2021 NFL Conference Championship Predictions

Patrick Mahomes has been cleared for the AFC Championship. Find out our locks for Super Bowl 55.

Chris Ransom Last Updated: January 23, 2021.

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13-5-0	Versus	1. Green Bay Packers 14-3-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

Heading into the 2020 NFL Playoffs, I had 181 games correct on the year. Oren Shiri of Draft Utopia and Matt Bowen of ESPN now are tied for second place with 175 games correct on the year. Mina Kimes is in fourth place and has 174 games correct on the year. Jason Bantle of Draft Utopia has 173 games on the year. These were the top five panelists in the regular season. I'm getting a regular season trophy mailed to me, but you guys want to know who did well in the playoffs. Joseph Potter, the co-host of my podcast is now 8-2 in the playoffs. Jason Bantle leads the site in postseason games correct at 7-3. Oren and I are tied at 6-4 in the postseason despite edging Jason in the regular season. Tanya Holmes is 5-5 in the postseason and Jesse Lucas is 4-6 this season.

Why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Will Win: Tom Brady won't have Antonio Brown. If he sweeps Aaron Rodgers after beating him in the regular season, then Tom Brady will be the first quarterback to play for a team that hosts a Super Bowl. I'm not sure if Tampa Bay is deep enough to win this game though. Vita Vea will be back. Vita Vea and Suh could be a problem for these guards. Tampa Bay's linebackers will be key. The pass rushing of Shaq Barrett at 3-4 right outside linebacker and Jason Pierre-Paul at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Devin White and Lavonte David can limit Aaron Jones on the ground at 3-4 middle linebacker.

Why the Green Bay Packers Will Win: Aaron Rodgers will dominate this game if his offensive line allows no sacks without David Bakhtiari at left tackle. DaVante Adams should dominate against Carlton Davis. Jaire Alexander and Kevin King can take away Tom Brady's wide receivers. The safety tandem of Darnell Savage and Adrian Amos should limit what Rob Gronkowski does at tight end. Tom Brady struggles with deep ball accuracy, but can win as long as he avoids turnovers. Both Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers are 6-0 with 16 passing touchdowns and 1 interception in their last six games.

Prediction: Green Bay enters as a 3.5 point favorite. The minimum bet is $165 dollars, the maximum bet is $185 dollars with the average gambler betting around $175 dollars on this game. The over or under on this game is 52. Right now 54% of the betting action is on Green Bay at -3.5. Take Green Bay to win and cover with the over.

Final Score Packers 31 Buccaneers 24

Who Everyone Else Picked


Tanya Holmes	Oren Shiri	Jesse Lucas	Jason Bantle

2. Buffalo Bills 15-3-0	Versus	1. Kansas City Chiefs 15-2-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

Draft Utopia airs on Talkshoe and Anchor now. We have a weekly show on Anchor that airs weekdays as well as our usual weekend show on Talkshoe. The Draft Utopia podcast just exceeded 257,700 listeners on Talkshoe while our podcast on Anchor is monetized. Our divisonal round podcast will be tomorrow on both Talkshoe and Anchor.

Why the Buffalo Bills Will Win: Josh Allen heads to Kansas City. Buffalo has way more depth at wide receiver. Also unlike the earlier game in the regular season, their defense is at full health. I expect them to push the Kansas City Chiefs to the limit in this game.

Why the Kansas City Chiefs Will Win: Kansas City will have Patrick Mahomes, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, and Travis Kelce at full health for the first time since they beat Buffalo in the regular season. Having all these weapons at full health should be enough for Kansas City to barely edge out Buffalo. Kansas City's defense played better than expected against Cleveland.

Prediction: Kansas City enters as a 3 point favorite. The minimum bet is $140 dollars, the maximum bet is $160 dollars with the average gambler betting around $150 dollars on this game. The over or under on this game is 54. Right now 52% of the betting action is on Buffalo at +3. I like Kansas City to win and Buffalo to cover with the over.

Final Score Chiefs 28 Bills 27