Tag: Championship

Posted on in NFL

2021 NFC & AFC Championship Game Predictions

By Saransh Sharma, Rohan Krishnan, & Pranav Thiriveedhi

This NFL Playoffs has had it all. Tom Brady dominating on the biggest stage, this time in the NFC, Aaron Rodgers proving why he is the most talented man to ever play the sport, the Chiefs playing like the defending Super Bowl champions with Chad Henne instead of Patrick Mahomes, and the Buffalo Bills playing like its the 1990s. These 4 teams now face each other for a ticket to Tampa Bay, with history on the line for the Buccaneers, as they could be the first team ever to host a Super Bowl. Here are our predictions for how these Conference Championship Games will go down:

AFC Championship Game: #2 Buffalo Bills @ #1 Kansas City Chiefs

Saransh’s Prediction: One year ago, people were questioning whether Josh Allen was the long-term option for the Bills. He improved quite a bit from his rookie season but still made glaring miscues, and they were most apparent in the Bills’ Wild Card loss to the Houston Texans where they blew a 16-0 lead. Now, Josh Allen is a top-5 QB and is looking to lead the Bills back to the promised land, this time hoping to hoist the Lombardi Trophy instead of watching their opposing team do it, as the Bills did 4 consecutive years (1991-1994). 

On the flip side, Kansas City is looking to repeat and will have Patrick Mahomes back from the concussion he sustained, as well as rookie RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who went down with a knee injury in Week 14. Kansas City went 14-2 this season but at times looked like they were coasting too much and letting go of big leads or getting into close games against teams they should have no problems. That also was true against the Browns, as they let a 16-3 lead go, and had Andy Reid not decided to keep the offense out there on 4th down, the Browns could have won that game. Sure, they did not have Patrick Mahomes, but they still let up a bit and gave Cleveland a chance to win the game. Against a QB like Josh Allen, that cannot happen. No one in that secondary can stick with Stefon Diggs, and he and Allen will feast on the Chiefs. Mahomes or not for Kansas City, Buffalo wins. Final Score: 30-23, Bills 

Rohan’s Prediction: The biggest question and player of this game is Patrick Mahomes. He has now been cleared to play, but is he truly 100%? He suffered not one but two injuries against the Browns: a foot injury and a concussion. The Chiefs were still able to pull out a victory with Chad Henne, but they will be facing a much better and more composed team this time around. Not only that, the Bills are extremely hot as they just dismantled the Ravens and are on an 8-game winning streak. 

Furthermore, they have won all but one of those games by 10 or more points. Their defense is legit and they can certainly handle the dangerous 3-headed monsters of Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, and Travis Kelce. Josh Allen did not stuff the stat sheet against Baltimore’s tough defense, but he was able to lead the offense down the field and do just enough to give the Bills the victory. Allen should have a smoother ride against the Chiefs defense, and I expect this game to be a shootout. However, it is hard for me to bet against Kansas City as Andy Reid and company always find ways to get it done Even if Mahomes is less than 100%, I think the Chiefs will win in a thriller due to home field advantage and Super Bowl experience. Final Score: 38-35 Chiefs

Pranav’s Prediction: As Saransh mentioned above, Josh Allen was questioned if he could be a franchise quarterback for any team, not just the Bills. Many questioned his size, talent, and awareness, but those many who questioned him will now be watching him play in the AFC Championship from their couches. Josh Allen is legit, and with the newly acquired talents of Stefon Diggs, who seems to have created beautiful QB-WR chemistry with Josh Allen, The Bills have gone from playoff probable to Super Bowl contenders in just one season. On the other side, the Chiefs, led by Mahomes, are the best team in the NFL, possessing a 14-2 record. The Chiefs are your standards for American Football in the NFL. Mahomes will become one of the greatest to ever play, Tyreek is showing the world why it was a mistake for him to be drafted in the fifth round, and Travis Kelce is en route to upping Rob Gronkowski in the record books. There is so much talent on the offense, as well as promising talent on the defense. However, the Bills possess one of the best defenses in the league. The Bills are ready to break more tables on Sunday, and the Chiefs are ready to make their second consecutive visit to the Super Bowl. A great game calls for a great prediction, and I will be calling the Bills to get business done in Kansas City. Final Score: 27-24 Bills

NFC Championship Game: #5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ #1 Green Bay Packers

Saransh’s Prediction: Who would have expected that the first time we would see a Brady-Rodgers playoff matchup would not be in a Super Bowl? Many thought that Tom Brady would never leave the Patriots, and those that did think that the Chargers would be the perfect destination. Being in LA would be great as he often stays there in the offseason, LA has great weather, Hollywood, and so much more. Instead, Brady chose Tampa last spring, shocking the football world, but what has not been as much of a shocker is his playoff greatness, as he is yet again competing for a Super Bowl. Meanwhile, we see Aaron Rodgers leading the Packers to the Super Bowl after the Packers decided to draft a QB in the first round of the NFL Draft this past spring. Who knew that all it would take for Rodgers to play the best football of his career again was to make him mad and think he would be replaced? That is mostly a joke, but you get the idea. Rodgers has established himself with Davante Adams, the best WR in the league, and players like Allen Lazard, Robert Tonyan, and Aaron Jones all stepped up big last week after Adams drew a very tough matchup against Jalen Ramsey. Brady has found himself having a nice rapport with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and of course, his best friend, Rob Gronkowski. Despite that, the team has been a bit shaky in these playoffs despite their wins. In their game against Washington, the defense had lots of trouble stopping Taylor Heinicke, and against New Orleans, their offense did not score a single touchdown except for off turnovers. This team needs to be much more consistent both offensively and defensively to ensure that they can keep pace with this historic Packers offense. Antonio Brown has not been a huge factor for the Buccaneers, but he certainly is a great player who can provide big plays, and for him to be out this Sunday (knee) will loom larger than it seems on paper. This team does not have the secondary to cover Adams and does not have enough balance on offense to keep up with Green Bay. The Brady-Rodgers matchup will be one for the ages, but Rodgers will come out on top. Final Score: 35-31, Packers

Rohan’s Prediction: For more than a decade, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers have sat at the top of the league at the quarterback position. On Sunday, we will see these two elite players square off in the postseason for the first time. These two teams have met in the regular season in Week 6 as the Bucs came out on top 38-10. The Tampa Bay defense shut down Aaron Rodgers (160 yards, 2 interceptions) and Aaron Jones (10 carries, 15 yards) en route to a blowout victory. However, things will be different this time around as it will be in Green Bay. The weather is also going to be very cold which works in Green Bay’s favor. The Packers’ offense has improved into a killer machine recently which has also benefited their defense. They simply do not turn the ball over, which helped them hold the highest figure in the league for an average time of possession. Tampa Bay came up with four turnovers against the Saints, so they need to have another multiple takeaway game to control the Packers. This is the toughest opponent Tampa Bay has played in a while and will need to put together their best performance of the season to beat this crazy talented Packers team in the cold. Brady will get it close, but it will not be enough for the Bucs as Green Bay returns to the Super Bowl for the first time in a decade. Final Score: 32-27 Packers

Pranav’s Prediction: We have seen Brady vs. Manning, Brady vs. Brees, and even Brady vs. Mahomes. But now we have the opportunity to see number 12 vs. number 12 in the playoffs, Brady vs. Rodgers. Something football fans have wanted to see for over ten years is coming true this Sunday. The Packers are an incredible team in all aspects on the offensive side. Rodgers is your surefire MVP, Davante Adams is your number 1, league-wide receiver, and Jones is your top 5 running back. Even the secondary on the Packers is scary, with Jaire Alexander. But on the Buccaneers, Brady leads one of the most electric offenses in the NFL, except the Kansas City Chiefs. With so much depth on both sides of the ball, Tampa Bay will surely present an excellent matchup for the Green Bay Packers. We might even witness overtime in this game, as both teams will be dropping points every drive. This is one of the hardest games I will ever have to call, but I know Tom Brady in the playoffs. There is nobody better than him in the playoffs, regardless of who is on the other team. When Manning was the MVP, Brady won. When Mahomes was the MVP, Brady won. Rodgers has presented a historic stat line as one of the greatest to ever play, but he will be facing the greatest to ever play. I will be putting all my money on the table and calling for the Buccaneers to win, which will allow them to host the Super Bowl in February. Final Score: 36-30, Buccaneers

Posted on in NBA

2019-20 NBA Finals Predictions

By Saransh Sharma, Anish Dhondi, & Nikhil Pradeep

The NBA bubble is soon to come to an end, and what a success it has been, and what a thrilling and unexpected Finals we are set to have. A Miami Heat team that is the third team in NBA history to be a 5-seed or lower to make an NBA Finals, against a Los Angeles Lakers team led by former Heat player, LeBron James, who is star-studded and back in their first NBA Finals since 2010. So much is at stake for both franchises, with Miami able to get their 4th ring and have this team be the greatest underdog story in NBA history, and LeBron James on his quest for being the Greatest of All-Time and winning his 4th ring. Here are our predictions for who wins this highly-anticipated NBA Finals:

Saransh’s Prediction

NBA Finals: (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Miami Heat

As a Heat fan myself, this is beyond my wildest expectations for this season. Early in the regular season, Miami was the 2-seed, but then post-All Star Game hit, and the team started reeling, and I had lost my hope of anything crazy, like an NBA Finals appearance, happening. But then the bubble came around and they unlocked a potential the basketball world was not ready for. An excellent run to end the regular season, and then a sweep of the overhyped ‘MJ Warren’ and the Pacers led us to Milwaukee, whom all season I said Miami would beat, and I did not miss on that one. That being said, I thought our series against Milwaukee would be longer and more physical, resulting in Boston beating us there, but that was not the case at all, and Miami was able to tough it out against Boston in 6 games. Anyways, enough about my internal happiness and joy over us making the NBA Finals, now to the series. 

So Miami started off the season hot, but in the end, got themselves to a position even better than that. This next test against the Lakers is a beast like no other. As amazing as Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and Duncan Robinson have been, as well as veterans Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic, this is something they have not experienced, but they will have a former Finals MVP in Andre Iguodala to help them out with that. Him, along with Butler, will have the duties of guarding LeBron James and trying to slow him down, which I do not see happening. The Heat’s zone defense, however, could cause lots of problems and make the Lakers one-dimensional, meaning the support cast of shooters has to knock down their shots, as coach Eric Spoelstra will flex his forward thinking on this one. The backcourt of Miami, with Herro, Robinson, and Dragic, are going to feast offensively, against Alex Caruso and Danny Green, so one of those guys offensively has to be consistent every game in order for the Lakers to take commanding control of this series. The way that Caruso has been playing offensively with running the offense, he just needs to keep being aggressive as a ball-handler and floor general in order to keep the Lakers over the hump of Miami.

Matchup-wise, the Lakers would have preferred Boston. They could have played with a bigger lineup against guys like Daniel Theis and Jayson Tatum, and forced Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker to be the guys that beat them. This Heat squad makes it much more difficult, as despite their lack of size, they rebound much better than Boston (case in point, Bam Adebayo and Jae Crowder), they have so many different players who can take over a game and keep it close, and they are going to cause headaches at times for the Lakers. At the end of the day, Miami has all the matchups and depth they need, and Bam could do just enough to slow down Davis, but there is simply no one who can stop LeBron James. As great as Butler and Iguodala are at defending him, to see a guy at age 37 dropping 30-point triple-doubles casually might be the scariest sight in NBA history. That alone, along with the impact of having another superstar in Anthony Davis will prove too much for this great, young, and electric Heat team. Lucky for them, and lucky for me, there is going to be lots of success to cheer about coming in the future, and even with a more competitive league next year (with teams like the Nets, Wizards, and Warriors getting fully healthy), Miami is in prime position to make another title run next season. As much as I love my Heat, I can never go against LeBron and the better Lakers team (which, while it is a superteam, it is a balanced one, not like the Warriors of years past). This will go down as one of the most unexpected title runs in history for the Heat, but they will fall just short to an opponent that is simply better than them. 

Prediction: Lakers Win the NBA Finals in 6 Games

Finals MVP: LeBron James

Anish’s Prediction

NBA Finals: (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Miami Heat

As the Lakers and Heat meet in the NBA Finals I can say I was only surprised about the Heat, very surprised. I confidently had the Lakers and Celtics as my finals prediction but the Heat took the East by surprise and absolutely dominated as a team. Different players would go off different nights, as much as we’d call this “Jimmy Butler’s team” stat wise it was very balanced. The Heat have an incredibly deep roster where guys like Tyler Herro can come off the bench and drop 37! It’ll be exciting to watch this matchup, however I think the Lakers are clearly the favorite to win. It appears to be just another NBA Finals appearance for LeBron James as fans/haters are already getting to pull out LeBron’s finals record at the end of this. The LeBron slander has completely changed as now the West is being appeared as the “weaker” conference compared to the battles in the East. The hate towards LeBron James as a basketball fan is just laughable. I see LeBron dominating in this series, but when necessary he will take a step back to Anthony Davis. Regardless, the Lakers will win this series because they have the star power and are far more experience playoff wise. Miami is a great young team who just had an incredible run, however it’s no match for an experienced LeBron James led Lakers.

Prediction: Lakers Win the NBA Finals in 6 Games

Finals MVP: LeBron James

Nikhil’s Prediction

NBA Finals: (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Miami Heat

As a Wizards fan, it’s somewhat heartwarming to see a comparatively mediocre team like the Miami Heat make the NBA finals. By all means, the Heat are in no way, shape, or form lackluster in any respect, but the fact that they had to earn the respect of the league first, and then had to defy all expectations kind of shows how much of an uphill climb this roster had to make. In this respect, I’ve morphed into a Heat fan ever since the beginning of these weird and extenuating circumstances. The Heat have broken the stereotype of two all-stars per team and have managed to spread the wealth among their entire roster, spearheading this approach with the play of the totally deserving de facto leader of their squad, Jimmy Butler. They’ve used such unique techniques, like a 2-3 zone defense reminiscent of high school ball among other things, to get to this position, and head coach Eric Spoelstra has to be hailed for his forward thinking.

But this is the Lakers we’re talking about. And if history has taught us well, it’s that you bet on LeBron James when the odds seem to be in his favor.

The Lakers are the true embodiment of where the league finds itself today: a double-headed monster in James and Anthony Davis, surrounded by specific skill set journeymen, like Danny Green, Kyle Kuzma, and Alex Caruso. This is the definition of a super-team, but one that seems to be pretty balanced in comparison to the 4 All-Star Golden State Warrior teams from years past. It just seems wrong not to pick this team, especially having beaten all opposition up until this point by 4-1 in each series. The Heat are a very similar threat to the Nuggets in many ways: underdog mentality, a well spaced out roster, a lot of young talent, but we all saw how that went. As much as the fan inside me wants to see Miami make this a series, deep down we all know what’s about to happen, and who’s about to pop off.

Prediction: Lakers Win the NBA Finals in 6 Games

Finals MVP: LeBron James

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Posted on in Football, NFL

The AFC Championship Game Prediction

The AFC Championship Game is all about Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, New England Patriots vs. Denver Broncos.

Quarter 1

Brady finds his spark early on. Manning is ice-cold. The defense comes out on fire, and Brady throws 2 TDs. The Pats take a 17-0 at the end of 1.

Quarter 2

Both QBs go cold. It is a disaster throughout this whole quarter. Brady and Manning lead the team to long field goal attempts. A back and forth, 3-and-out thing goes on for the whole quarter. At the half, Pats lead 23-12.

Quarter 3

In quarter 3, Broncos KR Trinton Holliday returns the kick return 100 yards for the score. The Pats go turnover after turnover, 3-and-out after 3-and-out. Broncos K Matt Prater kicks a field goal. After 45 minutes, Pats lead 23-22.

Quarter 4

The most crucial quarter of the AFC season. The Pats kick 2 quick field goals to give them a TD lead. Peyton Manning throws 3 INTs in their first 5 possessions. Tom Brady throws an INT, and CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie returns the pick 59 yards for the score. We’re tied at 29. Brady tries to help kill clock to get into field goal range. RB LaGarrette Blount fumbles the football on a crucial 3rd And Inches from the Broncos 32-yard line. With 1 minute left, Manning throws 4 first downs to Welker, Decker, DeMariyus Thomas, and Julius Thomas. It’s 1st And Goal from the Pats 4, and Bill Belichick call the Patriots final timeout, with 8 seconds left. Manning escapes all the pressure, and then finds RB Knowshon Moreno in the end zone with no time left.

Final Score: 36-29, Broncos!