Tennessee Titans/Kansas City Chiefs: the Chiefs and Titans only have 3 playoff wins between them this century, so in a way it's good that they play each other this Saturday. Neither team was particularly impressive in 2017, although they both weren't that bad either, leaving the outcome of this game difficult to predict, if not exceedingly unfathomable. Kansas City had a strange year. They began the season hot, defeating New England and Philadelphia on the way to a five game win streak, before losing 6 of their next 7, with losses against both the Jets and the Giants over that stretch. They dominated their division though and went 5-1, damn it, as did Tennessee, who also picked up a big win against Seattle in week 3. But if you take a quick glance at the Titan's 2017 schedule, the only teams they played that weren't struggling were Jacksonville, Seattle, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and the L.A. Rams, and they lost to three of them, pulling off a win against the Jaguars in the rematch (the rematch was meaningless for Jacksonville). They also lost against Arizona and San Francisco with the playoffs on the line. If you include stats from Houston, they've met in the playoffs once, a 28-20 Chiefs victory achieved in 1993. And I think Kansas City will come out on top in this one. This is their third year in a row in the playoffs, and they're playing at home, and they've won 4 straight, and even though they blow it in the postseason year after year, I think they've lost so much that they're bound to win this weekend. Not that Tennessee won't be putting up classic Wild Card opposition. Picking Kansas City. At home with Andy Reid.
Atlanta Falcons/L.A. Rams: a bunch of teams in the playoffs this year who haven't been there for awhile. You can include Atlanta in that list on occasion, yet the Falcons made an historic run in 2016 that ended in bitter defeat. They were good this year as well and still put up 10 wins despite the fact that everyone was gunning for last year's NFC Super Bowl rep. They didn't seem as dominant though, even if division rivals Carolina and New Orleans fielded much better teams. The Rams on the other hand finally pulled it together after missing the playoffs for 12 straight years, their last playoff game, a 47-17 loss to the Falcons. They made one crucial change in 2017 that I think will make the difference in this one: Wade Phillips is now their defensive coordinator, and he has proved in recent years that he knows how to win in the postseason, even if the Falcons had less points scored against them during the season (only 14 less). I imagine L.A. will do what the Patriots did during the second half of last year's Super Bowl, and the Broncos did during Super Bowl 50: blitz often and force Matt Ryan to constantly make big plays without turning the ball over. I've seen Phillips stifle the opposition so many times in the postseason that I think Atlanta's doomed. Hoping the game's close though. Picking the L.A. Rams.
Buffalo Bills/Jacksonville Jaguars: the Bills are back in. The curse of Rob Johnson and the Music City Miracle is over and Buffalo is once again ready to contend for the Super Bowl. They're playing against a tough opponent however. Jacksonville scored 115 more points than the Bills this year and let in 91 fewer. They also defeated Baltimore, Pittsburgh, the L.A. Chargers, Seattle, and Tennessee, winning the majority of their games when facing the 7-9 to 9-7 opposition. Buffalo ground it out all season long, picking up gritty wins, finishing strong after they seemed finished after their third straight loss in week 11, a 54 to 24 defeat to the L.A. Chargers. If this game was being played in frozen Buffalo there would be no doubt, I'd be picking the Bills. But they're facing off in the much warmer Florida, which gives another advantage to Jacksonville. I think the Bills can win. They've demonstrated that they can play ferociously, and even if the Jaguars look better on paper, it's also been some time since they've played in January (2007). They did beat the Bills 30-27 back in their second year in a Wild Card game. They're playing at home. But is Jacksonville really that good? They did beat Pittsburgh 30-9 and forced Roethlisberger to play his worst game ever. I still believe Buffalo can win. But it's looking like the Pittsburgh/Jacksonville rematch is more likely. Picking the Jaguars. After all this time, it's a shame one of these teams has to lose.
Carolina Panthers/New Orleans Saints: the NFC is crazy competitive this year. You should always be a bit nervous and ready for the unpredictable nature of playoff games, but I wouldn't feel 100% about beating any of these teams, even if I played for Philadelphia, that's how freakin' good the NFC is this year. In my mind, Carolina vs. New Orleans is the best Wild Card match-up, two teams who may have received the bye if they hadn't had to play each other twice plus Atlanta this season, the Saints defeating the Panthers twice, the game being played this Sunday in New Orleans. Carolina's made some big playoff runs and won some big games recently, and New Orleans tends to blow it in the postseason, and they haven't played a playoff game for four years even though they have one of the best quarterbacks ever, who must be hungering for another deep playoff run, as I imagine every player on every playoff team always is no question, the Saints finally competing again this year, Carolina, also tenaciously expressing themselves. Denver unfortunately lost the Super Bowl four years ago but then came back to heroically win it two years later versus the Panthers, and if that formula could be applied again, it would certainly improve Carolina's chances. But whatever. New Orleans outscored them during the season by a large margin, beat them twice, is playing at home, and hasn't rocked the playoffs since 2009. There's no doubt that Carolina can win this game. But I'm picking Brees and the Saints in an upbeat celebration of offence.
Get to watch these games this year.
It's been a long time.
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