Hello readers! Another week of National Football League action is here yet again. My favorite part of the NFL season is here: the divisional round. It is where the best teams matchup against the underdog/best teams in the conference. The winners of this round go on to be part of the NFL's version of the Final Four. In this post I'll do a preview of the four games and my picks for the games. Let's get to work!
Divisional Playoff Preview
The Divisional playoff will start in Nashville, Tennessee and finish up in Kansas City, Missouri. There will be eight teams playin the four games. Two games will be on Saturday. Those games will be on CBS and FOX. Then there will be two games on Sunday. Those two games will be on NBC and CBS. Let's get to the picks!
Divisional Playoff Picks
Note: TW is me and CV is Cardinal Viking, my former roommate. All game times are in US Eastern.
Cincinnati (11-7) @ Tennessee (12-5) (CBS; 4:30 pm): TW: Titans; CV: Bengals
The Bengals beat the Raiders and the Titans had the bye last week. The weekend starts with a fairly interesting matchup as the young upstart Bengals take on the top dog Titans. I feel this game will feature two great running backs who were fighting for a rushing title. Joe Mixon and Derrick Henry could light up defenses in this game. The Bengals got the playoff win monkey off their back but they could have some trouble in this one as their defense has been suspect at times during this season. Doesn't help that their head coach let his foot off the gas last week. Tennessee needed the bye probably more than any team as they set the record for the number of players used this season. If Derrick Henry plays I'd say they have a great shot to win. I feel the Bengals are good but I think their road ends at this game.
San Francisco (11-7) @ Green Bay (13-4) (FOX; 8:15 pm): TW: Packers; CV: 49ers
The 49ers beat the Cowboys and the Packers had the bye last week. Another shot for Aaron Rodgers to beat his former favorite team the 49ers. San Francisco will need to have a better game from Jimmy Garoppolo as he nearly gave the game away to the Dallas Cowboys. Green Bay will need to be aware of the trickery that the 49ers have on offense. Deebo Samuel will need to be put on watch through every offensive series by the 49ers. If the Packers have a takeaway in this game the 49ers will have a hard time to beat their rivals. You have to also remember that the Packers beat the 49ers 30-28 earlier in the year. The weather could play a factor as there's a chance of snow and a wind chill of zero. I think it'll be a good game but I feel the Packers will pull off the win.
LA Rams (13-5) @ Tampa Bay (14-4) (NBC; 3:00 pm): TW: Buccaneers; CV: Buccaneers
The Rams beat the Cardinals and the Buccaneers beat the Eagles last week. Probably the game of the weekend. The last time these two met was a Week 3 matchup where the Rams won 34-24. The worse case scenario in that game was that it was a close one that would come down to a few plays. Fast forward to this one and the Buccaneers are the more banged up team. The loss of Tristan Wirfs, the right tackle, could be a factor as he is currently questionable. The fact is that a lot of players are questionable for the Bucs in this game to list off a few with Leonard Fournette, Ronald Jones, Breshad Perriman, and Giovani Bernard all questionable. For the Rams I don't really trust Matthew Stafford a lot although he had the ghosts of past Detroit playoff losses whisked away after beating the Cardinals. What I trust is their defense as they can rush the passer with a lot of power. I feel the Buccaneers will pull off a miracle in this game if they can play good on defense. I can't count out on Tom Brady.
Buffalo (12-6) @ Kansas City (13-5) (CBS; 6:30 pm): TW: Bills; CV: Bills
The Bills beat the Patriots and the Chiefs beat the Steelers last week. The last game of the weekend wraps up with a slugfest of a football game. The last time these two teams played was a blowout by the Bills. Kansas City was still a team on the search of its identity. Their defense got back together and and held down their opponents. Patrick Mahomes has also played a bit more of a closer to a game manager style play instead of trying to play hero every play. Buffalo has a very physical offense that features a quarterback that isn't afraid to run and get hit. Their defense is also physical as well as they will beat you up and punish you. I had the Bills as my Super Bowl pick to represent the AFC in the preseason, I won't back down on them now.
2021 Pick'em Records:
My record:
Week 1: 7-9
Week 2: 10-6
Week 3: 10-6
Week 4: 9-7
Week 5: 12-4
Week 6: 11-3
Week 7: 10-3
Week 8: 7-8
Week 9: 7-7
Week 10: 5-8-1
Week 11: 8-7
Week 12: 8-7
Week 13: 10-4
Week 14: 10-4
Week 15: 13-3
Week 16: 12-4
Week 17: 13-3
Week 18: 11-5
Total: 173-98-1
Super Wild Card Weekend: 6-0
Cardinal Viking's record:
Week 1: 6-10
Week 2: 12-4
Week 3: 13-3
Week 4: 10-6
Week 5: 10-6
Week 6: 12-2
Week 7: 10-3
Week 8: 7-8
Week 9: 8-6
Week 10: 5-8-1
Week 11: 10-5
Week 12: 9-6
Week 13: 7-7
Week 14: 9-5
Week 15: 10-6
Week 16: 11-5
Week 17: 10-6
Week 18: 8-8
Total: 167-104-1
Super Wild Card Weekend: 6-0
Previous Picking Records:
2017: 167-89
2018: 156-98-2
2019: 151-104-1
2020: 163-92-1
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