Subscribe Login
Jamaica Observer
ePaper
The Edge 105 FM Radio Fyah 105 FM
Jamaica Observer
ePaper
The Edge 105 FM Radio Fyah 105 FM
    • Home
    • News
      • Latest News
      • Cartoon
      • International News
      • Central
      • North & East
      • Western
      • Environment
      • Health
      • #
    • Business
      • Business Bites
      • Social Love
    • Sports
      • Football
      • Basketball
      • Cricket
      • Horse Racing
      • World Champs
      • Commonwealth Games
      • FIFA World Cup
      • Olympics
      • #
    • Videos
    • Entertainment
      • Music
      • Movies
      • Art & Culture
      • Bookends
      • #
    • Lifestyle
      • Page2
      • Food
      • Tuesday Style
      • Food Awards
      • JOL Takes Style Out
      • Design Week JA
      • Black Friday
      • #
    • All Woman
      • Home
      • Relationships
      • Features
      • Fashion
      • Fitness
      • Rights
      • Parenting
      • Advice
      • #
    • Obits
    • Classifieds
      • Employment
      • Property
      • Motor Vehicles
      • Place an Ad
      • Obituaries
    • More
      • Games
      • Elections
      • Jobs & Careers
      • Study Centre
      • Jnr Study Centre
      • Letters
      • Columns
      • Advertorial
      • Editorial
      • Supplements
      • Webinars
    • Home
    • News
      • Latest News
      • Cartoon
      • International News
      • Central
      • North & East
      • Western
      • Environment
      • Health
      • #
    • Business
      • Business Bites
      • Social Love
    • Sports
      • Football
      • Basketball
      • Cricket
      • Horse Racing
      • World Champs
      • Commonwealth Games
      • FIFA World Cup
      • Olympics
      • #
    • Videos
    • Entertainment
      • Music
      • Movies
      • Art & Culture
      • Bookends
      • #
    • Lifestyle
      • Page2
      • Food
      • Tuesday Style
      • Food Awards
      • JOL Takes Style Out
      • Design Week JA
      • Black Friday
      • #
    • All Woman
      • Home
      • Relationships
      • Features
      • Fashion
      • Fitness
      • Rights
      • Parenting
      • Advice
      • #
    • Obits
    • Classifieds
      • Employment
      • Property
      • Motor Vehicles
      • Place an Ad
      • Obituaries
    • More
      • Games
      • Elections
      • Jobs & Careers
      • Study Centre
      • Jnr Study Centre
      • Letters
      • Columns
      • Advertorial
      • Editorial
      • Supplements
      • Webinars
  • Home
  • News
    • International News
  • Latest
  • Business
    • Business Bites
  • Cartoon
  • Games
  • Food Awards
  • Health
  • Entertainment
    • Bookends
  • Regional
  • Sports
    • Sports
    • World Cup
    • World Champs
    • Olympics
  • Videos
  • Career & Education
  • Classifieds
  • All Woman
  • Environment
  • Webinars
  • More
    • Football
    • Elections
    • Letters
    • Advertorial
    • Columns
    • Editorial
    • Supplements
  • Epaper
  • Design Week
Time for the NFL play-offs after exhilarating end to regular season
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) hands off to running back Najee Harris (22) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, January 9, 2022 in Baltimore. (Photo: AP)
Sports
BY MARK ARCHER  
January 13, 2022

Time for the NFL play-offs after exhilarating end to regular season

The longest-ever National Football League (NFL) regular season is over, having spanned 18 weeks and 272 games, and now the run to Super Bowl LVI begins in earnest this weekend, and following on the historic regular season, a play-off game will be played for the first time ever on a Monday (January 17).

The first of the remaining 13 games of the 2021/22 NFL season kicks off tomorrow (January 15), but the NFL’s first-ever Week 18 (last weekend) was eventful and laced with high drama, most of which surrounded the Pittsburgh Steelers in one form or the other.

Entering last weekend, the Steelers still had a mathematical chance of making the play-offs, but they needed to beat the Baltimore Ravens, then pray for miracles along the way. They pushed the Ravens to overtime for a 16-13 win, then the Indianapolis Colts somehow found a way to hand the Jacksonville Jaguars their third win of the season, thereby eliminating the Colts and giving the Steelers hope, while the Las Vegas Raiders and the Los Angeles Chargers matchup appeared to be headed for a tie until the Raiders pulled out the overtime victory in the wee hours of last Monday morning. Had the game ended in a tie, both the Raiders and Chargers would have made the postseason but, with the Raiders’ victory, the ticket was booked for the Steelers and the Chargers were eliminated. Who said that miracles don’t happen?

So, with the final kick in the final seconds of the regular season, every seeding in the postseason had been decided for both conferences, and Wild Card Weekend gets underway tomorrow with a double-header, followed by a triple-header on Sunday, then the Monday night game to cap the weekend.

The Tennessee Titans, with their win over the Houston Texans last week, secured the number one spot in the American Football Conference (AFC) and the Green Bay Packers locked in the number one position in the National Football Conference (NFC) a few weeks ago so they will both sit out this weekend, but the action starts with the Cincinnati Bengals welcoming the Raiders into Paul Brown Stadium tomorrow afternoon.

The Raiders contributed significantly to the Week 18 drama, and with their win, they are the first NFL team to switch head coach midseason and make it to the play-offs. Interim Head Coach Rich Bisaccia has done a remarkable job with the team, winning four overtime games in the process, but coming off their successful battle with the Chargers, their prize is a showdown with a high-powered offence, anchored by quarterback (QB) Joe Burrow and receiver Ja’Marr Chase. This should be an entertaining opener.

The Saturday night game should be a stinger as it pits the Buffalo Bills against the New England Patriots. These AFC East rivals have met twice this season, with each team winning on each other’s home turf. The Patriots prevailed 14-10 in the winds of Buffalo in Week 13, running the ball 46 times on 49 plays, including 32 straight run plays in one stretch. Three weeks later, the Bills stampeded into Foxborough and returned the favour in a 33-21 victory.

Those were two distinctively different and captivating games, but this one is for bigger marbles, and it could go either way. The Bills have the benefit of more talent on their roster, but Head Coach Bill Belichick is on the other sideline, and he still has some tricks up his sleeve – don’t miss this one.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will look to shoot down the Philadelphia Eagles early Sunday afternoon in Raymond James Stadium. The Buccaneers are 7-1 at home this season, and it’s no surprise they are in the play-offs, but their opponents were never expected to be here. QB Tom Brady guided the Buccaneers to a 28-22 victory in the most recent meeting in October 2021, but these were two different looking teams at that time. Tampa Bay now has a slew of injuries on both offence and defence, plus receiver Antonio Brown was thrown off the ship, while the run game of the Eagles has been soaring of late.

The Buccaneers rank first in the NFL in passing offence and second in the league in points scored, but most of that was accumulated when all hands were on deck. However, Brady has been to this dance a few times and is expected to do enough to see them through the storm.

The Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers meet late Sunday afternoon to revive the rivalry of the ’80s and ’90s. The Cowboys have scored the most points of any team this season (including a couple of 50+ points games) and their defence has been top shelf. However, the 49ers are no slouch and, considering the magnitude of the event, they are expected to make it memorable.

The Steelers miraculously tip-toed into the play-offs and their reward is an encounter with the Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday night. The Chiefs enjoyed a 36-10 victory in Week 16 over the Steelers but, now with Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill banged up, the going may be a bit tougher. Additionally, Pittsburgh’s star pass-rusher TJ Watt equalled Hall of Famer Michael Strahan’s single-season sack record last week, recording 22.5 total sacks this season and will be looking for more. This is the retirement run for Steelers’ QB Ben Roethlisberger, and it has been a wild ride, but it may not be over just yet.

The first play-off game on a Monday will feature the Los Angeles Rams hosting the Arizona Cardinals in what will be the third meeting this year between the teams. They split the wins earlier in the season, but the Cardinals stumbled into the play-offs, going 2-4 since their bye week (after starting the season 7-0). The Cardinals are 8-1 on the road this season, but will need to step up their game if they have any ambition to go deeper into the play-offs. Add this to the interception woes of Rams’ QB Matthew Stafford – multiple interceptions in each of the last three games and four pick sixes for the season – and this game can go either way. Are you ready for some football?

JustBet continues to offer attractive betting options on all popular sports and events (including virtual games) as soon as they become available. Please visit one of the over 100 locations (or visit mobile.justbetja.com) for details and place your bets on the prediction of your choice for maximum winnings…… Get in the GAME!

Super Bowl LVI Champion

Team Odds

Green Bay Packers 4.50

Kansas City Chiefs 5.50

Buffalo Bills 8.50

Tennessee Titans 9.00

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9.00

Los Angeles Rams 11.00

Dallas Cowboys 13.00

Cincinnati Bengals 20.00

New England Patriots 21.00

Arizona Cardinals 26.00

*Only Top 10 odds shown (see website for full list)

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) congratulates widereceiver Ced Wilson (1) against the Philadelphia Eagles during anNFL football game, Saturday, January 8, 2022 in Philadelphia.
{"website":"website"}{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
img img
0 Comments · Make a comment

ALSO ON JAMAICA OBSERVER

Latest News, News, Videos
Woman among three fatally shot by police in Mandeville shootout
July 25, 2026
MANCHESTER, Jamaica — Police have confirmed that a woman is among three people who were fatally shot during an alleged shootout on Caledonia Road in M...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
MegaMart Catherine Hall property goes on sale for US$15 million
Business, Latest News
MegaMart Catherine Hall property goes on sale for US$15 million
July 25, 2026
The property that once housed MegaMart's Montego Bay operations has gone on sale for US$15.09 million, or $2.41 billion, nearly eight months following...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Sabrina Lyn through to breaststroke final at Commonwealth Games
Latest News, Sports
Sabrina Lyn through to breaststroke final at Commonwealth Games
July 25, 2026
KINGSTON, Jamaica—Sabrina Lyn qualified for Sunday’s final of the women’s 100m breaststroke at the Commonwealth Games after finishing fifth in the sem...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
One dead after car suspected of hitting crowd near Berlin Gay Pride
International News, Latest News
One dead after car suspected of hitting crowd near Berlin Gay Pride
July 25, 2026
BERLIN, Germany (AFP)—At least one person was killed and around 15 wounded after a car is believed to have hit the crowd on the outskirts of the Berli...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Jamaica’s adult prison population grew by 575 in 2025 – PIOJ
Latest News, News
Jamaica’s adult prison population grew by 575 in 2025 – PIOJ
July 25, 2026
KINGSTON, Jamaica—Jamaica’s adult prison population grew to 3,563 in 2025 after 575 new inmates were sentenced and admitted. Of the newly-sentenced, 2...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Sunshine Girls hammer Trinidad 81-22 in Commonwealth Games netball opener
Latest News, Sports
Sunshine Girls hammer Trinidad 81-22 in Commonwealth Games netball opener
July 25, 2026
KINGSTON, Jamaica—Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls made a winning start to their Commonwealth Games netball competition after hammering Caribbean neighbours T...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Brazil denies visas for US delegation seeking election talks—reports
International News, Latest News
Brazil denies visas for US delegation seeking election talks—reports
July 25, 2026
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP)—Brazil denied visas for two US officials who sought to meet with Brazilian election authorities less than three months before ...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
St Andrew records most Category 1 crimes in Jamaica, says PIOJ
Latest News, News
St Andrew records most Category 1 crimes in Jamaica, says PIOJ
July 25, 2026
KINGSTON, Jamaica—A total of 1,528 individuals were arrested for Category 1 crimes in Jamaica in 2025, with 481 being picked up for murder and 395 for...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
❮ ❯

Polls

HOUSE RULES

  1. We welcome reader comments on the top stories of the day. Some comments may be republished on the website or in the newspaper; email addresses will not be published.
  2. Please understand that comments are moderated and it is not always possible to publish all that have been submitted. We will, however, try to publish comments that are representative of all received.
  3. We ask that comments are civil and free of libellous or hateful material. Also please stick to the topic under discussion.
  4. Please do not write in block capitals since this makes your comment hard to read.
  5. Please don't use the comments to advertise. However, our advertising department can be more than accommodating if emailed: advertising@jamaicaobserver.com.
  6. If readers wish to report offensive comments, suggest a correction or share a story then please email: community@jamaicaobserver.com.
  7. Lastly, read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

Recent Posts

Archives

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Tweets

Polls

Recent Posts

Archives

Logo Jamaica Observer
Breaking news from the premier Jamaican newspaper, the Jamaica Observer. Follow Jamaican news online for free and stay informed on what's happening in the Caribbean
Featured Tags
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Health
  • Auto
  • Business
  • Letters
  • Page2
  • Football
Categories
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Page2
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Page2
Ads
img
Jamaica Observer, © All Rights Reserved
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • RSS Feeds
  • Feedback
  • Privacy Policy
  • Editorial Code of Conduct