– Zackary El-Sharif

What a time to be alive. The country has Powerball fever and the sports world’s excitement for the NFL playoffs is heating up, luckily for the people of frigid Minnesota. That’s right it’s the time of the year where Tom Brady sits on the throne and the Buffalo Bills stay at home. Tom Brady is going into the month of January searching for his 5th Super Bowl ring, while the Seattle Seahawks hope to return to the Super Bowl for the 3rd consecutive season. Have no fear, there are some interesting teams that could pose a threat to the teams that have reigned supreme the past few seasons.

The Carolina Panthers started the season red hot with a 14-0 start. Cam Newton had a MVP deserving season without his number 1 WR Kelvin Benjamin, but he also had some help from his Pro Bowl RB Jonathan Stewart; together they lead the team to a league high 19 rushing touchdowns. Another team to keep an eye is Alex Smith and his Chiefs. The Kansas City Chiefs are riding into the playoffs on a 10 game winning streak, and one of the most important things about this time of the year is being on the top of your game at the right time. Andy Reid has plenty of playoff experience and the AFC doesn’t have the strongest competition out there.

The 12 teams that made the playoffs (6 from each conference) are NFC: Carolina Panthers 5/1 odds at the Super bowl, Arizona Cardinals 9/2, Seattle Seahawks 6/1, Green Bay Packers 35/1, Minnesota Vikings 35/1, Washington Redskins 38/1. AFC: New England Patriots 9/2, Denver Broncos 6/1, Pittsburgh Steelers 7/1, Kansas City Chiefs 24/1, Cincinnati Bengals 25/1, Houston Texans 75/1. Now there’s some tough odds in there but they all have better odds at winning the Super Bowl than they do winning the Powerball because those odds are at 1 in 292.2 million. But you know someone has to win and you gotta be in it to win it to win it, so like some of these teams you might as well play. If you are looking for some advice on what to pick for the Powerball, pick number 23, but don’t hold me to it. If you are looking for who to pick to win the conference championships and the Super Bowl then check out our staff’s picks and definitely hold us to it.

Jim Bearor Mike Tolsma Evan Sally NFC Cardinals Cardinals Panthers AFC Patriots Steelers Steelers Super Bowl Champ Cardinals 42-41 Cardinals 27-23 Panthers 35-31

Steve Stich Cruz Serrano Zachary El-Sharif NFC Panthers Cardinals Seahawks AFC Patriots Steelers Chiefs Super Bowl Champ Patriots 34-31 Steelers 35-32 Chiefs 27-19

Good luck to our staff on their pick turning out, believe me they’ll be bragging about this article in a month if they’re right but they’ll also be the same people that will bury it if their picks lose in their first game. Also good luck to the fellow Powerball players out there, remember the little guys when you win.

Let the playoff race begin. Will we get a new champion or will the Patriots get another one?

– Zackary El-Sharif (@ZacharyElSharif23)