A week in the books already and the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs begin Saturday. Let's get to the games.
Saturday's games are the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles match late in the afternoon. The night game is between the Tennessee Titans and the New England Patriots. With Philly and Atlanta, it comes down to Atlanta beating up on Philly. If Carson Wentz was under center, I would say otherwise, but whoever is starting is going to have a bad performance. If it is Nick Foles, this is going to be different since this isn't the 2013 version that surprised everyone. The Falcons are top 10 defense this year and are very good at stopping the run, particularly refusing backs from getting touchdowns. With the experience of the postseason last year and last week's victory against the Rams, they can ride that momentum to the Championship game. Philly's keys to victory are the defense to not bend, get the receivers going and rely on running the ball. I don't see two of these going well.
Tennessee was a shocker in their victory against Kansas City. Now they have the task of stopping New England and hoping to make it back to a Championship game for the first time since 1999. It is only their seventh appearance in the postseason since the start of the 1994 season and they need perfection to even pull another upset. Marcus Mariota needs more than just luck as the Patriot defense struggled throughout the year, ranking second to last in pass defense yards given up and in the lower half for rush defense yards. Obviously, New England's passing is at the top, but the question is the defense and if the ground game will show up like it did the last two games of the year. I'm all for the upset with Tennessee, though realistically, it's a losing effort for coach Mike Mularkey.
Sunday's games are two rematches from this season. The early game is the Jacksonville Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers, while the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings are the final game of the Divisional Round. Jacksonville gave Ben Rothelisberger one of his worst games ever, picking him off five times. Their defense is good, but their magic won't work Sunday. The offense was putrid against Buffalo, and the Steeler defense will pulverize Blake Bortles. Leonard Fournette will struggle for yards and the Jaguars will be having issues scoring points. A lot can happen between October and January. The Steelers will win. How much they will win by is a question mark.
Week one saw the Vikes and Saints in a Monday Night game with Minnesota notching a victory. These are the two best teams not only in the NFC, but the entire league. They can throw the ball well and attack on the ground with duo running backs. The defenses can create turnovers and make big plays when necessary. Minnesota has to stop the Saints rushing prowess, which has run rampant throughout the season. Shut down Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara, they will get their victory. Calm Case Keenum and he will do fine in his first playoff game. New Orleans has to put a lot of pressure on Keenum to make him throw a costly interception. Stop him and Latavius Murray, and a Championship game for the first time since 2009 (Both faced each other in the NFC Championship that year) will be theirs. I'm buying into Minnesota solely on their defense. Either way, this might be the best match up for the playoffs.
Next week, we will discuss the Championship games.
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