My first round of playoff predictions was undone by believing in the wrong underdog quarterback. I backed Tom Brady. I should have been on Daniel Jones.
Danny Dimes continued his revelatory season as the New York Giants ended the Minnesota Vikings’ season on the road. Meanwhile, Brady laid an egg in what may have been his final game as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. He was roundly outplayed by Dak Prescott in a game more notable for Brett Maher’s missed extra points (four in a row!) than anything Tampa did.
That left the NFC side of my original prediction bracket scrambled, though the AFC side remained intact thanks to Brandon Staley’s inability to protect a 27-0 lead. The Jacksonville Jaguars were the beneficiary of that collapse and for their resilience they’ve been rewarded with a trip to Kansas City to face the AFC’s top seed.
The door is open for a Jaguars-Giants Super Bowl, even if it’s only cracked a sliver. There’s a chance Tom Coughlin becomes an unlikely featured player in the run-up to a world championship showdown between the team he brought to glory and the one he helped make a punchline. Will it happen?
I mean, no. Almost certainly not. Let’s take a look at how I’ve got this year’s playoff field unfolding after a tumultuous Wild Card round.