Four Down Territory: Wild Card Weekend

January 9, 2018
229

Kickoff

Wild card weekend has come and gone and it man was it a great weekend for football. Andy Reid went all Andy Reid, Marcus Mariota has more playoff TD catches than OBJ and Mike Evans, my fandom for Jalen Ramsey keeps growing, and that’s just on the AFC side.

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Let’s start the drive.

1st Down

The NFC South put on quite the performance. The sixth seeded Falcons traveled all the way to LA and took down the high powered Rams. The Saints took out their rivals in Carolina in a performance that might have been a little too close for comfort.

The Falcons travel to Philadelphia to face the top seeded Eagles while the Saints travel to Minnesota to face the Vikings.

The amazing part? We could very well have an NFC South Championship game. Nick Foles hasn’t instilled much confidence into the Eagles after putrid performances against the Raiders and Cowboys. The weather was supposed to be the equalizer but as of now it’s supposed to be 50 and cloudy with a chance of rain. A wet ball does help ground the Falcons passing attack but the bitter cold the Eagles were hoping for was a week too early. The Eagles open as 2.5 underdog, the first time a one seed has not been favored. If the Eagles are going to pull the “upset” then the pressure is on Fletcher Cox and that defensive line to live in Matt Ryan‘s lap. The Jay train needs to get rolling early on and they’re going to have to win ugly.

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The Saints, on the other hand, will play a Vikings team that has rode a great defense to the number two seed. Case Keenum has played well, and will get PAID this offseason, but the Vikings offense doesn’t really scare anyone. The Saints will have to take advantage of opportunities if they’re going to win this game.

After writing all of that you’d think I’d give a prediction but that’s later.

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2nd Down

On Sunday we’ll see the Jaguars travel to Pittsburgh and Tennessee head to New England for a showdown that no one saw coming.

Before we get there, though, let’s look at how both teams got here.

The Jaguars played the ugliest playoff game one can imagine against the Bills. Seriously, there are lacrosse games that have more points than that. The Jags defense held Buffalo to three points while Blake Bortles only mustered ten of his own.

Now you see why no one is out here rooting to watch a Bortles Super Bowl.

The Jags defense went all WWE and gave Tyrod an old fashioned Rock Bottom.

Someone is catching a fine for that.

The Jags will try to beat Pittsburgh in PA again on Sunday. Again, no predictions here. Keep reading.

Tennessee did the impossible by walking into Kansas City and beating the Chiefs in one of the hardest places to play.

Or is it?

The Chiefs are 2-6 all time at Arrowhead Stadium.

Andy Reid also went back to his old ways by abandoning the run all together and relying on Alex Smith even after Kelce went down with a concussion.

Last week I questioned if Marcus was all that he was cracked up to be and boy did he shut me up. The former Heisman winner did it all. No seriously, he did everything.

Now the Titans face the ultimate test; Brady and company. Can the Titans pull off one of the greatest upsets in NFL history?

I’ve told y’all there are no predictions on this slide. Keep going.

3rd Down 

Cam got the snot knocked out of him Sunday. After a hit that I felt all the way in Virginia Cam ran to the sideline and fell before getting there. He blamed it on his visor poking him in the eye but c’mon….just look.

https://twitter.com/ChrisNowinski1/status/950162298802491392

I guess Cam figured that if he can fool us into thinking those Instagram hieroglyphics are cool then he can fool us into thinking he didn’t have a concussion.

The NFL has a real problem and they need to iron it out immediately. If this continues it won’t be long before someone dies on the field. Players are bigger, faster, and stronger meaning the collisions are that more vicious.

They won’t fix it, though. They can’t figure out what a catch is.

4th Down

Okay, let’s get to some predictions.

First and foremost; dates and times.

Falcons at Eagles: The Falcons excel at the things the Eagles are weak at. Quarterbacks that get the ball out quickly neutralize Philadelphia’s pass rush and very few get the ball out quicker than Matt Ryan. Julio Jones is unstoppable and the Falcons’ run game isn’t anything to sneeze at, either. The Eagles are going to have to lean on press coverage and hope that Fletcher Cox can get home. On offense the Eagles have got to put the ball in Jay Ajayi’s hands and win time of possession. As much as I’d love to see the Eagles fly I think Foles is too much of a liability.

Falcons 24-21

Titans at Patriots: The Titans are gonna have to feed Derrick Henry until he can’t eat anymore. The Patriots rank 20th in rush defense and Tennessee ranks 1st in rushing. With that being said I think Brady and Belichick are a lot better than Mariota and Mularkey. The Patriots have an extra gear that’s only turned on during the playoffs. This will be closer than people expect but I think New England gets the win

New England 17-12

Jaguars at Steelers: Week five Jacksonville rolled into Pittsburgh and handled the Steelers 30-9. Leonard Fournette ran all over that defense to the tune of 181 yards and 2 touchdowns. He’s going to need a similar performance if they have a chance of repeating victory. AB returns from tearing his calf and the Steelers did pretty well during his absence. This is the hardest game to pick because I can see Jacksonville beating Pittsburgh in an ugly game but, as I’ve said many times, it comes down to quarterback play. Ben is 10000000000000000000 times better than Bortles and can make the play that Jacksonville’s offense can’t right now.

Pittsburgh 21-17

Saints and Vikings: I understand that the Vikings have a great defense but I just can’t see them beating the Saints. This isn’t an indictment on Minnesota’s defense but more on their offense. Case Keenum has played above his head and I can’t see him outdueling Drew Brees. The Vikings defense keeps them in the game but the Saints break it over after running Kamara over and over.

Saints 31-17

Extra Points

Alex Smith might as well find a realtor in Cleveland. That goes for Eli Apple, too. Johnny Manziel making fun of the Browns for going 0-16 is more pathetic than anything. The ESPN piece on the power struggle in New England is, by far, the most interesting story heading into the offseason. Marcus Peters might be a little too real.

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As always, thanks for reading.

 

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January 9, 2018
229