We’ve made it to the NFL playoffs during the 2017 NFL season. With 12 teams left fighting for the Lombardi Trophy, when is Super Bowl 52 anyway?
The 2017 NFL regular season was fantastic. It was a testament to the competitive balance in the league. Shockingly, only four teams that made the NFL playoffs in 2016 are making a return trip. The New England Patriots, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs are repeated as division champions in the AFC. Only the Atlanta Falcons were able to get back in the NFC, this time as a wild card team.
To make it a dirty dozen, the other eight teams are the Buffalo Bills, the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Minnesota Vikings, the Los Angeles Rams, the New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panthers. All 12 of these teams have Super Bowl aspirations, some more serious than others. So when is Super Bowl 52 anyway?
Well, that would be coming on Feb. 4, as the AFC champion will take on the NFC champion at U.S> Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. This will be the first Super Bowl to be played at the Vikings’ new football cathedral. Minnesota is the No. 2 seed in the NFC and could be the first team in Super Bowl history to play in its own stadium.
While the NFC playoff picture is wide open where conceivably all six teams could make it to Super Bowl LII, the AFC playoff picture is a little more simplistic. Do you really think anybody is going to be playing in the AFC Championship besides the Patriots and Steelers? Kansas City has come on of late and Jacksonville has an elite defense. Maybe one of those two crashes the AFC Championship party?
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Overall, this is shaping up to be an NFL playoffs for the ages. Could we see a rematch of Super Bowl LI between Atlanta and New England? Does Drew Brees cement his legacy with another Lombardi Trophy in the twilight of his career with the Saints? Are we prepared for teams that haven’t made the playoffs in well over a decade like the Bills, Jaguars and Rams to make deep playoff runs? Get excited! It’s playoff time, baby!