JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
The NFL playoffs begin tomorrow, and for the first time in what feels like forever, there is no runaway favorite for the Super Bowl. And here with me now to give us a preview is NPR's sports correspondent Becky Sullivan. Hi there.
BECKY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: Hey, Juana.
SUMMERS: Becky, I have a lot of feelings about all of this, clearly.
SULLIVAN: (Laughter).
SUMMERS: But I will just ask you, to start us off, give us a sense of just how wide-open things are.
SULLIVAN: Well, here's a stat for you. So 4 of the 6 top seeds in this playoff missed the playoffs entirely last year. So that's the New England Patriots, the Seattle Seahawks, the Chicago Bears and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Also the top seed in the AFC, the Denver Broncos, haven't won a playoff game in, like, a decade. So yeah, I think it's wide-open.
And then I think as you know, Juana, the Kansas City Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes had made it to the AFC championship game for seven straight seasons, and they have missed the playoffs entirely this year. So the AFC side, I think, especially feels very wide-open. And then on the NFC side, there's a bunch of new teams in the playoffs. The Philadelphia Eagles, who won the Super Bowl last year, don't look like anything - don't look anything - excuse me - like the juggernaut that they were then. I think it's anybody's guess what happens.
SUMMERS: Indeed. OK, let's just tally it up. There's no Patrick Mahomes, no Joe Burrow, no Lamar Jackson.
SULLIVAN: Yep.
SUMMERS: So who are the quarterbacks to watch?
SULLIVAN: Yeah, I mean, I think that's what's going to be really fun, is to watch some really exciting players make their playoff debut. On the NFC side you have the Chicago Bears, who, of course, are led by quarterback Caleb Williams. Then you have the Patriots, who have Drake Maye, who has looked great this season, might win MVP. These were the No. 1 and the No. 3 draft picks in the 2024 NFL draft, and they clearly just needed a season to sort of get their feet underneath them. But now, you know, they're looking great and they're going to lead their - I think both of these teams, you know, really are serious contenders.
And then I think not exactly a new face, but shoutout to the Jacksonville Jaguars in this conversation. They are arguably the hottest team in the NFL right now, Juana. They've won eight straight games to end the regular season, and their quarterback, Trevor Lawrence - he was drafted back in 2021 first overall. He was hailed then as sort of the next great quarterback who could transform a franchise, but it hasn't been that. It's been a bumpy ride for the Jags. They have been pretty bad for much of his tenure there. But they have a new head coach this year - this guy Liam Coen, who has turned things around. Suddenly, especially in the second half of the season, Lawrence has looked like the guy that he always had the promise to be. And so I was listening to him give a press conference this week, and he admitted that it turns out it's a lot more fun to win than it is to lose.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TREVOR LAWRENCE: You know, we're all very fortunate to play this game, and it is a fun game and it's awesome. And don't get me wrong, it's - but the fun part is having that success as a team. Like, that's why you play, you know? I mean, all the other stuff's great too - the money and all the other benefits of it. But the reason why you play is to win as a team and to put all this work in to collectively do something together.
SUMMERS: All right, Becky, tell us what you think. Who could win the whole thing?
SULLIVAN: Well, I think don't count out the Jags. They're a little spicy. But I think the Los Angeles Rams are probably the most complete team in this playoff, which is actually kind of crazy to say because they're actually a wild card team. They're the 5 seed. But just all year long, they have been so steady on offense. They're thrilling to watch. They have Matthew Stafford, who's 37 years old but also put up an MVP-quality season, throwing to wide receivers like Puka Nacua, Davante Adams. These guys are so good. Their defense is great, too. But they will actually face the Panthers - the Carolina Panthers in the first round. This is a team that sounds like they should easily beat, but they just lost to them not all that long ago. So that's kind of a tricky one.
I'm also really intrigued by the Seattle Seahawks. They're the No. 1 seed in the NFC. They have an amazing defense. They also have an incredible wide receiver in Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who just, like, pops off the TV screen when you watch him. They also have a big wild card though, which is their quarterback, Sam Darnold. He played for the Minnesota Vikings last year and sort of, like, wilted under the pressure of the hot spotlight in the biggest moments of the year, including in the playoffs. I think Seahawks fans are probably a little nervous about that.
The other team I want to mention is the Buffalo Bills. I think fans of the Bills have got to be sweating some bullets because if their amazing quarterback Josh Allen can't lead them to a Super Bowl appearance now that the Chiefs aren't standing in their way, Juana, things might have to change up there.
SUMMERS: Indeed. NPR's Becky Sullivan. Thank you.
SULLIVAN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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