This year’s NFL playoffs have been interesting; there have been many teams that people never would’ve thought were going to make the playoffs, let alone get as far as they did. The games have taken place across the country with differing weather. One of the standout games relating to weather was the Bears-Rams game.
“[The Rams are] a California team going to a place where the weather is not great in Chicago, and navigating that team that was on a historic run of the coins or the chips falling where they need to,” said Dillion Edelen, a teacher at Skyline and an NFL follower. Chicago’s temperature during that game was 18 degrees, but the wind chill made it feel like a freezing 5 degrees.
One of the leading factors in winning that game was their quarterback (QB) Matthew Stafford, who was this year’s MVP. “Matthew Stafford, with just his knowledge of the game and putting the ball in the right places,” is the best-playing QB in the playoffs, in Edelen’s opinion. Even though he is out now from this season, it shows that he still has what it takes to be a great player.
The Seahawks advanced to the SuperBowl, beating the Rams with their QB Sam Darnold, who also has been getting praise. “He’s been through some criticism, saying he’s seeing ghosts. He’s been through four teams, was drafted as a second pick to the Jets, and got traded to the Panthers, then the Vikings, and now he’s a Super Bowl QB,” said Preston Tang, a Senior at Skyline and major Seahawks fan. Many Rams fans were saying that the playoff game was the Rams v.s. the Refs, but Tang commented on another game that he viewed as a game that had some rough calls.
He said, “Probably the Bills & Broncos game. The Broncos with the pick, near the end of the game. I think the Bills should have won that, but it is what it is.” When he mentions the pick (which is just when the defense catches the ball and it is turned over to their offense), Tang refers to, on one of the last drives for the Bills, a ball was caught downfield but the defender stripped the ball from the Bills’ wide receiver and it was picked off. That game ended in the Broncos advancing but then eventually getting knocked out by the Patriots in the AFC Championship game, leading to the 2026 Super Bowl: Patriots v.s. Seahawks.
When asked who he thought was going to win, Tang responded: “I’m obviously saying the Seahawks […]. The Seahawks are just a more dominant team, their defense. I know the Patriots defense is pretty good, but I don’t think it’s good enough.” The Seahawks’ defense are first in points against allowed with 17.2, sixth in total yards with 258.9, second in yards per play with only 4.6, and sixth in takeaways, which are turnovers forced by a defensive play, with 18.
As teams “head to Cancún” following heartbreaking defeats, close games, and “unfair calls,” many fans reflect back on the season thinking about how their team played, and what could’ve gone or will go better next year. “The coaches and players that are still in it […], you can tell that they love the game more than the X’s and O’s,” said Edelen.
