A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
NFL playoffs kick off tomorrow, with really no team looking like a lock to make their way to Santa Clara, California's Super Bowl 60. Let's get into it with Martenzie Johnson of ESPN and Andscape. So, Martenzie, I mean, what are you looking at in this playoffs, which, to me, looks wide open for the first time in a while?
MARTENZIE JOHNSON: Yeah. Honestly, A, if you're a fan of parity in the NFL, this is the NFL playoffs for you because, as you said, it's wide open this year. And it's because of one reason, A, and one reason only - the Kansas City Chiefs did not make the playoffs.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. They're the big - they've been, like, this big wall that every team has had to go through to try and, you know, win a Super Bowl and they've always seemed to, like, shut everyone down. So, like, it's weird. The team that's not in the playoffs is the team that everyone's kind of looking at.
JOHNSON: Yeah, exactly. But if you want to talk about the teams that are in the playoffs, there's two I'm looking at, specifically. Neither of which is the No.1 seed - Denver Broncos or the Seattle Seahawks. It's actually the Philadelphia Eagles, who are the defending champions. We're talking about the Chiefs, but the Eagles did win the Super Bowl last year. And on the other side, the Buffalo Bills, who, I believe, are the 6 seed.
And they've always run into that buzzsaw of either the Kansas City Chiefs or the Baltimore Ravens. But lucky enough for Josh Allen...
MARTÍNEZ: (Laughter).
JOHNSON: ...He doesn't have to worry about either of those teams this year. So this is why I think this is finally the year for the Bills. Unfortunately, for the Bills, Josh Allen has a leg injury that prevented him from playing in the last week of the season.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
JOHNSON: But beyond that, I still like the Bills.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. And you know what? That leads right into the next thing I was going to ask you, Martenzie, because the two quarterbacks that have the most to prove are probably Josh Allen of the Bills and also Jalen Hurts of the Eagles because, like, to get into that elite tier of, like, Mahomes and Brady, Jalen Hurts has to win multiple Super Bowls. He's got one in the books. He needs another.
JOHNSON: Yeah. And Jalen, if you've watched the Eagles, then you know he hasn't looked great.
MARTÍNEZ: (Laughter).
JOHNSON: In fact, he's had two games...
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
JOHNSON: ...This season, A, where he didn't complete a pass in the second half. That's unheard of for the NFL where passing is a premium. That's all they want to do.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
JOHNSON: But the Eagles have one of the best defenses in the league and they still have Saquon Barkley. They still have A.J. Brown. They still have DeVonta Smith. So he might have not looked good in the regular season, but I've seen Jalen Hurts in two Super Bowls playing against those same Chiefs that we're talking about and he has looked excellent. So he might not good - might not look good in the regular season, but I trust that man when it comes to the playoffs.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. So the Eagles and Bills are your two teams getting to the Super Bowl. Like, if you had to pick, like, a dark horse team, none of those two teams, some - another team that might make a run, what team would it be? Please say Chargers. Please say Chargers. Please say Chargers. Please say Chargers (laughter).
JOHNSON: I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, A.
MARTÍNEZ: You know how many times I've heard I'm sorry from people I've asked that question?
(CROSSTALK)
JOHNSON: And that's one of the reasons why. They don't have a offensive line. But I'm going to say the Houston Texans...
MARTÍNEZ: Oh, wow.
JOHNSON: ...Which might be a surprise to some, because if you watched the early part of the season, you saw that they started off two and four. They lost their quarterback, C.J. Stroud, for a couple games due to a concussion. But, A, out of nowhere, they won 10 of their last 11 games...
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
JOHNSON: ...Nine of their last games. They have one of the best defenses in the league. And their quarterback, which you want in a quarterback, A, he does not turn the ball over, in C.J. Stroud. And Nico Collins, a wide receiver, he's not a household name but he's one of the best in the NFL.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. And if the Texans do win that game that's against the Steelers, that could be Aaron Rodgers' last game in the NFL. I mean, he's always kind of talking about it being the last game and that might be the last one, if indeed, he loses that one. We'll see, though. That one's going to be a good one. All right. That's Martenzie Johnson from ESPN and Andscape, talking about the NFL playoffs that kick off tomorrow. Martenzie, thanks a lot.
JOHNSON: Thank you, A.
(SOUNDBITE OF MOS DEF'S "HIP HOP") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
