The NFL Playoffs began on Jan. 10 and started with 14 teams overall. Seven teams from the AFC and seven teams from the NFC will battle against each other in hopes of making it to the Super Bowl and becoming champions. 

In the wild card round, six games were played. In the AFC, the Cleveland Browns played the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Indianapolis Colts played the Buffalo Bills, and the Baltimore Ravens played the Tennessee Titans. The Bills beat the Colts 27-24, the Ravens beat the Titans 20-13 and the Browns beat the Steelers 48-37, therefore eliminating the Titans, Colts, and Steelers.

In the NFC, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Washington Football Team 31-23, the Los Angeles Rams beat the Seattle Seahawks 30-20, and the New Orleans Saints beat the Chicago Bears 21-9. This eliminated the Bears, Seahawks and the Washington Football team, which meant there were eight teams left in the playoffs. “I was sad to see the Washington Football Team lose because it’s fun to see their young players do well and win,” senior George Misovec said.

The divisional round, which took place on Jan. 16 and 17, consisted of four games. On Jan. 16 the Rams played the Green Bay Packers and the Bills played the Ravens. Both games were a blowout as the Packers dominated the Rams with a score of 32-18 and the Bills crushed the Ravens 17-3, which in turn eliminated the Ravens and Rams from the playoffs. 

Students were watching the playoffs rooting for their favorite team to win. “It was sad to see the Ravens lose because they are my favorite team and have loved them since I was little. They are so fun to root for and it was sad to see them go,” senior Kevin Friedman said.

On Jan. 17 the Buccaneers played the Saints and the Kansas City Chiefs played the Browns. Both games were hard-fought as the Chiefs came on top over the Browns 22-17 and the Buccaneers secured a victory over the Saints 30-20, eliminating the Saints and Browns. 

The conference championships have not happened yet but the third round of the playoffs will be the Buccaneers and Packers, against the winner of the Bills and Chiefs. The winner of those two games will play in Super Bowl LV.

Students speculate who is going to win the Super Bowl. “I think the Chiefs are going to win the Super Bowl because their quarterback is one of the best in the league currently and their offense is spectacular,” junior Liam Miller said.