For the first time since the 2006 season, both the Steelers and Packers missed the playoffs. It'll definitely be weird not seeing either one of them, but that's not the only thing that'll be different this year. These playoffs are so wide open that you can realistically see almost every team making its way to Atlanta.
Of course, the four teams that have byes have them for a reason, but I don't think any of this week's winners will be intimidated going into their building next week. Just like I can easily see all four road teams winning this week. But we could just as easily see all four home teams win. The differences between the sides in all four of these matchups are so minimal. It should make for some great football.
Colts (10-6) at Texans (11-5): Houston-Not surprisingly, the AFC South matchup gets us started on Saturday afternoon. What a job by both of these teams to get into the playoffs. Houston started 0-3. Indianapolis was 1-5. Yet here they are still playing in January.
It's always interesting whenever division teams face each other in the playoffs. The familiarity and dislike generally leads to a third game that was similar to the first two. And I'd expect this to be no different. They split during the regular season, with Houston winning the first game on a last-second field goal in overtime after Frank Reich went for it on fourth down. Indy then won in Houston to snap the Texans' nine-game winning streak.
Those stats tend to favor the Colts. And Indianapolis has been one of the hottest teams in the league for two months. The Colts have essentially won a road playoff game against a division rival already, too, and they really dominated the Titans last week. This is a different situation, though. Tennessee wasn't healthy. Houston is. Plus, a lot of people are counting the Texans out for some reason, which is a bad idea. I'm sure they would've preferred playing the Titans instead of the Colts, and Indianapolis has definitely had their number this season. But I think the Texans defense will have a big game and DeShaun Watson will shine in his first career playoff start, as Houston gets a chance to avenge its loss to New England.
Seahawks (10-6) at Cowboys (10-6): Seattle-I completely nailed it when I tried to guess the playoff schedule last week. The only thing I got wrong with this game was the network. Still not sure why it's on FOX instead of NBC. Did Thursday Night Football put FOX so far over budget on travel that they decided they couldn't afford to fly Troy Aikman places anymore? Seriously, he's gotta have his own parking space at Jerry's World by now, right?
There's plenty of Saturday night playoff history between these two, as well. In the aforementioned Packer & Steeler-less 2006 postseason, they met in a pretty infamous wild card game. That's the game where Tony Romo botched the snap on what would've been the game-tying extra point and Seattle won by one.
Frankly, I think this is the hardest game of the weekend to pick. Dallas surprised me last week by playing (with a few exceptions) its starters essentially the whole way in a game that was virtually meaningless. Seattle, meanwhile, got an unexpected challenge from Arizona in its just-as-meaningless finale. The Seahawks are favored in this game, though. And I can see why. Seattle is simply better than Dallas. It's just by a little, but that's enough to make a difference.
Chargers (12-4) at Ravens (10-6): Chargers-These two played just two weeks ago, and it's essentially what got the Ravens into the playoffs. And had the Chargers won, they'd be enjoying the playoffs in sunny California instead of traveling cross country for a 1:00 start (which is the only reason I thought they might NOT make this the early Sunday game).
The Chargers' road is obviously much more difficult now than it would've been had they beaten Baltimore the first time. And the Ravens are a dangerous matchup for anyone in the AFC. They've always had the defense. But now their offense is so much more dynamic with Lamar Jackson running the show instead of Joe Flacco. You put those together and you've got a team nobody should want to face.
Except I think the fact that they played just two weeks ago actually helps the Chargers. The game is still fresh in their minds (for both teams), and the Chargers won't be taken by surprise this time. They'll make the necessary adjustments on the offensive end. After having a season this good, they can't be one-and-done in the playoffs. Also, an interesting note on this game that NFL Network had on the bottom line all week is that the Chargers' only road loss this season was against the Rams. They're undefeated outside of Southern California. Expect that to continue in the wild card round.
Eagles (9-7) at Bears (12-4): Chicago-Can someone please explain to me what the Chicago Bears were doing last week? The Rams had a big lead, so they knew they weren't getting a bye. Which meant they were either going to play Minnesota again or face the defending champion Eagles. Seems like an easy choice, right? Except they decide to keep their starters in the whole time, end up winning the game, and giving themselves a harder matchup.
Nobody in the NFC, except for evidently the Bears, wanted to see the Eagles in the playoffs. Now they just need to hope it doesn't come back to bite them. Because not only is Philly hot, they've got that experience from last year to bank on. Plus, there's just something about Nick Foles. The Eagles are a different team with him under center.
However, their decision to play their starters the entire game last week could've also been the Bears' way of sending a message that they're coming to play no matter what. They haven't been here in a while, and you can bet they're gonna make sure it isn't a short stay. Khalil Mack will take up residence in the Eagles backfield and that Chicago defense will set the tone. (Also, how weird was it to see NBC promoting the Golden Globes starting at 7 after they'd already announced that this was their game? And there's no possible way a 4:30 game will be over by 7. I know they couldn't change the ads right away, but it still looked kinda awkward.)
Last Week: 11-5
Overall: 162-92-2
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