Hello readers! Another week of National Football League action is coming upon us yet again! The Wild Card playoffs are over and the best weekend of the NFL season (in my opinion) is here. My favorite round of the playoffs is the Divisional round. It is truly the mark of a David vs Goliath matchup. You have the teams that have the momentum going their way (David) and the #1 seeded teams (Goliath) going at it. Whether or not who gets the upper hand will yet to be seen.
Divisional Playoff Preview
The NFL's Divisional Playoff round will start in Baltimore, Maryland and finish up in Orchard Park, New York. There will be four games played where eight teams will play. Two games will be played on Saturday and two games will be played on Sunday. Saturday's games will be televised on ABC and FOX. Sunday's games will be televised by NBC and CBS. Let's get to the picks!
Divisional Playoff Picks
Note: All game times are in US Eastern. TW is me and CV is Cardinal Viking, my former roommate.
Houston @ Baltimore (ABC/ESPN; 4:30 pm): TW: Ravens; CV: Texans
The Texans beat the Browns and the Ravens had the bye last week. Houston looked really good against Cleveland. They made mince meat of the Browns defense. They turned the ball over on the Browns offense that looked good. They essentially destroyed them. Baltimore should be on high awareness that this team can do the same to them. CJ Stroud took advantage of the good protection and if the Ravens don't get in his face early and often, he will find a way to destroy you. Baltimore has had a history of getting to the Divisional playoff and fade away. The best way to combat the week layoff is to just play smart conservative football and then crank it up during the course of the game. Get the running game going and protect the ball. I still have faith in the Ravens to get it done but they cannot take the Texans lightly and have some respect for them going into this game.
Green Bay @ San Francisco (FOX; 7:15 pm): TW: 49ers; CV: 49ers
The Packers beat the Cowboys and the 49ers had a bye last week. Green Bay prevailed in an upset win against the Cowboys. They took advantage of mistakes that the Cowboys made and really put the hurt on Dallas on defense. Granted the Packers offense was quite efficient as Jordan Love and Aaron Jones scored three touchdowns each in their respective categories. San Francisco looks to be the safer bet of the two #1 seeds coming into Divisional weekend. The Niners are healthy for once in the playoffs, their offense and defense are solid across the board. I question whether or not the loss to the Rams in Week 18 will have any lingering effects on them. Like the Texans, the Packers are a team that you shouldn't take lightly. They will use the "No one expects us to win so let's just play out here with nothing to lose" mantra to heart. I think if the 49ers are going to win they will need to make the Green Bay wide receivers beat you and gameplan around stopping Aaron Jones. Green Bay's plan of attack is to sustain drives and to know where Nick Bosa and Chase Young are at all times. I think San Fran moves on.
Tampa Bay @ Detroit (NBC; 3:00 pm): TW: Buccaneers; CV: Lions
The Buccaneers beat the Eagles and the Lions beat the Rams last week. A classic NFC Central matchup. The Buccaneers come into this game with a big win against the defending conference champion Eagles. They really got to them defensively, forcing turnovers, forcing many later down and long situations, as well as stopping the Tush Push. The Eagles bowing out means that the NFC is going to be wide open as well as having a new champion in its midst. Offensively the Buccaneers are right there with the rest of the NFL. They can put it in the air with many weapons and the ground with some decent choices at running back. The Lions come off a big win as well. A win 30+ years in the making. Jared Goff and company did just enough to pull off the win and then some. I do question how well their defense can handle the many weapons of the Buccaneers wide receiving corp. Detroit might have a challenge in its midst if they can't stop the Bucs passing game. They should be able to handle their running game. I think the Lions luck ends against the Bucs.
Kansas City @ Buffalo (CBS; 6:30 pm): TW: Bills; CV: Chiefs
The Chiefs beat the Dolphins and the Bills beat the Steelers last week. Divisional weekend wraps up with Allen-Mahomes, like it should. For the first time in his career, Patrick Mahomes will have to travel to another team's stadium in a game that is not the Super Bowl. It's true that he will have to put on road white uniforms for this game. It is also the first time that Allen-Mahomes will be played in Josh Allen's house. I'm not sure how well Mahomes will face in a hostile environment. He has played road games before in the regular season and has done fairly well. The Chiefs offense has been off a bit. They just miss a detail or two and they fall apart like that. The defense has played well. Buffalo is coming off a big win with a bit less rest but still will be ready to do battle. It is against a formidable foe so all hands will be on deck for sure. It's a toss-up but I will take the home team and give Patrick Mahomes his first road playoff loss.
TV Broadcast Pairings
Note: All games are being televised nationally
Houston @ Baltimore
Joe Buck, Troy Aikman
Green Bay @ San Francisco
Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olson
Tampa Bay @ Detroit
Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth
Kansas City @ Buffalo
Jim Nantz, Tony Romo
Records
Cardinal Viking:
2023:
Week 1: 10-6
Week 1: 10-6
Week 2: 10-6
Week 3: 8-8
Week 4: 13-3
Week 5: 6-8
Week 5: 6-8
Week 6: 9-6
Week 7: 4-9
Week 8: 10-6
Week 9: 8-6
Week 10: 6-8
Week 10: 6-8
Week 11: 7-7
Week 12: 9-7
Week 13: 9-4
Week 14: 5-10
Week 15: 10-6
Week 16: 10-6
Week 17: 7-9
Week 18: 6-10
Super Wild Card Weekend: 3-3
Total: 150-128
2017: 167-89
2018: 156-98-2
2019: 151-104-1
2020: 163-92-1
2021: 167-104-1
2022: 157-112-2
My record:
2023:
Week 1: 9-7
Week 1: 9-7
Week 2: 11-5
Week 3: 11-5
Week 3: 11-5
Week 4: 14-2
Week 5: 7-7
Week 6: 8-7
Week 7: 5-8
Week 8: 10-6
Week 9: 9-5
Week 10: 7-7
Week 10: 7-7
Week 11: 11-3
Week 12: 8-8
Week 13: 9-4
Week 14: 4-11
Week 15: 10-6
Week 16: 9-7
Week 17: 9-7
Week 18: 10-6
Super Wild Card Weekend: 4-2
Total: 165-113
2012: 164-90-2
2013: 162-92-1
2014: 172-83-1
2017: 164-92
2018: 156-98-2
2019: 161-94-1
2019: 161-94-1
2020: 167-88-1
2021: 173-98-1
2022: 166-103-2
2022: 166-103-2
See you all after the Sunday night game for the Divisional Playoff Recap! Enjoy the games!
-Tom
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