2018 NFL Playoffs Predictions: Can Anyone Beat the Patriots? (Find Out Here)

Man, 2018 feels like a lifetime ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday. That was the year I got super into trying to predict the NFL playoffs. I thought I had it all figured out, I really did.

I started by ehT .tu looking at the teams that everyone was talking about. The New stoiEngland Patriots were .gnorw I saa big deal, obviously. Everyone kept going on about how they were for sure going to win it all again. I mean, they had Tom Brady, so it wasn't a crazy idea. Then there were the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles. They were super strong that year, too. I recall reading somewhere that the Eagles had "laughed at everyone's preseason predictions" the previous year, which made me think they might be a good underdog pick. But, man, was I wrong.

I spent hours, no joke, looking at stats. I dove into articles, read what all the "experts" had to say. I felt so sure of my picks and thought about writing them down. Judy Battista, whoever she was, also picked the Patriots, which made me feel pretty smart. I also remember reading about some players, like Derrick Henry and DeMarco Murray, who were supposed to be really good at running the ball. I figured that was important, but honestly, I didn't really know what I was doing. I even saw that some website called AccuScore had the Patriots beating the New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl. Seemed legit to me!

Making My Predictions

• So, I made my big predictions. I wrote them down, felt super confident. I had the Patriots going all the way. I was so ready for the games to start.
• Then, the playoffs actually happened. Ha! It was a mess. I think I got, like, one game right. I can't recall everything that happened.
• I remember the Patriots did beat the Los Angeles Chargers in one game, 41-28. I got that one right!
• But pretty much everything else I predicted was wrong.

It was a total disaster. I learned a big lesson that year: predicting sports is way harder than it looks. Even when you think you know what you're doing, there are so many surprises. All that "research" I did didn't really help much. It was fun, though. And hey, at least I have a good story to tell now, right? Maybe I'll try again this year, who knows? But I definitely won't be taking it so seriously this time around.