West Roundup NFL Playoff Pick ‘Em: Conference Championship
The conference finals are some of the most talked-about contests of the football year. The amount of star power in just two games is exciting, and for hours on end, football fans will be watching eagerly to see who will make the Super Bowl. The Roundup sports staff will also be watching these games with anticipation. Today is a make or break Sunday for some of the contestants. The Roundup Cup is tantalizing close, and today, we’ll see who moves on and who falls flat.
Current Leaderboard:
- Jordan- 23
- Matthew- 20
- Tyler- 17
- Constantine- 17
- Christian- 13
If this is your first time hearing about this competition, here are the rules:
If the winner of a Wild-card game is predicted correctly- 1 point
If the winner of a Divisional round game is predicted correctly- 2 points
If the winner of a Conference final game is predicted correctly- 3 points
If the winner of the Superbowl is predicted correctly- 4 points
An additional 2 points are awarded if a player correctly predicts an upset. (Ex. 5th seed def. 2nd seed)
The person whose predicted score most closely resembles the actual game score will be awarded 1 point. This will be determined by finding the difference between the scores of both teams in a particular game and adding them together. The player with the lowest difference will be awarded 1 point.
In the event of a tie:
The players will face off in a tie-breaker based on their predicted scores for the Conference finals and Superbowl. The player who has a closer score in 2 of 3 games will be declared the winner.
Tyler Wichman on Kansas City V.S. Buffalo:
Coming out of the intense divisional round, both of these teams look good. After being shaken up big hit last week, Patrick Mahomes will take the field for the most crucial game of his season thus far. The Chiefs are a dominant offense with elite players at quarterback, wide receiver, and tight end, but they lack a top-flight defense. While they have great players on the other side of the ball, their defense has always been tabbed as good but not great. The Bills, on the other hand, come into the AFC Championship with wins in the playoffs against the Colts and the Ravens. The Bills lack some of those elite skill positions, compared to the Chiefs, with quarterback Josh Allen and wide receiver Steffon Diggs being the only two that standout. On top of that, the Chiefs also have a better defense than the Bills, letting up fewer points throughout the season and having more interceptions. In the end, this should be a dominating victory by the Chiefs, but it should be a high-scoring affair.
All predictions from Tyler Wichman
KC def. BUF 35-21
GB de. TBB 28-20
Jordan Cohen on Green Bay V.S. Tampa Bay:
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will face off against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game, and the winner will advance to the Superbowl. We will see Brady’s debut in an NFC championship game as his nine previous conference championship game wins were with the Patriots in the AFC. The quarterback of the opposing team is Aaron Rodgers, who is no stranger to the NFC championship. The Packers are loaded on offense with Davante Adams at wideout, Aaron Jones at running back, and of course, Rodgers. The Packers also possess a league-leading defense that has only been getting better with time. The Buccaneers themselves are loaded on offense, and their defense is incredible as well. This matchup took place during the regular season when Brady and his team blew out the Packers. This time around, it is expected that we see a much closer game. I personally see this ending in a down to the wire finish with Rodgers and company getting some sweet revenge. The final score will be 38-37, with the Packers on top.
All predictions from Jordan Cohen:
KC def. BUF 34-27
GB def. TBB 38-37
All predictions from Matthew Pastier:
KC def. BUF 42-27
TBB def. GB 30-27
All predictions from Constantine Lambridis:
KC def. BUF 31-24
GB def. TBB 35-28
All predictions from Christian Sehlmeyer:
KC def. BUF 31-27
GB def. TBB 24-17
