SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
By Arnie Leshin
First things first because this might turn out to be a later important site if it’s the Buffalo Bills against the Kansas City Chiefs for the American Football Conference championship.
That’s right, the National Football League has decided to put that potential matchup, and it will be at Mercedez-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
The reasoning for this came after Buffalo’ week 17 game against the Cincinnati Bengals was canceled when Damar Hamlin of the Bills went into cardiac arrest on the field.
Thus, Kansas City became the No. 1 seed in the AFC, but played one more game than second-seeded Buffalo. The league brokered the neutral site deal because the Bills might have become the top seed with a victory over Cincinnati.
That’s that, fair to both teams, but the rest of these playoffs remain the same.
First come the wild cards.
They start on Saturday with a doubleheader leading off with the Seattle Seahawks (9-8) at the San Francisco 49ers (13-4) and with a scheduled opening kickoff set for 4:30on FOX. At 6:15 the Los Angeles Chargers (10-7) will be at the Jacksonville Jaguars (9-8) on NBC.
On Sunday it’s a tripleheader leading off with the Miami Dolphins (9-8) at the Buffalo Bills (13-3) and slated for a 11 a.m. kickoff on CBS. The weather forecast there has it at 29 degrees at kickoff time.
Then comes the New York Giants (9-7-1) at the Minnesota Vikings (13-4) in a 2:30 start on FOX. The night closer has the Baltimore Ravens (10-7) at the Bengals (12-4) at 6:15 on NBC.
The wild cards wind down on Monday night when the Dallas Cowboys (12-5) play at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-9) at 6:15 p.m. on ESPN and ABC.
In the divisional playoffs, Saturday has the NFC lowest seed at the Philadelphia Eagles, and on Sunday the AFC lowest seed heads for the KC Chiefs. These games will be played on Jan. 21 and 22nd, respectively, but times have yet to be scheduled.
The conference titles will be played on Jan 29, the AFC’s lowest seed at the AFC’s top seed at 1:05 p.m. on CBS, and the NFC’s lowest seed at the NFC’s top seed at 4:30 p.m. on FOX.
That leaves the Super Bowl to be played on Sunday, Feb. 12, at Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., at 4:30 on FOX.
There are many interesting matchups, as in Tampa Bay playing host to the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas a 2 and one-half favorite after opening at 3.
This one has Bucs’ long-time superstar quarterback Tom Brady, now 42, going against 29-year-old Dak Prescott. Despite being the visitors, the Cowboys have the better record, but the Bucs are the higher seed and have the longest injury list, 10, to Dallas’ 3.
The Saturday opener in San Francisco features a red-hot 49ers team against a Seattle team that has been up and down. Here, San Fran opened as a 10-point pick and its now at 9 and a half.
But when it comes to injuries, the 49ers list nine and the Seahawks only four. For the Niners, it will be Jimmy Garoppolo as their quarterback and for Seattle, the comeback of Geno Smith, now 32, over center.
In game two that day, the Chargers have gone from an early line of 1 and one-half to 2 and one-half over the Jacksonville Jaguars, and that’s how close it is expected to be. Las Angeles starts Justin Herbert as the signal-caller and it will Trevor Lawrence for the Jags.
Sunday has Buffalo jumping from a 10 and one-half choice to 13 and one-half. While the Dolphins have 14 present injuries, the Bills have four. Josh Allen will be out there as usual for the Buffalo quarterback and third-team quarterback Sklar Thompson will be out there for the Fins.
The Giants and Vikings meet with a probable tight tussle expected, and with Minnesota favored by 3, and with each team listing eight injuries. Daniel Jones quarterbacks the Giants and Kirk Cousins the Vikings.
Then there’s Cincinnati taking a leap from being first favored by 6 and a-half to currently 10 over the Baltimore Ravens. The Bengals have Joe Burrow calling the signals and often injured Lamar Jackson is expected to be at QB for Baltimore.
In referring to injuries, there are many different ones.
OUT means a player is not expected to play.
DOUBFULL means a player is unlikely to play.
QUESTIONABLE means a player is not certain to play.
DNP means did not practice.
LIMITED means little participation.
FULL means full participation.
