The 2021-22 NFL regular season has concluded, bringing us to the highly anticipated postseason. In the last week of the season, week 18, there were a handful of teams competing for the final few spots in the playoff bracket. In the American Football Conference (AFC), the Indianapolis Colts (9-7) lost to the league’s worst team, the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-14), and were eliminated Sunday, to everyone’s surprise. The Los Angeles Chargers (9-7) lost on a very controversial call from their own coach, and the Las Vegas Raiders (9-7) beat them to clinch their playoff berth. With the Chargers’ loss, the 9-7-1 Pittsburgh Steelers squeaked their way into the playoffs. 

For the National Football Conference (NFC), the New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco 49ers were the two teams fighting to make it. The 49ers (9-7) were going against the Los Angeles Rams (12-4), and if they won, they were in the playoffs. They won in an extremely close overtime game and beat out the Saints to get the last spot in the NFC playoff race.

The Tennessee Titans (12-5) and the Green Bay Packers (13-4) get to enjoy a bye week. Every other team plays this weekend, and after Monday night’s game, only eight teams will remain. 

My upset votes go to the 49ers beating the Dallas Cowboys, and the Cincinnati Bengals beating the Titans. For the Bengals, Joe Burrow is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, and it’s only his second year. The Titans have a great team, but if any team is going to upset an overrated team as is, it would be the Bengals.

The 49ers are a bit tricky, as they have a solid offense that has started to utilize their weapons, but they do have a dud of a quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo. Despite that, the Cowboys have been underperforming a lot this year, while the 49ers have been doing the opposite.

Regarding the Packers, I’d like them to win it all, granted that Aaron Rodgers stays healthy. They have really been unstoppable, with three justifiable losses. They were not prepared in the home opener and lost 38-0 to the Saints. They also lost last week in the last game of the season, as they were resting players. The third loss was without Rodgers, and even then, they only lost by 6 to the #2 seed Kansas City Chiefs. The Packers are my pick to win it all, and as the coming weeks pass, we’ll see how accurate my predictions were!