The Divisional Round
7 games remain in the NFL season. 2 Saturday, 2 Sunday, 2 next Sunday, and the Super Bowl. Many call this round of the playoffs the best weekend in football. We’ve weeded out the weenies and only the strong remain. Let’s hope we get a couple classics after an overall anticlimactic wildcard round.
Houston Texans @ Baltimore Ravens (-9.5)
The Texans continued their hot streak by destroying the Browns last week. CJ Stroud proved he can perform in the playoffs – but that was in the comfy confines of Houston. Let’s see how he likes a little Baltimore hospitality. The Ravens defense is nasty. Here’s linebacker Patrick Queen on how they like to play and smash fools:
https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxiIWY0RMbUzCd-RXJKzobjQyDsN8nEcQc?si=oEI-_
On top of their defense, QB Lamar Jackson is the presumptive MVP of the league this year. He’s improved his throwing ability while maintaining the best running threat of any QB in the league. Pay attention to when the Texans think they have a sack and he zip zam zooms out of there and makes a play. Then watch the defenders shoulders slouch. Wee wah. HOWEVER. The knock on Lamar is that he can’t hang in the playoffs. If he loses this game at home to a rookie he’s going to hear about it.
If the Texans offense can hit some big plays and attempt to go score for score with the Ravens this will be a fun one. Most likely scenario is the Ravens slowly grind them to dust and this isn’t overly competitive.
Green Bay Packers @ San Francisco 49ers (-10)
Very similar situation here in San Fran with the #1 seed coming off the bye week to face a somewhat surprising challenger. Green Bay stunned Dallas last week, and much like CJ Stroud (literally their stat line was 2 yards different), Jordan Love put everyone on watch. If he plays to his ceiling this could be a good old fashioned shootout. The Packers defense still stinks, and the Niners defense is low key overrated. The Niners offense however, is a machine. CMC, Deebo, Kittle, Aiyuk. They should all eat. There’s a strong chance San Fran treats Green Bay like a tiny little speed bump and cruises to next week. The only thing keeping me from calling it a lock is that the Packers have the youngest team in the league and have only gotten better each game. So we don’t know their true ceiling.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Detroit Lions (-6)
Well we called it, the Bucs put the Eagles out of their misery last week. Baker Mayfield balled out again. Hard to root against that little guy. Unfortunately for him he’s playing America’s newest sweetheart: Dan Campbell’s Detroit Lions.
After last week’s game in Detroit everyone involved said they had never experienced a stadium or an environment like that. And that ain’t slowing down this week. The Lion’s offense should go off, and their defense continues to be a liability. Which sets us up for a fun one. But let’s not beat around the bush… a press conference with Tampa head coach Todd Bowles this week led to my favorite moment of the entire season. Please watch and enjoy:
Kansas City Chiefs @ Buffalo Bills (-2.5)
Run it back in Buffalo. They are recruiting Buffalonians to shovel again. Beers will be crushed, tables smashed, wings deleted. What a time. The Mafia is ready to host Patrick Mahomes’ FIRST EVER road playoff game. This has instant classic written all over it. There’s playoff history between these two (look up the 13 seconds game if you’re interested). And certainly no love lost.
Josh Allen continues to put the team in his back, but the KC defense is super legit. In stark contrast to their recent run of success it is the KC offense that has struggled this year. Anything could happen in this game. It’ll be close it’ll be fun and it’ll probably come down to some insanity at the very end.
PS: Has Taylor Swift ever ventured into Buffalo before?
