Wild Card
Browns 14-45 Texans
Wow, this was a drubbing. The home/road splits on the Browns defense was alarming but I ignored it because I thought they were the better team and the hotter team. Well, they weren't. QB Stroud was a fucking beast (begging the questions: were this year's Cleveland Browns better than last year's Georgia Bulldogs?) and the Texans were absolutely up to the task. The Texans were up at halftime and looking good but in the 3rd quarter the Browns gave up back-to-back pick 6's followed by a sack on 4th down and that's where I stopped watching this game. Joe Flacco turned back into a pumpkin and we got a harsh reminder that the Browns really didn't have any running game to speak of. The Browns made the most of their regular season but I think the fact that the Bengals basically no-showed all year gave this team an inflated sense of superiority. Kudos to the Texans for getting a big W in a tough spot.
Dolphins 7-26 Chiefs
(I saw none of this game...no one I know saw this game...nice work, Peacock)
Packers 48-32 Cowboys
Wow, this was a drubbing! First things first: the Packers had the right game plan and executed nicely, good for them. But make no mistake: the reason the Packers won was because the Cowboys SUCKED in this game on both sides of the ball. The Packers did what they needed to do, but this does not convince me that the Packers are some kind of juggernaut, they just caught the Cowboys on laundry day and that's why they're moving forward. I thought WR Lamb was kinda terrible early on, everyone will blame QB Dak but I thought it was his receivers that were doing him no favors. And on defense, I gotta say after watching the Cowboys play the Bills and Dolphins down the stretch, it seemed like teams were figuring out how to scheme LB Micah Parsons, who kinda disappeared in the last month, and the Packers kept the disappearing act going. The vaunted Cowboys secondary got no stops and the pass rush was completely absent. In the 4th quarter, the Cowboys got going and put some points on the board, but don't be fooled into thinking this was some kind of shootout. Nope. The Packers dominated from start to finish--well, until they stopped playing offense in the 4th quarter--and it was because the Cowboys just didn't do anything well. Good W for the Packers, QB Love looks like the right guy in the right spot and the Packers are playing really well right now (though I don't think matters much heading to San Fran next week). As for the Cowboys, this off-season is going to suck bad.
Rams 23-24 Lions
Fun game! This was the one game of two evenly matched teams we got this weekend. I thought the Lions were the better team but only slightly, hence the final score (basically the Rams got stuck with 2 FG's instead of an extra TD) looks right to me. Both teams ran out of gas in the 2nd half but they both played well and similarly. Not much to say about this one but I will say that the Matt Stafford-Jared Goff trade worked perfectly for both teams: Stafford won the Super Bowl that Goff couldn't and Goff won the 1st round playoff game that Stafford couldn't, they each got over the hump that the other couldn't (also the Lions drafted really well out of the all the extra picks that trading Stafford brought them). Good W for the Lions, tough L for the Rams.
Steelers 17-31 Bills
As a Bills fan it is infuriating how inefficient the Bills offense is; if this team would settle for singles and doubles instead of tying to hit grand slams every time, they'd waltz to the Super Bowl. If they took 3rd down seriously, their time of possession would rocket off the charts. They are so maddeningly casual during the easy plays that they end up having to do way more than they need to later in the game. That said, my pre-season prediction for the Bills was that they would go 12-5 and finished 2nd in the AFC; they went 11-6 and finished 2nd in the AFC....so why are we so obsessed with pointing out what a bad season they had? Did they? Granted, the ups and downs were occasionally shocking but they got where they wanted to go so kinda seems like they're on the right track. (Well, except for the defensive injuries which keep piling up) As for the Steelers, dude, they've sucked for years, how they keep making the playoffs is a mystery--there are doctoral dissertations waiting to be written on how much undeserved success the Steelers have had in the last 5 years or so.
Eagles 9-32 Bucs
Man, the Eagles just suck. The Cowboys had a bad day but the Eagles have been trending in the wrong direction since Thanksgiving, I just kept thinking that they had enough pride/skill/whatever to get by the so-so Bucs but this team just didn't have it (did they all hate each other or something?). The Eagles were 10-1 not that long ago, but, man, they have completely sucked since then; I can dig that they weren't as good as their record, but the way these guys went down the tubes is not like anything I've seen in a long time. They were never in this game even though the Bucs were just getting FG's. The Bucs moved the ball well and the pass rush was impressive, then again the Eagles have given up on football, so hard to tell how good the Bucs actually were in this game. Good W for the Bucs, a weird off-season is coming to Philly.
Division
Texans @ Ravens (-9.5) (43.5)
The Texans to me are the who-knows team this year. Are they really this good? Can they win in Baltimore? Do they even deserve to be in the playoffs? Did they just run into a Cleveland team that wasn't nearly as good as we thought? Who knows? I like the Ravens but I've been a little skeptical most of the year because I think they have a knack for getting everyone's worst game--I'm not saying the Ravens suck, I'm just saying I'm not sure they are as good as they look. That said, QB Lamar Jackson has been killer this season and he can pile up offense all by himself; but when he struggles, the team goes nowhere, so can the Texans bottle up Lamar? Well, that's the game right there. And I have no idea the answer to that question. The Texans are young and plucky, they looked dominant against the Browns, if Stroud can keep moving the ball, then they can hang with the Ravens. But if Lamar gets it going, the Ravens can roll up the Texans quick. Here's the deal: either the Ravens will win comfortably or, if the Texans move the ball and get some turnovers, then they can in comfortably. I think it's a game for 3 quarters, then Lamar breaks out. Ravens 31-17 (Ravens and the over).
Packers @ Niners (-10) (50.5)
The Niners are just really good on both sides of the ball. If they play mistake-free, they are the best team in the league and should roll through a team like the Packers like wet butter. I like the Packers as much as the next guy, QB Love is fitting in nicely, I think next year they'll be ready to rise up. But for now, they are not nearly as good as the Niners and frankly they should've lost to the Cowboys last week. So I think this is where it ends for the Packers. Niners 37-16 (Niners and the over).
Bucs @ Lions (-6) (49.5)
Likewise with the Packers, the Bucs are a nice team that have had a nice season but they're not really supposed to be here and I have no reason to think they will survive on past this week. The two best teams in the NFC were the Niners and the Lions; we thought the next two best teams would be the Cowboys and Eagles, but they decided to not show up. So Final Eight for the Bucs--great season! But I just don't see the Bucs scoring nearly enough to hang with the Lions. Lions 27-14 (Lions and the under)
Chiefs @ Bills (-3) (45.5)
I've been convinced all year long that the Bills are not as bad as the haters say. Yes, the Bills had weird ups and downs this season (they still can't win at NYJ or beat the Bengals), all in all they finished where they were supposed to and as awful as they were, they got the home game against the Chiefs, don't they? So what did Kansas City do this season that was so right? The Chiefs have been getting compared to the Golden State Warriors for the last few years and the comparison is apt: after all this time, the Warriors are basically just a still-great Steph and not much else and the Chiefs are just QB Mahomes all by himself out there. Pointing out all the things the Bills aren't so good at is meaningless if the other team can't take advantage--and I don't think the Chiefs can take advantage. I like the Bills to be up at halftime and though it won't be a blowout, I think the Bills control the game throughout. I still expect the 4th quarter to be crazy fun time but I like the Bills to move on. Bills 23-18 (Bills and the under)
No comments:
Post a Comment