NFL 2023 Divisional Playoff Recap

 Hello readers! Another week of National Football League action has come to an end. 

NFL Divisional Playoff Freaky Stat

The Baltimore Ravens will get to host the AFC championship game for the first time in their history. You have to go back to the 1970 Baltimore Colts hosting the AFC championship game for the last time that a Baltimore-based team had hosted a conference championship. They hosted the NFL championship game in 1959 and 1968. 

NFL Divisional Playoff Recap

Houston 10, Baltimore 34: TW: Ravens; CV: Texans

It was a slow start but the Ravens will get to host their first championship game in Ravens history. CJ Stroud wouldn't be much of a factor in this game. He hit 19 of 33 passes for 175 yards and rushed for nine yards. His running back help was a hinderance as Devin Singletary rushed for 22 yards on nine carries. It would be a special teams touchdown that would get the Texans going on a Steven Sims 67-yard punt return shortly before halftime. It would be the last time the Texans score for the rest of the 2023 season. Houston's offense was held to 213 total yards. The recipe for the Texans struggles on offense was keeping the running game in check while being forced into long 3rd down situations. Sustaining drives was also a topic of conversation as the Texans were held to just 22:25 time of possession with only 10 first downs. Lamar Jackson was spectacular in his first playoff game since 2021. The passer hit 16 of 22 passes for 152 yards with two touchdowns. The runner also scored two touchdowns while achieving the 100-yard mark. The first passing touchdown went to Nelson Agholor for a short, 3-yard play down the middle in the 2nd quarter. The second touchdown went to Isiah Likely for a 15-yard touchdown where Likely had to leap to grab the ball. Jackson's runs for scores were from 15 and 8 yards. In previous games, turnovers were where the hurt came on the Ravens, in past playoff games Jackson's turnovers came to seven. Jackson had zero turnovers in this one. Baltimore would find success in running the ball as a collective the Ravens ran for 229 yards. Justice Hill rushed for 66 yards. Gus Edwards rushed for 40 yards. Newly acquired Dalvin Cook had 23 yards rushing. Baltimore had success in getting first downs as they had 22 first downs and held the ball for 37:35. For the Texans, their magical season ends in defeat but their future is bright with a rookie head coach and quarterback. For the Ravens, they move on and host an AFC championship game for the first time in their history and the first since January of 1971. 

Next week:
Houston: eat Texas barbeque or something
Baltimore: Conference championship vs Kansas City

TW: 1-0; CV: 0-1

Green Bay 21, San Francisco 24: TW: 49ers; CV: 49ers

Dre Greenlaw called game. Jordan Love went to rainy Santa Clara and did eh. He hit 21 of 34 passes for 194 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. The two interceptions were grabbed by linebacker Dre Greenlaw. One of them was the game-sealing one for the Niners on a pass down the middle off of a really awkward Love throw. The first touchdown went to Bo Melton for a big 19-yard play. The second touchdown went to Tucker Kraft for a 2-yard play. Aaron Jones rushed for a big game with 18 carries for 108 yards including a 53-yard run. Romeo Doubs had four catches for 83 yards. The Packers had their chances to win. Whether it be the missed or dropped passes for interceptions that Brock Purdy threw. Or the Anders Carlson field goal that was missed and gave the Niners a chance to get the go-ahead touchdown. It felt that despite the turnovers, the Packers were probably the better team. Special teams played a part as Kiesen Nixon returned two kicks for 73 yards, one kickoff return came on a return that came down to the 49ers 20-yard line. They definitely almost pulled off the upset win. The Packers hit 330 yards of offense in the game. Brock Purdy got it done when it mattered most. He hit 23 of 39 passes for 252 yards with a touchdown pass to George Kittle on a 32-yard pass where the tight end was moving left and right to get to the endzone. Christian McCaffrey rushed for 98 yards on 17 carries. He rushed into the endzone on 39 yards and then the 6-yard touchdown that put the Niners in the lead for good. San Francisco got 356 total yards in the game. The Niners struggles really stem from not getting enough production in the passing game. They were mostly held in check by the Packers pass defense. Penalties also played a part as the Niners were flagged six times for 83 yards. They also punted four times compared to the Packers only punting once. For the Packers, their surprise season ends on a sour note but the future is bright in the first year of the Jordan Love era. For the Niners, they will host the NFC championship game for the first time since 2019 and will play in their fourth championship game in five years. 

Next week: 
Green Bay: eat some cheese curds or go to Bucks game.
San Francisco: Conference championship vs Detroit

TW: 2-0; CV: 1-1

Tampa Bay 23, Detroit 31: TW: Buccaneers; CV: Lions

Derrick Barnes makes the play that will live in Detroit sports lore for decades to come. Baker Mayfield hit 26 of 41 passes for 349 yards with three touchdowns but also tossed two interceptions. One of those interceptions came to Derrick Barnes as I mentioned before. The first touchdown came to Cade Otton in the 2nd quarter on a short 2-yard pass play. The 2nd touchdown went to Rachaad White on a red zone trip for a 12-yard score. The third touchdown went to Mike Evans on a 16-yard score. They didn't score again after 4:37 left in the 4th quarter. Rachaad White rushed for 55 yards on nine carries. The Mayfield to Mike Evans connection was prosperous for the Buccaneers as the wide receiver caught eight passes for 147 yards. Tampa Bay had 408 total yards in the game. The theme for the Buccaneers in the game was not sustaining drives and not keeping the football in their hands by not turning the ball over. Sacks played a part as Mayfield was sacked four times. Jared Goff played well in the game. He hit 30 of 43 passes for 287 yards with two touchdowns. The first touchdown went to Josh Reynolds for a 9-yard score up the middle. The 2nd touchdown went to Amon-Ra St. Brown for a 9-yard score where the Sun God was found on the right side of the field. It would be the score that gave the Lions the 31 points. The Lions running game would find the endzone as well. The first rushing touchdown went to Craig Reynolds on a play up the middle, for a 1-yard score up the Buccaneers throats. It was Reynolds only carry in the game. Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 74 yards with a touchdown. The touchdown was a 31-yard power run to the left. David Montgomery rushed for 33 yards on 10 carries. Amon Ra St. Brown caught eight passes for 77 yards. The Lions offense had 391 total yards of offense in the game. The success to the Lions in the game was the ability to sustain drives as they had 32 minutes of possession time. They had success on 3rd down as they had 6 of 14 conversions while the Buccaneers had 4 of 12. The Lions could've put forth more points as they had finished with 3 of 4 chances in the redzone and 2 of 3 in goal-to-go situations. It felt a bit closer than it seemed for sure. For the Buccaneers, their season ends in the Motor City but have something to build on into 2024. For the Lions, they will go to the NFC championship game for the first time in 33 years as they travel to San Francisco to meet the 49ers next Sunday. 

Next week: 
Tampa Bay: watch a Lightning game or something

Detroit: Conference championship @ San Francisco

TW: 2-1; CV: 2-1

Kansas City 27, Buffalo 24: TW: Bills; CV: Chiefs

Tyler Bass, meet Scott Norwood. You might get along quite nice. Patrick Mahomes entered his first road playoff game. The passer did fine as he hit 17 of 23 passes for 215 yards with two touchdowns. Much to everyone's surprise, both of the touchdowns went to Travis Kelce for 22 and and 3-yard scores. Isiah Pacheco rushed for 97 yards on 15 carries. He scored the last touchdown of the game for the Chiefs on a 4-yard run that gave the Chiefs a 27-24 lead. Travis Kelce had five catches for 75 yards. The key to the Chiefs offense was ensuring that they didn't turn the ball over while getting the ball to their key pass catchers. The Bills defense couldn't stop Patrick Mahomes as they had plenty of banged up players. Kansas City finished the game with 361 total yards. There was a miscue as Mecole Hardman tried to reach for the endzone but fumbled the ball into the endzone. Thus it was a result of a touchback and the Bills ball. Josh Allen had a solid game. He hit 26 of 39 passes for 186 yards with a touchdown pass to Khalil Shakir. The touchdown came to Shakir on a pass that looked like Shakir had to catch it with his tippy toes. It was the last Bills score of the season. Josh Allen the runner had 72 yards rushing with two touchdowns. The Allen touchdowns came on plays for 5 and 2-yard plays. James Cook had 61 yards rushing on 18 carries. Ty Johnson had 40 yards rushing with 7 carries. Buffalo had 368 total yards in the game. The issues for the Bills stem on special teams. They decided to go for a fake punt but sadly that backfired. Granted the ensuing Chiefs possession lead to the Hardman touchback. A lot of blame will go to Tyler Bass who missed the field goal but I think the Bills sequence of plays prior to the field goal was head scratching. The first down play was a James Cook run for 1-yard gain. The 2nd down play was a deep pass play to Shakir that ended up being an incompletion. The 3rd down play was a pass play that ended up being a throwaway. Definitely a questionable sequence of plays. The 44-yard field goal try wasn't a guarantee as the wind was blowing a fair bit from left to right. Unfortunately, he might get the blame for most of the Bills woes. For the Chiefs, they move on and play the Ravens in the AFC championship game next Sunday. For the Bills, the season ends in another heartbreaking way and will have some big decisions to make in the offseason. 

Next week: 
Kansas City: Conference championship @ Baltimore

Buffalo: eat some buffalo wings at B dubs or something

TW: 2-2; CV: 3-1

Records

Cardinal Viking:

2023: 
Week 1: 10-6

Week 2: 10-6

Week 3: 8-8

Week 4: 13-3
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 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

Divisional Playoff: 3-1

Total: 153-129

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 2: 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 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

Divisional Playoff: 2-2

Total: 167-115

2012: 164-90-2

2013: 162-92-1

2014: 172-83-1

2017: 164-92

2018: 156-98-2
2019: 161-94-1

2020: 167-88-1 

2021: 173-98-1
2022: 166-103-2

See you all on Wednesday/Thursday/Friday for the Conference Championship picks post! Enjoy your week!

-Tom

NFL 2021 Divisional Playoff Picks

 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:

Cardinal Viking:

2017: 167-89
2018: 156-98-2
2019: 151-104-1
2020: 163-92-1

My record: 

2012: 164-90-2

2013: 162-92-1

2014: 172-83-1

2017: 164-92

2018: 156-98-2

2019: 161-94-1

2020: 167-88-1 

Expect to see the Divisional playoff recap sometime after the final game on Sunday night. Enjoy the games. 

-Tom

NFL 2019 Divisional Picks

Hello readers! The Divisional round of the playoffs is almost here. One of my favorite weekends in the NFL calendar. It's the David vs Goliath, the battle tested vs the rested, if you make it past this weekend, you're one game away from going to the Super Bowl. In this post, I'll talk about the great Jerry Rice in the NFL 100 spotlight and my picks for the weekend's games. Let's get to work!

NFL 100: A Spotlight

The history of the NFL has had many great names. Many of them dominated in eras where offense was subpar compared to the defense, and vice versa. Only one player in the history of the game dominated from the first snap to the last snap of his career. He played from 1985 to 2004 on three teams. His statistics are records and the 2nd closest player is nowhere near him. He is arguably the greatest player in NFL history, Jerry Rice.

Jerry Rice was born on October 13th, 1962 in Starkville, Mississippi. He was the son of a brick mason. He would attend high school at B.L. Moore High School in Oktoc, Mississippi.

He wouldn't start playing football until his sophomore year. He wanted to play the game in his freshman year but his mother denied the request. After an incident of Rice being truant, the school principal contacted the school's head coach about Rice's speed and was allowed to join the team. Rice would also excel at track and field and basketball.

He attended college at Mississippi Valley State University for four seasons. He quickly became the standout receiver on the Delta Devils, gaining the nickname "World" for how he could catch anything thrown to him. He also set a single-game record for catching 24 passes in a game against Southern University in 1983.

His play in college gained the attention of many scouts but both the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys wanted to draft him. On Draft Day, the 49ers traded two picks to New England for the Patriots first-round choice. Dallas held the 17th pick in the first round. With the draft trade the 49ers selected Rice at pick #16. The Cowboys missed out on him by that much.

Jerry Rice wouldn't take long to impress his team and the rest of the NFL. He was particularly effective in a 10 catch, 241 yard receiving performance against the Los Angeles Rams. Despite early struggles like dropping man catches, Rice earned the NFC Offensive Rookie Of The Year award in his rookie year.

Some of his best football came in the biggest game of all. He was part of three Super Bowl teams with the 49ers in 1988, 1989 and 1994. He won Super Bowl MVP in Super Bowl XXIII.

When he retired, he set career records in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns. His 1,549 receptions, 22,895 receiving yards, and 197 touchdowns are all NFL records and no one has come close to it. What really truly made him great was his YAC (Yards After Catch). It was that that made him truly great. He was a great runner with a great catching ability. Arguably the greatest of all time.

Divisional Picks

The Divisional Playoff weekend starts in Santa Clara, California, and ends in Green Bay, Wisconsin. NBC and CBS will have games shown on Saturday and CBS and FOX will have games on Sunday. Let's get to the picks!

Minnesota Vikings (10-6) @ San Francisco 49ers (13-3) (NBC): TW: 49ers; CV: Vikings

The Vikings beat the Saints in the Wild Card round and the 49ers were on a bye last week. The weekend starts with a pretty intriguing game. On paper, it seems that the 49ers should get a win as they do have a better offense in my opinion but their defense is suspect in comparison against the Vikings defense. History should offer a warning to the 49ers as the Vikings once beat the #1 seed 49ers once in the 1987 playoffs (Vikings also beat the Saints on the road as well). Could Stephon Diggs put up Anthony Carter type numbers in the game? Its a possiblity. Its also possible that Adam Thielen could be out for the Vikings in the game as he is questionable. Minnesota will also be without Mackensie Alexander for this game but could return to play in the next game should Minnesota advance. I feel the more rested team will get the win as I tend to like the 49ers running game as a whole with Raheem Mostert, Matt Breida, Deebo Samuel, and Tevin Coleman. I think the home team will win on solid defense but I can't stress enough how much of an upset this will be if history repeats itself.

Tennessee Titans (9-7) @ Baltimore Ravens (14-2) (CBS): TW: Ravens; CV: Ravens

The Titans beat the Patriots in the Wild Card game and the Ravens were on a bye last week. Mark Ingram is unlikely to play in the game which means much of the workload will fall on Gus Edwards to get the Ravens a win. The Titans could make this a very interesting game with Derrick Henry as running back. If the Titans can control the clock and keep the Ravens offense off the field, this could be a very wild game. Ryan Tannehill is a decent quarterback but I can't think of him having a big game in this one. I'd be surprised if the Titans win this game. Lamar Jackson isn't 40 years old after all.

Houston Texans (10-6) @ Kansas City Chiefs (12-4) (CBS): TW: Chiefs; CV: Chiefs

The Texans beat the Bills in the Wild Card game while the Chiefs were on a bye last week. Houston barely managed to beat a team that shot themselves in the foot in the 2nd half last week. Quite honestly the Texans offense outside of DeShaun Watson needs to play better. He pretty much saved your butts last week. The same in general goes to Patrick Mahomes. He needs to put up better stats than the past few weeks, at least with more passing yards. I like the Chiefs offense a bit more than the Texans offense and in terms of defense I like the Chiefs offense a smidge better than the Texans as they have been playing better as well. I'll take KC.

Seattle Seahawks (11-5) @ Green Bay Packers (13-3) (FOX): TW: Seahawks; CV: Seahawks

The Seahawks beat the Eagles in the Wild Card game while the Packers were on a bye last week. Out of the teams that had a bye last week, Green Bay is probably the most vulnerable of being a one-and-done. The running game is capable of putting up numbers and Aaron Rodgers is good in the playoffs but which of his wide outs are going to step up and put up yardage. Outside of Davante Adams, who can Rodgers rely on? I feel the Packers defense will get tired of the offense going three and out in the game. Seattle has a running game and a capable receiving corp to get them far. If the Packers can't get to Russell Wilson then this game will be very much in Seattle's favor. I hope I'm wrong but I can't trust the Packers offense to put up more points than Seattle. Definitely hope that I'm wrong.

See you guys on Monday for the Divisional round recap.

-Tom