Hello readers! Another week of National Football League action is coming upon us yet again. The divisional weekend is over and the eight teams that stood have now came down to the NFL's Final Four. The four teams left standing are the Cincinnati Bengals, Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles. The winners of these two games will go on have a shot at the ultimate prize, the Lombardi Trophy, at Super Bowl LVII. In this post I'll do my picks for the championship games, let's get to work!
Conference Championship Picks
Note: All game times are in US Eastern. TW is me and CV is Cardinal Viking, my former roommate.
San Francisco @ Philadelphia (FOX; 3:00 pm): TW: 49ers; CV: 49ers
The 49ers beat the Cowboys and the Eagles beat the Giants last week. Championship Sunday starts off with a great matchup on paper with arguably the two best teams in the NFC in Philly. Philadelphia is a slim 2.5 favorite in the game which means it could be a toss up. Both teams look like the mirror image of the other. The one question is how well Brock Purdy can do in this game. In the two games he played at home and going into Philadelphia won't be full of red and gold in the stands. San Francisco will need to take the Eagles offense and the crowd out of it early to get a shot to win. Philadelphia has been the best team in the NFL since really Week 1 and they look like they could very well be the conference's representative in the Super Bowl. Like Purdy, I have questions about Jalen Hurts. Hurts didn't look like he wanted to get taken down a lot against the Giants. It somewhat tells me that he doesn't want to get hit a lot. If I was the 49ers, I would try to get him contained in the pocket and pressure him often and early. At least make Jalen Hurts the passer beat you. Personally I think the Eagles are a bit overmatched in some areas, I think the 49ers offense can go toe to toe with them. I think Christian McCaffrey will take care of the ball and guide the 49ers to a win.
Postseason series: 2nd meeting; 49ers lead series 1-0
Cincinnati @ Kansas City (CBS; 6:30 pm): TW: Bengals; CV: Bengals
The Bengals beat the Bills and the Chiefs beat the Jaguars last week. The American Football Conference championship features two teams that played in this very game last year. The Chiefs had a 21-3 lead going into the 2nd half. The Bengals would win it but everyone knows that. The rematch features the Bengals riding on a high with them winning a big game in Buffalo. Joe Burrow seems to be the catalyst for that confidence. It is good for them to feel that good but it is perhaps overconfidence as well. Kansas City has lost three straight games to the Bengals dating back to their regular season contest in 2021. The health of Patrick Mahomes will be in question as he suffered an ankle sprain during last week's game against Jacksonville. If I was the Chiefs, I would try to lean on the running game as much as possible. At least to give Mahomes a break and have him not toss 60 passes in this game. If I was the Bengals I would lean on the running game as well as I don't think the Chiefs defense is as strong as the Bengals defense. Like most football games, the team that can control the line of scrimmage can win. The Bengals really had their way against the Bills and kind of punched them in the mouth, metaphorically. I think the Bengals will win by physicality.
Postseason series: 2nd meeting, Bengals lead series 1-0
2022 Pick ‘Em Records
My record:
Week 1: 8-7-1
Week 2: 8-8
Week 3: 5-11
Week 4: 11-5
Week 5: 10-6
Week 6: 8-6
Week 7: 9-5
Week 8: 12-3
Week 9: 11-2
Week 10: 8-6
Week 11: 8-6
Week 12: 10-6
Week 13: 11-3-1
Week 14: 7-6
Week 15: 8-8
Week 16: 9-7
Week 17: 12-3
Week 18: 11-5
Wild Card Weekend: 4-2
Divisional: 2-2
Total: 172-107-2
Cardinal Viking's record:
Week 1: 6-9-1
Week 2: 11-5
Week 3: 5-11
Week 4: 6-10
Week 5: 9-7
Week 6: 9-5
Week 7: 8-6
Week 8: 9-6
Week 9: 9-4
Week 10: 8-6
Week 11: 8-6
Week 12: 9-7
Week 13: 8-6-1
Week 14: 9-4
Week 15: 13-3
Week 16: 10-6
Week 17: 9-6
Week 18: 11-5
Wild Card Weekend: 3-3
Divisional: 2-2
Total: 162-117-2
Previous Picking Records:
2017: 167-89
2018: 156-98-2
2019: 151-104-1
2020: 163-92-1
2021: 167-104-1
2019: 161-94-1
No comments:
Post a Comment