Photo by Adam Glanzman of Getty Images

The NFL playoffs commencing is a bittersweet feeling.  All of us here at gofortwo.ca are very excited for the postseason to begin, but sad as that means the 2022 NFL season is coming to a close.  Each of us have prepared a playoff bracket highlighting the teams we think have a shot at making a deep run to the Superbowl, and which teams are going to get a headstart on next season.

Jonathan’s Picks:

Wildcard Winners:

AFC

Buffalo Bills over Miami Dolphins

Cincinnati Bengals over Baltimore Ravens

Jacksonville Jaguars over Los Angeles Chargers

NFC

San Francisco 49ers over Seattle Seahawks

New York Giants over Minnesota Vikings

Dallas Cowboys over Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Minnesota Vikings were 11-0 in one score games and finished this season with a -3 point differential, despite a 13-4 record.  Their defense has allowed 25.8 points per game and this game against the New York Giants has “upset” alert written all over it (Vikings are favourites by 3 points).  

The Dallas Cowboys beat Tom Brady for the first time and put the final nail in the coffin for the Buccaneers, ending their season.  This Cowboys team is too talented on both sides of the ball to lose and be a one and done yet again this season.  Will Tom Brady finally hang up his cleats and retire or will we see him yet again next season?

Divisional Round Winners:

AFC

Buffalo Bills over Cincinnati Bengals

Kansas City Chiefs over Jacksonville Jaguars

NFC

Philadelphia Eagles over New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers over Dallas Cowboys

Buffalo and Cincinnati face off yet again just two weeks removed after their Monday Night game Week 17 was ruled a no contest due to Bills Damar Hamlin’s scary on-field injury.  Josh Allen outduels Joe Burrow in what is sure to be the game of the year.

The Cowboys are sent packing for the second season in a row at the hands of the 49ers.  Brock Purdy, aka Mr. Relevant moves to 7-0 on the season as the 49ers are back in the NFC Championship yet again.  Even though the Cowboys may have won a game this postseason, is that enough to secure Dak Prescott and Mike McCarthy’s jobs next season?  

Conference Championship Winners:

AFC

Buffalo Bills

NFC

San Francisco 49ers

The Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs meet again this season after the Bills beat the Chiefs in Arrowhead Week 6. Everyone and their mother remembers when these two teams met in the divisional round last season and it is because of that divisional game the OT rules in the playoffs have changed.  Home field advantage doesn’t exist in this matchup as the game will be played in Mercedez Benz Stadium in Atlanta.  Get your popcorn ready since this game is likely going to be a shootout.

The Eagles just haven’t looked the same since Jalen Hurts got injured Week 15, and the MVP candidate just can’t seem to get the offense going against this stout 49ers defense.  The 49ers do just enough and play the game they want to play to represent the NFC in the Superbowl.

Superbowl Champion: Buffalo Bills

Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers just can’t keep up with Josh Allen and this loaded Bills roster.  Bills fans will be body slamming tables for the next 5 months celebrating the Buffalo Bills as Superbowl LVII Champions.  This may not be the Superbowl matchup everyone predicted after Jimmy Garropolo went down with a broken foot Week 13, but Brock Purdy proved to be a starting QB in this league.  Will he be the starter for the 49ers next season?

Derek’s Picks:

Wildcard Winners:

AFC

Buffalo Bills over Miami Dolphins

Cincinnati Bengals over Baltimore Ravens

Los Angeles Chargers over Jacksonville Jaguars

NFC

San Francisco 49ers over Seattle Seahawks

Minnesota Vikings over New York Giants

Dallas Cowboys over Tampa Bay Buccaneers

This being the wild card weekend, there aren’t a whole lot of games that could go either way. One of the most interesting games of the week is the Chargers against the up and coming Jags. I want to take the Jags here, but went with the more experienced Chargers. As much as I shake my head at HC Brandon Staley, I think he’ll do a good job of confusing the young Jags team, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

I also went with the Vikings over the Giants. As Jonathan mentioned in his write up, the Vikings aren’t nearly as good as their record, but I also don’t think the Giants are super talented. It was close to a coin flip for me, so I’m giving the edge to the Vikes because they’re at home. US Bank Stadium should be rocking this weekend.

Divisional Round Winners:

AFC

Cincinnati Bengals over Buffalo Bills

Kansas City Chiefs over Los Angeles Chargers

NFC

Philadelphia Eagles over Dallas Cowboys

San Francisco 49ers over Minnesota Vikings

I went chalk in the NFC, with the 1 and 2 seeds taking care of business. This has less to do with truly believing in the 49ers and Eagles, and more to do with an overall weak NFC. It will be a lot of fun to watch the NFC East division rivals fight it out in the playoffs though. Philly and Dallas know each other so well that truly anything could happen.

In the AFC I went a little bolder, taking Cincinnati over Buffalo. Cincinnati is playing extremely good football right now, with Joe Burrow forcing himself into the best QB in NFL conversation. Cincinnati’s defense has proven that they can at least give the offense a chance against top teams. There is also no trio I would rather have in a game winning drive than Burrow, Chase and Higgins.

Conference Championship Winners:

AFC

Cincinnati Bengals

NFC

San Francisco 49ers

Burrow is the only QB who is undefeated against Patrick Mahomes with multiple games played against each other. He’s a perfect 3-0, and I think he’ll improve that record to 4-0. While it should be a great game to watch, with tons of points for both sides, I think KC’s lack of a superstar wide receiver will finally come back to bite them. If the Bengals can shut down Travis Kelce, the Chiefs will need to depend on one of their journeyman receivers to step up, which could be a recipe for disappointment.

The NFC championship game should be a fun one as well, but I’m giving the edge to the 49ers. They’re simply playing better football right now, despite having a rookie third string quarterback. Philly has the team to go all the way this year, but the 49ers defensive line will make Jalen Hurts’ game a nightmare, forcing some uncharacteristic mistakes. Give me the 9ers here, but it’s close.

Superbowl Champion: Cincinnati Bengals

The winner of the Super Bowl isn’t necessarily the best team, it just happens to be the team that is playing the best at the right time of year. While I don’t think that the Bengals are the best team on paper this year, they are playing extremely good football right now, and that’s what matters most. If the Bengal’s O-line can survive the 9er’s D-line for just a few seconds per snap, Higgins and Chase will be too much for the 9ers secondary to overcome. On the other side of the ball, Brock Purdy will continue to play well, but is one of the last passers you would want in these playoffs to make a 4th quarter comeback drive if needed. I know they say that defense wins championships, but I’m going to go with the offense in the battle. 

Ryan’s Picks

Wildcard Winners:

AFC

Buffalo Bills over Miami Dolphins

Cincinnati Bengals over Baltimore Ravens

Jacksonville Jaguars over Los Angeles Chargers

NFC

San Francisco 49ers over Seattle Seahawks

New York Giants over Minnesota Vikings

Dallas Cowboys over Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Divisional Round Winners:

AFC

Buffalo Bills over Cincinnati Bengals

Kansas City Chiefs over Jacksonville Jaguars

NFC

Philadelphia Eagles over New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers over Dallas Cowboys

Conference Championship Winners:

AFC

Buffalo Bills

NFC

Philadelphia Eagles

Superbowl Champion: Buffalo Bills

It’s finally the Bills year. They have been close before, but have never been able to seal the deal, but this year is different. There are a few things working in the favour of the Bills. Not needing to beat the Chiefs in Arrowhead will be a huge advantage. The Bills will also be extra motivated in the wake of the terrifying Damar Hamlin incident and his remarkable recovery. Teams rally around moments like this, and it will truly be a special moment when the Bills in it all.

Ermando’s Picks

Wildcard Winners:

San Francisco over Seattle. The 49ers are good and more importantly, better than Seattle. The Seahawks have been a great story all year but this is where their story ends for this year.

Jacksonville over Los Angeles. My first controversial pick. I think these are two good teams with the capacity for greatness but only one wins today. Mike Williams being injured in a meaningless season finale is an omen for this game and reason enough for Staley not to win a single game in these playoffs. Los Angeles needs to lose in order to throw Staley aside and truly reach the next level. The city of Jacksonville may or may not have a circus in town this weekend but I can guarantee there will be one clown on the field at TIAA Bank Field and his name is Brandon Staley.

Buffalo over Miami. Open and closed case. Thanks for coming out Miami.

New York over Minnesota. I anticipate this will be a close game and New York will prevail late. This game will be exciting and Minnesota looks primed to win a few games in these playoffs but their luck runs out this Sunday.

Cincinnati over Baltimore. I would have loved to see this matchup between 2 fully healthy teams but that’s not happening. The Bengals should take care of business against a team that’s downright average without their star QB.

Dallas over Tampa Bay. Two powerful forces will meet in this matchup. The supernatural ability of the Dallas Cowboys to lose games they should win and the legendary ability of Tom Brady to win games he should lose. Despite themselves, Dallas wins a thriller.

Divisional Round Winners:

KC over Jacksonville. This isn’t the game KC cares about and they should take care of business. I think Jacksonville can beat this team if Andy Reid decides he’s so much smarter than everyone else that he’s going to have KC perform the entirety of the musical Oklahoma in a pre-snap huddle. 

Buffalo over Bengals. The game of the playoffs. My personal picks for a Super Bowl matchup if I could pick any two teams. It’ll be high scoring and an instant classic. The Bills win it in OT.

Philadelphia over New York. The better team prevails but New York should be proud of their season. 

Dallas over San Francisco. To the agony of football fans everywhere outside of Dallas, the Cowboys win. San Francisco goes down early and Purdy can’t rally the troops.

Conference Championship Winners:

Buffalo over Kansas City. This year is special for Buffalo. Not always looking the part, they put it together this game and slay their demons. Kansas City adds another disappointing loss to their ‘dynasty’ and we hopefully start asking the question: is Patrick Mahomes being let down by this franchise?

Philadelphia over Dallas. The most watched game of the playoffs. Insanity will follow. Arguably the 2 best teams in the conference will have a back and forth affair and the Eagles will triumph.

Superbowl Champion: Buffalo Bills

A story book finish for Buffalo. The city that has suffered in mediocrity for so long is free. I can’t help but wonder if this will start the Brady vs. Rodgers conversation with Allen and Mahomes if this is the start of Buffalo’s own dynasty.