We are back and today I am going to share my thoughts and predictions on the four divisional round games. I was pretty solid and on-point in my predictions last week, going 4-2, and interestingly enough, both of the games that I got wrong involved the two L.A. teams in the Chargers and Rams. Honestly, I should have sent the Vikings choking when it mattered the most, but the Texans, who I think everyone were picking against (including me) surprised everybody with their performance last weekend. The Chargers were supposed to look great on both ends of the ball, while the Texans were missing their top two receivers. It was looking like the Chargers were going to dominate when the Texans fumbled the snap on their first possession, and to make it worse, on the following posses, C.J. Stroud threw an interception. However, the Texans defense looked amazing last week, causing Justin Herbert to throw four, yes FOUR, interceptions. This sets up the first of our four amazing divisional round matchups, one of the best weekends of the NFL Season other than the Super Bowl. Let’s not waste more time and get to my predictions.
Game 1: Houston Texans (4) @ Kansas City Chiefs (1)
In our first game of the Divisional Round weekend, we have the Texans, who we just talked about, taking on the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead. This is a rematch of the 2019 Divisonal Round matchup between these same teams. The Chiefs have basically had nearly a month of as the last time they played their starters was against Steelers on Christmas Day. Like a lot of people know, the Chiefs have one a lot of their games by a small margin, going 13-0 in those games. Out of the two games the Chiefs lost, they only had their starters in one of those games, which was against the Bills in Week 11. Similar to nearly all of the country, I really want the Texans to win and pull of the upset, but Kansas City has consistently performed and delivered when it matters the most, and even though I believe this will be an close entertaining game, the Chiefs will prevail and move on to their 7th straight AFC Championship Game. The Chiefs defense will get a huge boost as their leading secondary, Jaylen Watson will be back for the first time since October. Basically, this game is for the Chiefs to lose as they are the defending back-to-back Super Bow Champions, but one their problems this season was finding consistency within their offense. This year was clearly the worst year of Patrick Mahomes’ career thus far and the Chiefs were primarily carried by their defense, while their offense has not lived up to their standards. The Chiefs obviously have a lot of experience as they have Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Chris Jones, and many more. They have been in these situations multiple tomes before and know how to play under pressure and deliver. If the Texans want to pull of the upset, they are going to have to rely on the thing that have got them to this point, and that is their defense. They need to play the Chiefs exactly the way they played the Chargers last week, which was their Pass Rush disrupting the QB and forcing turnovers. The Texans Defensive-Line needs to pressure Mahomes and force him to make/convert difficutl plays (which, he has done time in and time out). The Texans also need to get off to a better start, unlike last week, and also maintain momentum, which in fact, they were not able to do in their 2019 AFC Divisional games against guess who, the Chiefs. The Texans are also once again missing their top receivers in Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell, which will be costly considering their offense has not been fully functioning all season. Honestly, if things go right and the Texans get off to a good start, the Texans definitely have a shot to pull off the upset, but similar to how this season has gone, the Chiefs will somehow find a way to win again. They are simply the better team and have one of the best home-field advantages in the NFL at Arrowhead. (Winner Prediction: Kansas City Chiefs) – (Point Spread: Chiefs -8.5)
Game 2: Washington Commanders (6) @ Detroit Lions (1)
In our second Saturday night game, we have the Washington Commanders going to Motown and taking on the Detroit Lions. Rookie QB Jayden Daniels continues to impress all of us after another solid game in his playoff debut. That Commanders vs Bucs game was clearly the best game of the weekend, just like I predicted it being a close one. The Buccaneers had a costly turnover in the fourth quarter that lost the that game. It’s been amazing to witness the quick turnaround of the Commanders after all those dark years under their previous owner, Dan Snyder. The Commanders have found their franchise quarterback, who will most likely win Offensive Rookie of the Year. They will be taking on the best team in football all season, the Detroit Lions, who are well rested after a bye week. The Lions will only get stronger this week as one of their two leading RB’s, David Montgomery is expected to return this weekend. Alongside RB Jahmyr Gibbs and other people on the defensive side, the Lions will be at full strength heading into this game. I feel like this will be an offensive showdown between Jared Goff and Jayden Daniels, who will be taking turns exchanging touchdowns. We also have two of the most aggressive coaches in Dan Campbell and Dan Quinn (the Battle of the Dans! Lol!) who like to convert on fourth downs and extend the game. The X-factor of this game will be whose defense can make big plays and cause turnovers. The Lions defense will have a tall task at hand as Jayden Daniels can easily connect with his receivers like Terry Mcclaurin and also run the ball. We also know that when the Lions catch fire on offense, they are tough to beat any night. However, the Lions are at home in Ford Field, are well rested, and have people coming back from injuries. The Commanders will definitely put up a fight and make it close in what I think will be an offensive showdown, the Lions are just too good. I have the Lions going back to the NFC Championship Game for a second year in a row (Winner Prediction: Detroit Lions) – (Point Spread: Lions -9.5)
Game 3: Los Angeles Rams (4) @ Philadelphia Eagles (2)
On to the Sunday matchups we go, and we have the L.A. Rams taking on the Philadelphia Eagles. The Rams just played an emotional game last week due to the ongoing wildfires near the Southern California area and they used that as motivation in their game against the Vikings. Their defense forced 9 sacks and Sam Darnold turned into what we know him for when it mattered the most (He was seeing ghosts out there! LOL). One again, I should have saw that coming but regardless, the Rams delivered when it mattered the most. It way a pretty good game for both sides as Matthew Stafford had a solid game alongside the Rams pass rush, who disrupted Sam Darnold all game long. It’s going to be tough to do that against this Eagles team, who have one of the best offensive lines in the league. The Eagles defense needs to show up against the Rams as well as like I said before, when the Rams offense is on rhythm, they are extremely tough to beat. That defense was able to force three interceptions from Jordan Love, which made up for their somewhat lackluster performances on the offensive side of the ball. It seemed as if the Eagles were not able to take advantage and dominate the game, which they should have. At the end, the Eagles only won by 12. I believe the Eagles defense will also show up this week and disrupt Matthew Stafford and the Rams run game. The Rams will have to repeat the way they played last week and maybe even do better if they want to pull off this upset. By the way, this game is a rematch of Week 12, where these two teams matched up in L.A.. The highlight of that game was Saquon Barkley who ran for 255 yards (YES 255!) and scored two touchdowns as well. I think a similar thing will happen this week as Barkley will run all over and dominate the Rams defense. This will probably be a blowout win for the Eagles as I believe the Rams offense will really struggle against one of the best defenses in the league. If my predictions are right, we will have a Lions vs Eagles NFC Championship Game with the Super Bowl on line. That should be a fun one next week! (Winner Prediction: Philadelphia Eagles) – (Point Spread: Eagles -6.0)
Game 4: Baltimore Ravens (3) @ Buffalo Bills (2)
Finally, we have one of the best and the most anticipated game of the weekend for last when the Baltimore Ravens travel to Buffalo take on the Buffalo Bills in a potential snow game. It will be brisk cold regardless along with the hostile environment down in Buffalo. We have a matchup between the top MVP candidates in Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, who have left fans in constant debates on who should win the MVP award this year. The last time these teams these teams played this season was in week 4 when Derrick Henry absolutely ran over the Bills defense, rushing for nearly 200 yards. However, since then, the Ravens defense has improved significnatly, while the Bills have some injuries on the defensive side of the ball. The Bills just dominated the Broncos last week, who only showed up for the first drive of the game and them disappeared (LOL!). Stopping and limiting Derrick Henry’s impact has to be the key to the Bills winning this game. Essentially, they have to stop the Ravens run game and prevent Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry from getting big yardage gains. Both of these teams dominated the Steelers and Broncos respectively last week and really have momentum heading into this matchup. The Bills are primarily essentially just Josh Allen and he has basically carried them to this point the entire season. The Ravens will definitely be going into an hostile environment down in Buffalo, and the last time these two teams matched up in the playoffs nearly 4 years ago, things did not go in favor of the Ravens. Also, due to a potential snow game, we may see the game potentially come down to the kickers in Justin Tucker and Tyler Bass. But this time around, the Ravens just have the better overall team led by Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, and in general, one of the best defenses in the league. This will be the best game of the playoffs so far. However, I feel like the Ravens defense will bother Josh Allen, and really for the first time this season, it will feel like the Bills have missing pieces in their roster. The Bills not having Stefon Diggs or Gabe Davis will cost them this game. To add on, I feel like the Bills will have a tough time containing the Derrick Henry and the Ravens run game. If things go right according to what I predicted, we will have an AFC Championship Game rematch from last year, but this time it will be in Kansas City instead of Baltimore. (Winner Prediction: Baltimore Ravens) – (Point Spread: Ravens -1.0)
