Sunday, January 5th, 4:25 PM - San Francisco 49ers @ Arizona Cardinals
The San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals are both out of the NFL playoff picture and have nothing to play for in Week 18 besides some NFL Draft positioning. The 49ers have totally bottomed out this year, as their main foundation of players are getting old and have been hurt this year.
We have hardly had Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk on the field. Trent Williams has also been banged up, and it seems like that each year of the Kyle Shanahan era that does not go well is due to major injuries. If you ask me, the Niners need to blow this thing up and rebuild their team the right way.
The Arizona Cardinals are better than they were last year but were 6-4 at one point and leading the NFC West. I say but because they've totally bottomed out and are just not a good team. The Cards simply need more talent, and I am not sure Kyler Murray is that slam-dunk franchise QB we think he is. I guess the 49ers win this game because they have the better talent and coaching.
Prediction: 49ers win 24-20
Sunday, January 5th, 8:20 PM - Minnesota Vikings @ Detroit Lions
It's fitting that the last game of the 2024 NFL regular season could be the game of the year. You could argue that the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings are the two best teams in football, but both cannot win the NFC North. The winner of the this game will earn the top seed in the NFC playoffs, but the loser falls all the way down to the fourth seed, so this game means a lot.
The first seed has a bye and homefield advantage during the playoffs, and right now, I may have to pick the Vikings in this one. Sam Darnold is playing slightly better than Jared Goff, and the Vikings are not nearly as hurt as the Lions are.
Heck, the Lions were unquestionably the best team in the NFL before these injuries started mounting up in a huge way. It's a sad situation for Detroit, as even winning double-digit games in the NFL is very hard, let alone making a deep playoff run. Now yes, the Lions can still make a deep playoff run, but I just do not see it right now.
Sam Darnold is playing his tail off and the Vikings are a lot healthier. I will take the Vikings in a classic, close game where they win by three points and earn the top seed in the NFC playoffs.