eight yards per attempt across all five starts, and now all the cavalry are back. Deebo Samuel and Elijah Mitchell both played in the 49ers’ 38-13 win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 18. Combine them with Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, Trent Williams and the best defense in the playoffs and Tony Banks and Trent Dilfer could only wish they had it this good.

Still, a seventh-round rookie who didn’t start until after Thanksgiving will have the ball in every offensive game for the 49ers in the NFL playoffs. Currently, his most notable postseason achievement is a Fiesta Bowl MVP, which he earned after throwing for 159 yards and a lone touchdown while Breece Hall ran the ball 34 times.

Are the Philadelphia Eagles ready to put the past year behind them?

Lane Johnson will take it tough. He’ll delay surgery on his torn adductor and give the Eagles everything he’s got in the postseason.

This is great news for the #1 team in the NFC. Since Jalen Hurts is also dealing with pain in his throwing shoulder, the wall in front of him needs to be as solid as possible. They all have another week to recover after earning a bye week before attempting to erase all memories from the final postseason.

That’s the only reason to question the Eagles. They played worse than anyone could have predicted against the vulnerable Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Buccaneers might as well have given them those 15 points in a gift bag in the second half.

However, this Eagles team made the playoffs 9-8. This year is Hurts They added AJ Brown as an MVP candidate and may have a better roster than the one that won the Super Bowl in the 2017 season. The stage at State Farm Stadium and the Lombardi Trophy is stare them in the face as long as they don’t fall on theirs like they did in Tampa.

https://deadspin.com/nfl-week-18-takeaways-bills-eagles-49ers-chiefs-1849965168 Will the Bills, Eagles, 49ers or Chiefs make it?

Chris Estrada

Chris Estrada is a 24ssports U.S. News Reporter based in London. His focus is on U.S. politics and the environment. He has covered climate change extensively, as well as healthcare and crime. Chris Estrada joined 24ssports in 2021 from the Daily Express and previously worked for Chemist and Druggist and the Jewish Chronicle. He is a graduate of Cambridge University. Languages: English. You can get in touch with me by emailing: chrisestrada@24ssports.com.

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