Written by Zane Krikke (Sports Writer)
Fans from all over are becoming outrageously excited for the outcome of this year’s NFL season. With wild-card weekend being complete over last Sunday ( Jan 10th) we move closer to the championships and are anxiously being gripped closer to the Super Bowl. During wild-card weekend The first round of the playoffs is dubbed the wild-card round. In this round, the second-seeded division winner hosts the seventh-seeded wild-card, the third hosts the sixth, and the fourth hosts the fifth. There are no restrictions as well regarding teams from the same division matching up in any round. Wild card weekend now being referred to as “Super Wild Card Weekend” because of how chaotic and surprising most games ended, 12 teams went into wild card weekend and only 8 remain to play in the divisional playoffs this weekend.
The Cleveland Browns had a surprising win against the Pittsburgh Steelers claiming their first victory in the playoffs since 1994 with an ending score of 48-37. This wasn’t all as the Buffalo Bills excitingly crushed the Indianapolis Colts with a game that had everyone biting their fingernails with the final score of 27-24. Other teams such as Rams, Buccaneers, Ravens, And the Saints all were victorious as well with the Rams vs Seahawks (30-20), Buccaneers vs Washington Football team, (31-23) Ravens vs The Titans (20-13), and The Saints vs the Bears (21-9). With only 8 teams being able to continue into next weekend we see the days shimmering away as we are a little over three weeks away from the most exciting time for NFL fans and players.
As we move closer to the end of this NFL season we have only 8 teams remaining and are eligible to play in this weekend’s playoffs. These teams have rigorously fought and strategized their way to the top of the rosters in to claim the prize of victory. Now as they get closer to their reward they’re becoming more prepared to win. The 8 teams who have made it into the divisional playoffs are the Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore, Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. These teams will have a chance of getting closer to being the winning team of the 2020 NFL season. This Saturday the Rams will be facing the Packers (1:35 pm) & the Ravens will be facing the Bills (5:15 pm). Following Sunday the Browns will be facing the chiefs (12:05 pm) & the Buccaneers will be facing the Saints (3:40 pm). These next weekends are exciting times for football fans as we watch teams push and crumble their way to the top doing whatever it takes to claim their spot in the Super Bowl.
As the Coronavirus continues to be a growing problem in the U.S. it’s affecting the NFL as well, more strict codes and procedures are being regulated as 5 NFL players have already been added to the quarantine IR list this year. The NFL has experienced over 70+ of their players contracting the virus and hopefully no more will be added to that list. The virus has already made such a huge impact on sports in general, but the league is doing everything possible to provide a safe and enjoyable experience for both players and fans. With the Super Bowl, only a limited amount of weeks away the NFL league is planning and constructing a safe environment for everyone who may come to watch it at their stadiums.
The Claw 