2025 NFL Conference Championship Predictions

Buffalo heads to Kansas City. Patrick Mahomes is undefeated against Josh Allen in the NFL Playoffs.

Chris Ransom Last Updated: January 24, 2025.

6. Washington Commanders 14-5-0	Versus	2. Philadelphia Eagles 16-3-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

I will be doing a 12 team College Football Breakdown of my top 12 teams in College Football Each Week. This will be replacing the Bill Clinton College Football Playoff Selection Special that I've done for many years meaning you will get an authentic take from yours truely. I will also rank my projected SEC, Big 10, ACC, and Big 12 Champions in the top 4 overall since that's how the final College Football Playoff will be formatted with teams 5-11 also being power 4 teams as well as one group of five team.

Ohio State 14-2

Ohio State has a ton of talent returning and they might be a more complete team than Georgia. Georgia has Carson Beck at quarterback while Ohio State has former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard coming in from the transfer portal to replace Kyle McCord whose now at Syracuse. Lots of seniors returned to Ohio State and this is the preseason number two team in the country as well as the consensus favorite to win the Big 10. Ohio State only lost to Oregon by 1 point. Ohio State defeated Penn State on the road handing the Nittany Lions their first loss of the year. Ohio State has two regular season games left. Ohio State hosts Michigan after blowing out Indiana. Ohio State lost to Michigan, but they no longer control their own destiny. Ohio State lost to Oregon by 1 point 32-31 and Michigan by 3 points 13-10. Their two losses are by fewer points then the two games Tennessee lost which is why they beat out Tennessee for the number eight spot heading into the Conference Championship week. I believe the 5-8 spots will be Oregon, Notre Dame, the SEC runner up, and Ohio State at 8 if Penn State wins the Big 10 Championship. Georgia was ranked higher in the preseason than Ohio State and Texas has a head-to-head win over Michigan, so both of those teams deserve to be ranked ahead of Ohio State since Ohio State lost to Michigan. I believe the top 5-8 spots will be Notre Dame, the SEC runner up, Ohio State, and Tennessee with Penn State coming in at 9 if Oregon wins the Big 10 Championship. Ohio State outscored Tennessee and Oregon 82-35 in the first two rounds of the College Football Playoff. They play Texas in the Semifinals at the Cotton Bowl which could be considered a home field for Texas. Texas lost to Ohio State by two touchdowns in the semifinals.

Previously Ranked: 2nd

Notre Dame 14-2

Notre Dame lost to Northern Illinois earlier in the season. Notre Dame finished 11-1. As long as Notre Dame wins out they should be in the 12 team playoff. Notre Dame should be the 6 seed. Notre Dame ended up getting the 7 seed beating both Indiana and Georgia. Notre Dame will play Penn State in the Orange Bowl. Notre Dame beat Penn State in the Orange Bowl. Ohio State plays Notre Dame for the National Title on Monday.

Previously Ranked: 1st

Texas 13-3

Texas only lost one game to Georgia. Texas won out to clinch a spot in the SEC Title game. Texas lost the SEC Title to Georgia in overtime. Texas did well against Clemson and Arizona State. Texas is now the highest seeded team left in this years College Football Playoff.

Penn State 13-3

Penn State has Drew Allar back at quarterback, Nicholas Singleton back at running back, Tyler Warren back at tight end, Sal Wormley back at right guard, and Abdul Carter back at right outside linebacker. Penn State also added Julian Fleming Ohio State's slot receiver in the transfer portal. Penn State lost to Ohio State. Penn State won out while Ohio State lost to Michigan. Penn State played SMU and Boise State having a really easy path to the Semifinals after losing the Big 10 Championship to Oregon.

Oregon 13-1

Oregon has one of the most complete offenses in the country. Dillon Gabriel is the starting quarterback, Evan Stewart as well as Tez Johnson are the top two wide receivers, Terrance Ferguson is the starting tight end, Josh Connerly is the blindside at left tackle, and Ajani Cornelius is the bookend offensive tackle at right tackle. Oregon finished the regular season undefeated in the regular season. Oregon remains undefeated heading into the 2024 Big 10 Championship Game and if they win that, they will be the number one overall seed. Oregon trailed Ohio State 34-0 in the first half and even though Oregon scored 21 points on Ohio State, they got routed by Ohio State in the quarterfinals of the this years College Football Playoff.

Georgia 11-3

Georgia has clinched a spot in the SEC Championship prior to this week. Georgia needed 8 overtimes to defeat Georgia Tech, but they made it to Atlanta where they get a rematch at a Texas Longhorns team they defeated earlier in the regular season. Georgia won the 2024 SEC Championship in overtime. Carson Beck had UCL surgery before the playoff game against Notre Dame. Georgia couldn't find a way to defeat Notre Dame.

Boise State 12-2

Boise State's only regular season loss was to Oregon. Boise State has one game left against Oregon State at home before the Mountain West Championship. Boise State should win out. Ashton Jeanty is now the favorite to win the 2024 Heisman Trophy. Boise State won the Mountain West Championship game. Boise State couldn't do shit against Penn State's defense even with Abdul Carter and Kevin Winston Jr. the two best players on Penn State's defense out of the lineup.

Arizona State 11-3

Arizona State finished the regular season at 10-2. Arizona State demolished Iowa State in the 2024 Big 12 Championship to secure the 4 seed in the 12 team playoff. Arizona State lost a heartbreaker to Texas in double overtime of the quarterfinals.

Tennesseee 10-3

Tennessee finished the year 10-2. Their only losses came to Arkansas and Georgia. I think Tennessee is firmly locked into the top nine heading into this week. If Oregon wins the Big 10 Championship, I think Tennessee moves into the top 8 and Penn State slides down to 9 especially if Penn State loses by more than 1 which is what Ohio State lost to Oregon by even with the loss to Michigan. If Penn State wins the Big 10 Championship Oregon would be 5 and Notre Dame would be 6. Ohio State would be 7 and Tennessee would be 8 if Georgia won the SEC Championship. If Texas gets even with Georgia, I suspect Georgia would be 7 and Ohio State would be 8 moving Tennessee down to 9. The only way I believe Tennessee stays at 9 is if Texas and Penn State win their conference championships in the SEC and Big 10 next week. Tennessee got slaughtered by Ohio State in Columbus in the first round of the first College Football 12 Team Playoff.

Indiana 11-2

Indiana finished the year 11-1. Despite the blowout loss to Ohio State, I believe they are firmly locked into the top 10. I believe the 9 VS 8 game will either be Penn State VS Tennessee if Penn State wins the Big 10 or Tennessee VS Ohio State if Oregon wins. Indiana will most likely the SEC runner up in the 10 VS 7 matchup on the road against Texas or Georgia. Indiana got blown out by Notre Dame. The only reason the game looked close at the end was due to some garbage time points by Indiana in South Bend.

SMU 11-3

The SMU Mustangs also known as Southern Methodist located in Dallas, Texas are undefeated in conference play in their first ACC season. SMU lost the ACC Title to Clemson by a field goal. SMU got blown out by Penn State in Happy Valley in the play-in round of the first 12 team College Football Playoff.

Clemson 10-4

Right now the eleven seed is up for grabs. I gave Alabama over Clemson the edge heading into this week. However, if Clemson defeats SMU to win the ACC Championship, I believe Clemson would move into the top 4 and SMU would drop to 11 setting up an SMU VS Notre Dame, SMU VS SEC runner up, SMU VS Penn State, or SMU VS Ohio State. If SMU wins the ACC, they will be the three seed and Alabama will likely keep this spot playing either Penn State, Notre Dame, or Ohio State on teh road depending on what happens in the Big 10 Championship. The selection committee will avoid conference matchups in the first round. Clemson lost to Texas in the play-in round.

Why the Washington Commanders Will Win: The Washington Commanders have Jayden Daniels starting at quarterback as the second overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of LSU will start at quarterback after winning last years Heisman Trophy. Washington has Brandon Coleman a 2024 third round pick out of TCU at left tackle, Nick Allegretti at left guard, Tyler Biadasz at center, Sam Cosmi Washington's 2021 second round pick out of Texas is at right guard, and Andrew Wylie the right tackle. Washington doesn't have a lot of quality depth players on the offensive line. Sam Cosmi got injured in the divisional round and is out of this years NFC Title game.

Washington has Terry McLaurin as their flanker wide receiver, Noah Brown is now the secondary wide receiver after his hail mary catch after starting the year as the number six wide receiver. Luke McCaffrey their 2024 third round pick out of Rice as the number four wide receiver earned the slot receiver job by week 4. Dyami Brown their secondary wide receiver who began the season as the number two wide receiver in week 1 got benched for Luke McCaffrey after McCaffrey stepped up in Washington's Monday Night Football win versus the Cincinnati Bengals in week 3, but Dyami is still the number four wide receiver. Olamide Zaccheaus began the year as the slot receiver, but he's now the number five wide receiver. Jamison Crowder was the number five wide receiver at the beginning of the year, but he's currently on injured reserve.

Washington has Zach Ertz as their starting tight end, John Bates their 2021 draft pick out of Boise State is the backup tight end, and Ben Sinnott their 2024 second round pick out of Kansas State is the third string tight end. Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kinsbury decided to start all three tight ends while only starting their best wide receiver Terry McLaurin in week 9 against the New York Giants. Washington won and that controversial decision by the former Arizona Cardinals head coach paid off. Kingsbury has done a masterful job as an offensive coordinator with Jayden Daniels, but if your a Washington fan you want to keep Kingsbury on as the offensive coordinator as long as possible because he's a great offensive coordinator, but not an NFL head coach.

Washington also has Brian Robinson Jr. as their starting running back with Austin Ekeler as a solid backup running back as Ekeler will be the change of pace running back to Brian Robinson Jr. Washington's third string running back is weaker than last year as the Washington Comanders will rely heavily on Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler. Washington has Jeremy McNichols as their third string running back and Chris Rodriguez Jr. their 2023 sixth round pick out of Kentucky going from third string running back to fourth string running back. When Brian Robinson Jr. was ruled out in week 9, Chris Rodriguez Jr. got promoted from the practice squad to third string running back. Austin Ekeler started that game, but Chris Rodriguez Jr. showed he could push Jeremy McNichols for backup reps if Brian Robinson Jr. is injured. Brian Robinson Jr. is out again he missed week 9 and will miss week 10.

Washington has Dorance Armstong Jr. at 4-3 right end, Jer'Zhan Newton their 2024 second round pick starts at 4-3 defensive tackle replacing Jonathan Allen who suffered a season ending injury, Da'Ron Payne at 4-3 defensive tackle, and Clellin Ferrell at 4-3 left end. Sebastian Jean-Baptiste their 2024 seventh round pick is the backup 4-3 right end behind Dorance Armstrong Jr., Phidarian Mathis is the backup 4-3 defensive tackle to Da'Ron Payne as well as Jer'Zhan Newton thanks to Jonathan Allen suffering a season ending injury, and Dante Fowler Jr. is the backup 4-3 left end behind Clellin Ferrell. Da'Ron Payne got ruled out for this game so Jonaathan Allen and Jer'Zhan Newton will start at 4-3 defensive tackle.

Washington has Frankie Luvu as their 4-3 right outside linebacker, Bobby Wagner is the 4-3 middle linebacker, and Jamin Davis the Washington Commanders 2021 first round pick out of Kentucky is the 4-3 left outside linebacker in a 4-3 defense, but he's also the backup middle linebacker in a 4-2-5 nickel defense. Washington has good starters at linebacker, but there's not a lot of depth at linebacker.

Washington has Marshon Lattimore at field cornerback, Benjamin St. Juste is the boundary cornerback after having to transition from nickel cornerback to number one cornerback in the final year of his rookie deal as trading for Lattimore gives you the flexibility to put Benjamin St. Juste against number two wide receivers rather than number one receivers, Mike Saintristl their 2024 second round pick is the nickel cornerback. Michael Davis is the dime cornerback. Noah Igbinoghene is the quarter cornerback. Jeremy Chinn is the starting strong safety and Jartavius Martin now known as Quan Martin is the starting free safety. Darrick Forrest is the backup safety to both Chinn and Martin. Washington's pass defense was ranked fifth in the NFL before adding a true number one cornerback in Marshon Lattimore at the 2024 NFL Trade Deadline, but Washington's pass defense is ranked high because Washington played an easier strength of schedule at the beginning of the year. Marshon Lattimore missed weeks 10 and 11. Marshon Lattimore played in week 16 making his debut, but he's out in week 17.

The Washington Commanders cut their kicker Cade York, but Austin Seibert was great at kicker in his debut in week 2 making seven field goals in one game. Byron Pringle is the kick returner and Jamison Crowder is the punt returner.

Why the Philadelphia Eagles Will Win: Philadelphia has Jalen Hurts at quarterback. Philadelphia has Jordan Mailata at left tackle, Landon Dickerson at left guard, Cam Jurgens at center, Mekhi Becton at right guard, and Lane Johnson at right tackle. Philadelphia also has Trevor Keegan as a backup left guard, Matt Hennessy as a backup center, Tyler Steen as a backup right guard. Jalen Hurts got injured in week 16 and backup quarterback Kenny Pickett came in. Jalen Hurts started his first game since that injury in the Divisional Round. Cam Jurgens is active, but unlikely to play. Philadelphia's offensive line for the NFC Championship will feature Jordan Mailata at left tackle, Tyler Steen at left guard, Landon Dickerson at center, Mekhi Becton at right guard, and Lane Johnson at right tackle.

Philadelphia has A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith two wide receivers that are capable of being number one options at wide receiver. Smith played flanker receiver as a rookie, but became the secondary wide receiver once Philadelphia traded for A.J. Brown in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Jahan Dotson is the slot receiver. Johnny Wilson, Philadelphia's rookie wide receivers drafted in the sixth round is the number four wide receiver. Ainis Smith, Philadelphia's 2024 fifth round pick is the number five wide receiver. DeVonta Smith will be back from his injury in week 14 after missing the last two games.

Dallas Goedert remains a top 10 tight end in the NFL making him another asset in the passing game for quarterback Jalen Hurts. Grant Calcentera remains the backup tight end to Dallas Goedert. Dallas Goedert returned from his injury in week 18.

Philadelphia has Saquon Barkley as their starting running back, Kenneth Gainwell as their backup running back, and Will Shipley the former Clemson running back from the 2024 NFL Draft as the third string running back. Philadelphia is deep at a lot of positions offensively and will be a force in the NFC as long as Jalen Hurts is healthy at quarterback, Jordan Mailata is healthy at left tackle, and Lane Johnson is healthy at right tackle. They have depth to reload if others on this offense outside of those three get injured, but those three must play all 17 games for Philadelphia to go on another run to a Super Bowl. I also believe offensive coordinator Kellen Moore will do well as the Philadelphia Eagles new offensive coordinator.

Philadelphia is moving from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense. Jalen Carter is going to start at 3-4 right end, Jordan Davis will start at 3-4 nose tackle, and Milton Williams will start at 3-4 left end in a contract year. Byron Young who got cut by the Raiders is the backup 3-4 right end which is a scheme he's better suited in while Moro Ojomo is the backup 3-4 left end.

Philadelphia has Josh Sweat at 3-4 right outside linebacker, Zach Baun starting at 3-4 middle linebacker after playing outside linebacker at Wisconsin and on the New Orleans Saints, Nakobe Dean starting at the other 3-4 middle linebacker spot, and Nolan Smith starting at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Philadelphia has Bryce Huff as their backup 3-4 right outside linebacker. Oren Burks and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. are the two backup 3-4 middle linebackers. Brandon Graham is the backup 3-4 left outside linebacker. Jalyx Hunt, Philadelphia's 2024 third round pick out of Houston Christian began the season as the third string 3-4 left outside linebacker, but has now been promoted to backup 3-4 right outside linebacker thanks to Bryce Huff their backup 3-4 right outside linebacker heading to injured reserve meaning Jalyx Hunt will be the backup 3-4 right outside linebacker in weeks 12, 13, 14, and 15. Philadelphia will not have Bryce Huff back until week 16 and lost Brandon Graham to a season ending injury as Graham announced his retirement following this season on monday. Nakobe Dean had a PCL injury and is out for the season following his injury in the wild card round. Now each NFC team has at least one player with a season ending injury.

Philadelphia has Darius Slay at field cornerback, Quinyon Mitchell is the boundary cornerback, and Cooper DeJean is Philadelphia's nickel cornerback as he looks as good as advertised. Isaiah Rodgers is the dime cornerback, Avonte Maddox is the quarter cornerback, and Kelee Ringo is the number six cornerback.

Philadelphia brought back C.J. Gardner-Johnson to start at strong safety and Reed Blankenship will start at free safety. James Bradberry is the backup strong safety. Sydney Brown their 2023 third round pick out of Illinois is the backup free safety.

Philadelphia has Jake Elliott at kicker. Jake Elliott is the only asset Philadelphia has on special teams, but having a top five kicker is crucial when you need points.

Shawn Hochuli is the referree in this game. Both teams are undefeated under Shawn Hochuli.

Prediction: Philadelphia is a 4.5 point favorite at -4.5. The over or under is 48.5 with 60% of the public betting on Washington. The money line is +190 for Washington and -230 for Philadelphia. I like Washington to win and to cover with the over at +190. Bet $210 on this game for Washington and win up to $400 as long as the Eagles win by 4 or less.

Final Score Commanders 28 Eagles 27

Who Everyone Else Picked


Oren Shiri	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley

2. Buffalo Bills 15-4-0	Versus	1. Kansas City Chiefs 16-2-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

We're back for the 2024 NFL Season. You can follow our weekly predictions crew. Jesse Lucas won the first year in 2014-2015. Jason Bantle and myself now have two championships after I won the NFL Pickem Champion Trophy for most accurate predictions against the spread in 2020-2021 and had the most accurate NFL predictions again in 2022-2023. Oren Shiri, Tanya Holmes, and Wes Langley have one pickem title too back in 2021-2022. Lisa Donovan got her first pickem Championship last year the best record in the country last year in 2023-2024 I'm hoping to pass the torch onto someone else if you can supplant Draft Utopia in 2024-2025. Send me your predictions on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn to be eligible for prizes should you have a perfect week.

For the fourth year in a row Draft Utopia defeated the maintstream media in NFL Predictions. After I had the best record in 2020-2021 going 181-74-1, Wes Langley went 189-95-1 in 2021-2022. I went 190-92-3 in 2022-2023 allowing Draft Utopia to become the first sports website in the world to three peat in NFL predictions. Last year Lisa Donovan went 199-86 on the year before her and three other staff members left the site following this NFL Season. We still got seven of our eleven from last year trying to keep our run against the mainstream media for a potential fifth year in a row for the 2024 NFL Season.

Last year Lisa beat Emmy Bantle by 11 games, but Emmy got to 203 games correct on the year before the Conference Finals making her the new national leader at 203-79.

Andrew Kermish won the 2024 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings. Andrew is now 201-81 tied with Matt Bowen for second nationally. John Gonzalez and Carlos of The Sports Authorities are also in the top 5 nationally and both should be at 200 or 201 games correct. Andrew and Matt agreed on the NFC Title game, but disagreed on the AFC Title game.

Wes Langley is in second place with one regular season left in the 2024 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings. Wes has a 197-85 record on the year. Wes is in sole possession of sixth nationally.

Jason Bantle is in third place in the 2024 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings. Jason Bantle has a 195-87 record on the year and is tied for ninth nationally. Jason and Wes disagreed on both conference title games, so Jason can tie Wes if he gets both conference title games correct meaning Wes and Jason would be tied for second heading into Super Bowl Sunday if Jason goes 2-0 this week.

I am now 187-95 on the year. I am going to finish of fourth place in the 2024 NFL Draft Utopia Pickem Standings. I am tied for twenty fourth nationally.

Tracy Porter of Draft Utopia finished fifth in the 2024 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings with a 183-99 record on the year. Tracy is tied for thirtieth nationally.

Oren Shiri is 172-110 on the year. Oren finished sixth in the 2024 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings. Oren is sole possession of forty second nationally.

Joseph Potter and is seventh in the 2024 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings at 166-116 on the year. Joey is forty third nationally.

There's a lot fewer NFL picks records being posted this year as I only have 90 in my database and that includes Tony Mario's picks which aren't posted on the site he emails me his winners each week as I've increased my database from 80 to 90 people for NFL predictions this week. If you want me to feature yours email me at chris@draftutopia.com, where I will respond and post your prediction records to the site.

Why the Buffalo Bills Will Win: Josh Allen is one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Josh Allen has a great offensive line with Dion Dawkins at left tackle, David Edwards at left guard, Connor McGovern at center, O'Cyrus Torrence at right guard. and Spencer Brown at right tackle. Buffalo and Tampa Bay were the only teams that weren't effected by injuries on the offensive line in 2023. Buffalo is moving Connor McGovern back to center where he played at Penn State after losing Mitch Morse Morse with David Edwards getting a second chance to start at left guard on a team friendly deal after being a backup to Connor McGovern at left guard in 2023. Sedrick Van Prann, a 2024 fifth round pick out of Georgia that I had a third round grade on is the backup center as center is the one position that Buffalo has depth at on this offensive line.

Buffalo has Khalil Shakir as their flanker wide receiver, Amari Cooper is theri secondary wide receiver, Mack Hollins is their slot receiver, Keon Coleman Buffalo's 2024 second round pick is their number four wide receiver. Curtis Samuel is their number five wide receiver. Buffalo has a lot of depth at wide receiver even though I question the decision to start Mack Hollins over Keon Coleman.

Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo's 2023 first round pick out of Utah supplanted Dawson Knox as the starting tight end following the injury to Dawson Knox. Quintin Morris is still the third string tight end. Dalton Kincaid missed weeks 11 and 12 at tight end. Dalton Kincaid is out in week 13.

Buffalo has James Cook as the starting running back as he enters his second season as a full-time starting running back. Ray Davis, Buffalo's 2024 fourth round pick out of Kentucky seems to have the backup running back job secured after jumping Ty Johnson on the depth chart with a strong showing in training camp. Ty Johnson is the third string running back. Reggie Gilliam is back at fullback. Buffalo will have to win games with Josh Allen, their tight ends, and their backfield if the depth chart reports about Keon Coleman beginning the season on the second team are true. Ray Davis did well starting in relief for James Cook. Buffalo might have a more lethal one two punch in the backfield than originally anticipated.

Buffalo has A.J. Epenesa at 4-3 right end, Ed Oliver at 4-3 defesive tackle, Daquan Jones at 4-3 defensive tackle, and Gregory Rosseau their 2021 first round pick as the starting 4-3 left end. Von Miller is the backup 4-3 right end with DeWayne Carter Buffalo's 2024 third round pick out of Duke as the backup 4-3 defensive tackle to Ed Oliver, Austin Johnson the Los Angeles Chargers nose tackle as the backup 4-3 defensive tackle to Daquan Jones. Dawaune Smoot signed a one year deal in Buffalo and is currently beating out Javon Solomon Buffalo's 2024 fifth round pick out of Troy for the backup 4-3 left end job behind Gregory Rosseau. Buffalo has Casey Toohill as their third string 4-3 right end and Javon Solomon as their third string 4-3 left end. Austin Johnson hasn't practiced the first two days heading into week 5. Von Miller is suspended the next two games games before he can return after week 8.

Buffalo has Matt Milano at 4-3 right outside linebacker and Terrell Bernard at 4-3 middle linebacker on plays where Buffalo deploys a 4-2-5 nickel defense. Dorian Williams is the backup 4-3 right outisde linebacker. Baylon Spector is the backup 4-3 middle linebacker.

Buffalo has Christian Benford at field cornerback covering number one wide receivers, Rasul Douglas at boundary cornerback covering number two wide receivers, Taron Johnson is out this week so, Kaiir Elam, Buffalo's 2022 first round pick will be the nickel cornerback in relief of Taron Johnson as Taron Johnson has missed weeks 2, 3, and 4. Taron Johnson might be back in week 5. Kaiir Elam has done much better in training camp to the point where he's pushing both Rasul Douglas and Taron Johnson for the boundary corneback job across from Benford. Buffalo has Taylor Rapp last years backup strong safety back on a team friendly deal as the starting strong safety replacing Jordan Poyer after showing he could start in relief of an injured Poyer. Damar Hamlin is projected to start at free safety. Buffalo also drafted Cole Bishop the Utah free safety with their second draft pick in the 2024 NFL Draft which is something I actually predicted correctly in my 2024 NFL Mock Draft as Cole Bishop is the backup free safety to Damar Hamlin. Rasul Douglas missed week 16 as did Taylor Rapp at strong safety. Kaiir Elam and Cole Bishop played in relief of those two in week 16. Cam Lewis came in as a cornerback in relief of Taron Johnson in the wild card win. Taylor Rapp got injured in the Divisional Round and is out of the AFC Title game. Cole Bishop will make his first start of the year at strong safety. Christian Benford is questionable for Sunday now after not practicing on Friday and if he's out that would be enough to tip the scales in Kansas City's favor.

Buffalo has Tyler Bass at kicker. Tyler Bass is the only asset on Buffalo's special teams. I don't trust Sam Martin at punter or Brandon Codrington the return specialist at both kick returner and punt returner.

Why the Kansas City Chiefs Will Win: Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has D.J. Humprhies at left tackle, Joe Thuney at left guard, Creed Humprhey at center, Trey Smith at right guard, and Jawaan Taylor starting at right tackle. Wanya Morris is the backup left tackle, Hunter Nourzad is the backup center, C.J. Hanson is the backup right guard, and Ethan Driskell an undrafted Free Agent out of Marshall is the backup right tackle. Kingsley Suamatia Kansas City's 2024 second round pick is now the third string left tackle after starting the first two games before getting benched for Wanya Morris before Wanya Morris got benched for D.J. Humphries and Lucas Niang is the third string right tackle. Kansas City has depth everywhere on their offensive line outside of left guard. D.J. Humphries got injured in week 14 and missed week 15 as well as week 16. He looks like he will be out in week 17, but left guard Joe Thuney held his own against boh Myles Garrett and Danielle Hunter when transitioning from left guard to left tackle. Jawaan Taylor is also dealing with an injury at right tackle in addition to D.J. Humphries. Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in the NFL right now with two regular season MVP's and three Super Bowl MVP's. Carson Wentz is the backup quarterback to Patrick Mahomes. Joe Thuney will play left tackle in the Divisional round even though D.J. Humphries is healthy enough to play.

Kansas City has DeAndre Hopkins as their flanker wide receiver and Xavier Worthy as their secondary wide receiver with their 2024 first round pick as the number two secondary wide receiver, and Marques Brown will be the slot receiver with Rashee Rice out for the year. Kansas City has Justin Watson, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman splitting reps as backp wide receivers. Travis Kelce is the best tight end in the NFL as well as the main receiving option on this offense. Noah Gray is the backup tight end. Jared Wiley last years starting tight end at TCU is the Kansas City Chiefs third string tight end. Peyton Hendershot, the Dallas Cowboys third string tight end last year is now the fourth string tight end on the Kansas City Chiefs.

Isiah Pacheco is the starting running back. Kareem Hunt is the backup running back with Clyde Edwards-Helaire being injured. Carson Steele, an undrafted Free Agent out of UCLA is the third string running back, but will be the backup running back in the first four games.

Kansas City has Mike Danna at 4-3 right end and George Karlaftis at 4-3 left end. Felix Anudike-Uzomah is the backup 4-3 right end and Josh Uche is the backup 4-3 left end. Kansas City had Chris Jones and Derrick Nnadi the two starting 4-3 defensive tackles. Mike Pennel and Tershawn Wharton are back as backup 4-3 defensive tackles. Kansas City has more depth at defensive end after trading for Josh Uche, who was a pass rusher on the New England Patriots who had 10 sacks in 2022 during the third year of his rookie deal after being a second round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Mike Danna is out this week. Felix Anudike-Uzomah will start in relief of Danna in week 9. Mike Danna came back in week 11. Charles Omenihu returned in week 13. Chris Jones got injured in week 16. His status for week 17 is uncertain. Chris Jones the best defensive player on Kansas City's defense is out in week 17.

Kansas City has Drue Tranquill at 4-3 right outside linebacker, Nick Bolton at 4-3 middle linebacker, and Leo Chenal at 4-3 left outside linebacker. Kansas City still has depth on the defensive line, but their lack of depth at linebacker compared to the last two years does concern me to a point.

Kansas City has Trent McDuffie at field cornerback for the third year in a row. Last year both Joshua Williams and Jaylen Watson played nickel cornerback next to Trent McDuffie and L'Jarius Sneed, but with Sneed being traded to Tennessee, there are other cornerbacks like Nazeeh Johnson at boundary cornerback, Chamarri Conner at nickel cornerback, Joshua Williams is the dime cornerback, and Jaylen Watson at quarter cornerback. Jaylen Watson was the main boundary cornerback in week 1, but he got placed on injured reserve. Justin Reid remains at strong safety, and Bryan Cook is the starting free safety. I'm not sold on Jaden Hicks, Kansas City's 2024 fourth round pick whose the number three safety on the depth chart. I'm not sure if Kansas City has a number two cornerback now and Kansas City lacks the safety depth you'd like to see. Chamarri Conner and Jaylen Watson are both dealing with injuries at cornerback and both cornerbacks are out in week 16. Kansas City tried moving Conner to nickel and Joshua Williams to boundary cornerback in week 15 against Cleveland. I'm guessing Kansas City will play Trent McDuffie at field cornerback, Joshua Williams at boundary cornerback, and Nazeeh Johnson in week 16. Nazeeh Johnson did not play in week 16. Jaylen Watson got cleared of his injury.

Kansas City has Harrison Butker at kicker. Kansas City also has Matt Ariaza at punter. Mecole Hardman will be the kick returner and Xavier Worthy will be the punt returner. Kansas City is fully healthy compared to week 11 when they lost to Buffalo. While Buffalo has 0 season ending injuries and Kansas City doesn't have Rashee Rice, Kansas City has enough firepower at wide receiver to make up for the loss of Rashee Rice.

Clete Blakeman is the refree. Buffalo has had more success under Clete Blakeman, but three members from Shawn Hoculi's crew who penalized the Bills more than any other team this season are in this game working under Clete Blakeman. I think the Bills lead a majority of the game, the Chiefs go for two at the end in regulation and win on a two point conversion.

Prediction: Kansas City is a 2 point favorite at -2. The over or under is 48.5 with 53% of the public betting on Buffalo. The money line is +110 for Buffalo and -130 for Kansas City. I like Kansas City to win and Buffaloto cover with the under at +110. Bet $190 on this game for Buffalo and win up to $300 as long as the Chiefs win by 1 or less.

Final Score Chiefs 22 Bills 21