As the NFL playoffs approached, some Norwalk students shared opinions on the playoff race.“The Patriots have the best chance of being the 1 seed because they have such an easy schedule,” said Brayden Plourde, a senior at Norwalk High School and a Kansas City Chiefs fan.
While the Patriots did not get the 1 seed, they are the 2 seed in the NFL playoff race.
Brayden said the Texans are a sneaky team to make a big playoff push, but only if CJ Stroud steps up for the team that is the 5 seed in the playoffs. Brayden said the Texans are playing like the 2013-2014 version of the Seattle Seahawks ¨Legion of Boom.¨
Brayden also said he thinks the Bills are a very weak team because teams are improving, and the Bills aren’t improving enough.
As for his Brayden’s Chiefs, they did not make the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. Brayden said he thinks it’s because the players are getting older, meaning the team’s dynasty may be over.
“I think we need to get a new crop of young players and make necessary changes to build for us in the future.”
Another senior, Gavin Briar, said he thought the Cowboys would be the sneaky team to make the playoffs. But on NFL website, it shows the Dallas Cowboys are eliminated from playoff contention.
“In the last game against Minnesota, it was a hard-fought game, but we couldn’t come through, and now [owner] Jerry Jones is thinking about firing [defensive coordinator] Matt Eberflus,¨ Gavin said.
Eberflus was fired after the regular season ended.
Gavin said he didn’t think the Chiefs would make the playoffs, even though the Chiefs had an 11 percent chance of making it, which was a better chance of the Chiefs than the Cowboys. Gavin also said he would have expected the Bills to be ranked higher heading into the playoffs.
“It’s surprising the Bills aren’t in the top spot,” he said.
Lexton Markun said he thinks the Steelers have had a disappointing season, while they are playing their normal 9-8 season that they do every year.
He said he believed the Colts were going to be the team to make a big push in the playoffs, even after the loss of quarterback Daniel Jones. He said they still could make a big push with 44-year-old quarterback Philip Rivers, who just came back from retirement.
“They need to stop relying on Jonathan Taylor,” he said. Earlier in the year, Taylor was a candidate for MVP.
The playoffs kick off Saturday with the Rams facing off against the Panthers at 3:30 p.m. on FOX Sports.