NFL Divisional Round Preview
The NFL's Wild Card Round did not disappoint, unless your team played their final game. On Saturday we were treated with a double dose of upsets. The playoffs opened up with the Titans unbelievable comeback win over the Chiefs, followed by the Falcons commanding upset victory over the Rams. Sunday then brought us two close games that couldn't have been much more different. The Jaguars beat Buffalo in a defensive battle with a score of 3-10 where Blake Bortles actually ran for more yards than he threw. Later that day, Drew Brees and Cam Newton combined for 725 passing yards, and the Saints came out on top 26-31.
All of that will be a tough act to follow, but I could be done. This week we get to see all the big dogs take on last week's victors. Some teams have better odds than others, but in the NFL, everyone has chance.
Falcons vs Eagles
The Eagles were flying higher than ever this season. They seemed to fly right through any challenge that was facing them. That was before the Carson Wentz injury. Wentz seemed to be on his way to an MVP award before a torn ACL in week 14 ended his season. The Eagles haven't been the same since. They went 2-1 without Wentz, but everybody could see the difference. They barely scraped by against two of the league's biggest disappointments, the Giants and Raiders, and they failed to score on the Cowboys' defense in the season finale. This team still has a good running game, very good defense, and one of the best backup QBs around in Nick Foles, but it is hard to see them going far without their MVP.
The Falcons already passed their big test. They won in their first playoff game since Super Bowl LI, and they did it on the road against an incredibly talented football team. This week doesn't bring them any more of a challenge than last week did. If Wentz was till in there, it would be a whole different story. But he isn't. The Eagles are actually considered the underdog as the 1st seed. That should tell you how much he means to this team.
Outcome: Falcons win 24-14
Titans vs Patriots
As cool as it may have been to see the Titans unbelievable win, it came with a downside. The Chiefs were probably one of only a few teams that could have beat the Patriots in the playoffs. So the Patriots odds of winning it all this year increased with Tennessee's win. I would be shocked to see the Titans pull of a win here. I don't think I even need to explain. New England hasn't lost in the Divisional Round since 2010. It typically takes a special team to beat them in January, and I don't think the Titans are that special. I don't care how much drama is surrounding New England right now. They don't seem to get phased by drama. This one could get ugly fast.
Outcome: Patriots win 16-31
Jaguars vs Steelers
The Jags pulled off a stunning blowout win over the Steelers earlier this year. In that game, Roethlisberger threw 5 interceptions. Roethlisberger said he wanted the rematch. Which is completely understandable, but if he plays another terrible game, he will regret those statements. Luckily, Antonio Brown will return to the lineup. So that will help a little bit. Overcoming their most embarrassing loss of the year without the league's best receiver would have been more than a little difficult. I don't expect another disaster, but I don't expect greatness from Ben. I think it is more important to get Bell going early, which they couldn't do last time. Their offense should be fine, but offense alone won't be enough.
Last time, the Jaguars put 30 points on the board. Obviously the 5 picks helped, but their offense was able capitalize. They also did that with Ryan Shazier on the field for Pittsburgh. Since his injury, there has been a big hole that can't really be filled. So it's hard to say what you can expect from this offense. They are just so up and down. Given the fact that they only scored 10 in their first playoff experience, I tend to think they won't do so well. However, you really can't count them out. I do think Pittsburgh will come on top, but expect a close game. The Steelers have a tendency to play down to their competition. Sometimes that results in a loss, but usually just a close, entertaining game
Outcome: Steelers win 20-17
Saints vs Vikings
This is the marquee matchup right here. These are my two favorites to win the NFC, and maybe the Super Bowl as well. You may remember that these two played in week 1. The Vikings won by a margin of 10 points, but a lot has changed in that time. Sam Bradford and Dalvin Cook were both in that game. Although their replacements have been just as good, it's hard to consider them the same team as the one from week 1. Also, the Saints were still holding on to former Viking, Adrian Peterson. Peterson wasn't helping this team, and you could certainly argue that he was hurting them by taking away playing time from Kamara and Ingram. So this game isn't quite the same game as the previous one.
The Vikings have had a great season, and I have really like them. But as much as I like them and would like to see them play in a Super Bowl in their own home, I think their journey will end here.
If you follow me regularly, you know that I picked the Saints to go all the way a while ago. And I see no reason to take that back. The Vikings are great, but they don't have the same leadership as the Saints do with a QB and coach who have been here before. And Brees made sure to remind us how great he is with his fantastic performance against a top defense last week. He will need more help from his running game than he got last week to break Minnesota's defense, but I don't think that is too much to ask of the best backfield tandem in football. If Brees gets the extra help, I think they'll take a hard-fought victory.
Outcome: Saints win 23-21
