2017-18 NFL (Conference Finals)

Division round results.

Falcons 10-15 Eagles
My prediction was that the Eagles D would keep the game sludge-y, then the Falcons would come back late and get the game winner at the buzzer. Well, that almost played out. The Falcons were serving for the win but that Eagle D stood up. The Falcons were kinda sorry all year long, never got to be as good as they were supposed to, felt like they could've pulled this game out but they didn't. The Eagles are reminiscent of the Jags now: superior defense, solid running game, QB you hope minimizes mistakes, play for field position, make your FGs, sell out on special teams, get takeaways. Good win for the Eagles, they can give that Vikings offense a game next week at home.


Titans 14-35 Pats
Mariota had one shining moment, nice early drive, made plays, hit a variety of receivers, Titan offense was fluid, best it looked all season. Yup. Then that never happened again and the Pats just steadily, steadily, steadily pummeled the weaker team. This was big brother/little brother for the 7th straight year for the Pats, they don't think about these games, they contemplate them and actualize them when the time comes. And on the other side is a pathetic newborn deer that knows nothing about how anything works. There was never much of a chance of the Titans pulling off an upset in Foxboro even with that first TD. This game was exactly what it was gonna be.


Jags 45-42 Steelers
The Steeler had this in them. They've been a slop fest on both sides of the ball, a wait-til-the-last-minute to be the hero kinda team all season long. It should come as no surprise that once they let the Jags go up 14-0 on them (before the game even started!), that it was gonna be just like that all day long. This was set up to be like that Ravens game that the Steelers came back and won at home; instead it was more the Bills-Redskins Super Bowl: two quick giveaways by the Bills, then the rest of the game is even, but never feels like it. To me the thing about Bortles is if he's your guy, you gotta rip it, make him throw the ball downfield, go for home runs and hope the mistakes are more like a punt; he's not a guy that will methodically carve up the opposing defense, he's a guy that could sting you if you're soft in the secondary. However, Bortles didn't even do that in this game. He methodically carved the Steelers up. They made OC Todd Haley the culprit (though to be fair, I think Big Ben's laissez-faire managerial style on the field leaves a lot to be desired), but damn man it was that defense that got smoked, the offense played really well! The Steelers are built to be kinda good every year but being the good team every once in a while seems less and less likely, not sure the Steeler way is keeping up with the times (Mike Tomlin....I like him but I don't understand him at all). Kudos to the Jags. They had their chance, took their shot and it worked out. Good for them, great victory.


Saints 24-29 Vikings
I had a premonition of this game while watching the Jags-Steelers: something like, the Vikings will never let the Saints start the way the Steelers let the Jags start. I foresaw a beatdown of the Saints by the Vikings, a thorough, consistent, Pats-like pummeling of the Saints, who perhaps rode 4th quarter heroics as far as it could go. At the end of the 3rd quarter, it was Saints 7-17 Vikings, with the Saints just scoring to get on the board and it looked like I nailed it. Of course, the Saints have been a 4th quarter team all year long, why wouldn't they wait to get started? The Vikings still had the lead, the mojo, the momentum, all that. Then Keenum throws a terrible interception! Just flings it up blind, basically from his own end zone (an ill-advised play). Ugh. Saints quickly convert that to another TD and now it just seems like a foregone conclusion that the Saints would come back late like they have all year long. (The 4th quarter of this game was the best quarter of NFL football that I can recall) The lead goes back and forth, great plays on both sides, great strategy, great football. In the end, it was miracle time...then there was a miracle. I don't even...still cannot believe that play happened, as inexplicable a play as I can recall in sports. Keenum to Diggs is gonna be a play seen over and over again. (Like Flutie beating the Hurricanes but even more improbable?)


This week's games.
Jags @ Pats (-8.5)
Some folks are under the impression that the Jags are for real now, that the defense is the best in the league, Bortles is ready to be a hero, Tom Brady has a busted flipper and the Pats are ready for a fall. Yeah, I don't see it. The Jags pass defense will give Brady quite the chess match today but I expect Brady to overcome it and I don't expect Bortles to do anything other than be Bortles out there. People want an upset, think the 8.5 line is too high. Nah, man, this has 31-9 written all over it. I'll take the Pats.


Vikings (-3) @ Eagles
The Vikings and Eagles are quite possibly the two best defenses in the league. The difference here is that the Vikings are coming in with their starting QB whereas the Eagles are scuffling with the 2nd stringer. I guess I'd be taking the Eagles if Wentz was in there but I've got to go with the Vikings, gotta figure that Keenum is not gonna throw a bad interception like he did against the Saints, gotta figure that the Vikings won't give up a blocked punt when the game's on the line again. And that's basically what this game comes down to: do you think the Vikings will make the same mistakes they made against the Saints or have they gotten those bonehead plays out of their system? I'm going with the latter, I think the Vikings play better throughout the game, squelch the Eagle attack, avoid mistakes and by the end have a 23-14 kinda victory. I'll take the Vikings.