Division Round
Jags 20-27 Chiefs
In the 1st half, QB Mahomes suffered an ankle injury that looked pretty gnarly and from that point on the Jags' strategies became apparent: on defense blow up the Chiefs O-Line on every play, every situation and on offense do whatever it takes to get the next 1st down. Well, the Jags just couldn't pull it off as their offense kinda floundered (impressive performance from the Chiefs D) and though the mighty Chief offense wasn't so mighty, it did enough survive (with and without Mahomes). This was a winnable game for the Jags and they just couldn't get there. Another sneaky good Chiefs W.
Giants 7-38 Eagles
Yeah, this one was over quick. The Eagles did whatever they wanted on offense and the defense ably handled the Giant attack that had looked so good the week earlier in Minnesota. The Eagles showed definitively that they are better than the Giants and the Vikings on both sides of the ball. This match was just a warmup for the Niners.
Bengals 27-10 Bills
Man, looking back on this game: the Bengals only scored 27 points? Really? Man, it felt like they got a 1st down every time they touched the ball. The post-game chatter was a lot about Josh Allen and while he wasn't great, he wasn't awful either; he was--gasp--irrelevant in this game. It was the inability of the Bills D to get stops at all that doomed the Bills. My theory for this game would be that the Bills would absolutely need Allen's hero ball antics to win and while that may have been true, the hero ball never appeared largely the Bengals used up all the clock and put way more points on the scoreboard. A disappointing L for the Bills but the Bengals were easily the better team on this day (seriously, only 27 points? Felt like waaaaaaay more). Great W for the Bengals, they're getting hot at just the right time.
Cowboys 12-19 Niners
Clusterfuck of a game, neither team dominated though I thought the Niners were better on both sides. Good W for QB Purdy, still not sure what to make of him but he beat a really good Cowboys defense in the playoffs, so far so good. People complained about Dak Prescott and it would've been nice if he could've done more, but I didn't think he was the problem, the inability to move the ball on the Niners was a team effort (the Niners' effort was better).
Conference Championships
Niners @ Eagles (-2.5) (o/u 45)
Ahhh, this is the match we all wanted in the NFC, these are the two best teams, the two best defenses with two really good coaches that know what they're doing. The game is a coin flip, I would be shocked if one team blew out the other but either team in a close game seems perfectly possible. The Eagles are at home and they don't have a rookie QB, so I'll say Eagles 24-21 (Eagles and the under).
Bengals @ Chiefs (-2) (o/u 47.5)
Mahomes' ankle is troubling but let me be clear: I think the Bengals are the better team regardless of Mahomes' ankle. The Bengals have beaten the Chiefs three straight, not afraid of going on the road in the playoffs and their offense is humming right now. The Chiefs (not unlike the Bills actually) have been good but not great all season long, the offense is solid but doesn't seem quite as unbeatable without Tyreke Hill and the defense is savvy but I don't think they're gonna slow down the Bengals. I think the Bengals are the better team in every way and I'm surprised to say this but I'd be kinda shocked if the Chiefs won. I'll say Bengals 31-21 (Bengals and the over).
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