Playoff Predictions - Who will be the surprise from the NFC?

[Ian]

Sort of crazy to see the way things are playing out in the NFC, which obviously sets up an interesting showdown this weekend between the Lions and Minnesota.

I would say as it stands, those would be the two teams I'm most interested in seeing how things go. I know the Lions are obviously in tough shape with injuries, which might make their journey challenging. At the same time, it would certainly be crazy to see Sam Darnold go on a Super Bowl run and complicate their situation this offseason given their investment in J.J. McCarthy.

Going down the list, I don't know if there will be a surprise from any of the remaining teams:

1) Detroit - banged up, but love the way they're playing right now.
2) Philadelphia - dealing with injuries and haven't recently looked like a team that can go all the way.
3) Rams - They've come on as of late, which tends to be an important factor at this point in the season.
4) Tampa Bay - I don't have faith that Mayfield can win after the Wild Card round. Although Minnesota is who they'd play if the season ended today...so that would certainly shake everything up.
5) Vikings - I think they're the dark horse if Darnold doesn't revert back to doing Darnold things. He's just been tremendous, and one of the best stories of this season.
6) Washington - Daniels is another wild card. No idea what's going to happen there, but he's had a terrific rookie season. They seem to have hit with this kid, and I just hope he stays healthy and avoids the fate some recent QBs there have endured.
7) Green Bay - Love has come a long way, but I don't feel like this is their year. Although they definitely made the Vikings earn it last weekend.

I would say this is a pretty good group that would certainly challenge Kansas City, if the Bills, Ravens, or whoever happens to pull off an upset. But I think Minnesota would be a team that would be fun to watch, and I think Flores is a solid enough coordinator on defense where I'd like their chances.

Would love to hear who others think will be the last NFC team standing. But this is the time of year where teams need to be playing their best football and it feels like there are several out of the names above that fall into that category. Honestly have no idea what's going to happen, which will make this upcoming playoff run fun to follow.

 

[Pape]

Detroit looks to be the best team in the NFC... the last four games they have scored 30+ ppg, topping 40 twine in that run... that is a scary amount of points over a four game period... Minnesota is not far behind them though... Detroits defense though... oof, the loss of alex anzalone has really hurt them... I think Flores has that Minny defense running smoothly, and they may be in a slightly better position going into the playoffs...

So the Detroit / Minnesota game is going to tell the story of how the playoffs might unfold on the NFC side... I think the lions have a better shot at taking out the chiefs... i don't trust darnold yet... i think if they face the chiefs, the spagnulo defense might have him seeing ghosts again...

I think the rest of the team are the also-rans this year... the nfc is going to be run thru the North this year...

 

[Ross12]

I could see Tampa and the Rams being surprises. They’re often overlooked but both have the pieces to put up a lot of points.

 

[Sect140]

A few of us were discussing this while tailgating this past Sunday. I think the Eagles represent the NFC, to me they are the most talented team now that the Lions barely have any defensive starters in the lineup. For the Lions to make the Super Bowl they will have to score 40 points a game in the playoffs. Will they have to do it twice or three times? That will be determined Sunday night.

I would like to say the Rams would be my dark horse because their receivers seem to be healthy at the right time, however with the talent that they have on offense they should be scoring like the Lions but they don’t.

 

[jmt57]

My surprise prediction:
After having been on the Detroit bandwagon all season and predicting a Lions-Bills super bowl, I am switching gears and jumping off said bandwagon.

I believe the injuries to Detroit's defense will become so insurmountable that their offense will not be able to save them.
Expect a big upset loss and early exit.

Vikings win Sunday night and get the bye, then Tampa Bay knocks off Detroit in the first round.
Tampa Bay-Minnesota winner the following week in the divisional round represents the NFC.