NFC
San Francisco 49ers Vs Dallas Cowboys
History says that when these two teams face off against each other in the playoffs the winner ends up in the Super Bowl! This is a new generation of players in this one, but I expect this to be another great matchup in the history of this rivalry! The Cowboys come into this matchup with the top offense and defense in the league. The defense has been the most impressive leading the league in turnovers and making life hell for the opposing quarterback. They have gone from the leagues worst defense last year to the best and the difference maker has been the rookie Micah Parsons! That dude is all over the field and can move around like no other player on the defensive side of the ball. He isn’t the only guy making life hell for quarterbacks, Demarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory are on each side of the line and good luck trying to block all three of them! They will make all the difference in this matchup because they will need to get at Jimmy Garapollo. When put under pressure Jimmy G has been known to cause a turnover or two. He also has a thumb injury on his throwing hand which I don’t believe will be helpful for him going against this defense. The Cowboys defense will hold it down and set the offense up with good field position to get some easy points. The 49ers secondary is one of the worst in the league and is going to have a problem with all of the options Dak has at receiver. I expect this to be a close one to start, but the Cowboys will start to pull away in the second half and wear down this 49ers defense.
Cowboys over 49ers 31-21
Arizona Cardinals Vs Los Angeles Rams
Neither one of these teams come into the playoffs with a good win in week 18. The Cardinals were the top team in the league up until the last month and a half and have really fallen off of the face of the planet. They had a huge lead in the division and ended up losing it to the Rams. Other than last week the Rams offense has been flying high and the defense has been getting better every week. They did blow a big lead against the 49ers, but they just can’t seem to get past that team. These teams split the season series with the Cardinals obliterating the Rams early on in the season and the Rams returning the favor at the end of the season with a big win in Arizona. I think the difference in this matchup is the Rams are the more healthy team and have been playing much better football than the Cardinals the last couple of months. The Cardinals haven’t looked like a good team since Deandre Hopkins was injured and the defense hasn’t been playing as well as they were at the beginning of the season. The Cardinals continue to freefall and don’t play with a lot of confidence while the Rams still look like a very confident team on offense and defense.
Rams over Cardinals 28-23
Philadelphia Eagles Vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I have a feeling this will be the only blowout game of the weekend because the Eagles aren’t that good. They do have a great ground attack on offense, but other than that they are vanilla on offense, Jalen Hurts isn’t that great at reading a defense and this is not the defense to have those kind of problems against. The Eagles defense isn’t horrible, but I don’t think they will be able to keep up with Tom Brady and this fast paced high-scoring offense. Tom Brady led the league in passing and pretty much lit up the entire league, yet again! The Bucs will be getting back Leonard Fournette at running back, which makes a huge difference especially since he shines in the postseason! I don’t believe this game will be close at any point other than at the kickoff because the Eagles are just not that good and the Bucs are one of the top teams in the league.
Buccaneers over Eagles 41-14
AFC
Pittsburgh Steelers Vs Kansas City Chiefs
The Steelers really have no business being in the postseason, but here they are coming off of two major wins and some luck steamrolling into Kansas City! I honestly can’t believe the Steelers made the postseason just because on offense they are not good at all. On the defensive side of the ball they are tops in the league, especially at rushing the quarterback. Earlier this season the Steelers were completely embarrassed by the Chiefs in probably their worst game of the season. I expect a much different matchup this time around because that type of game is something you really want to forget! The Chiefs have not impressed me at all this season. The offense starts the game off hot, but completely cools off as the game progresses on and the glaring holes in the defense have been ripped open the last two games leading into the postseason. The Chiefs have no ground attack what-so-ever and the offense completely relies on the passing attack, which is great for them at times, but overall this offense has not been as explosive as they were in the past. Patrick Mahomes has turned into Patty Turnovers this season and that’s where I believe the Steelers have the edge in this matchup. The defense needs to bounce back from that last game and I think they will be ready to go and have Mahomes running for his life all day. Ben Roethlisberger is a veteran who knows how to win in the postseason and while he has had a pretty awful season comparatively to the past, he has proven this season he can still keep his team in it and drive them down the field to score when they need to. This looks to be his last season and ever since he said that it has really sparked a fire under this team and they are playing like they have nothing to lose. I think Ben and the Steelers will get at least one more week into the season with a huge upset in Kansas City!
Steelers over Chiefs 21-20
New England Patriots Vs Buffalo Bills
These two teams have been headed in the opposite direction the last month of the season. The Patriots have completely cooled off on the offensive side of the ball and Mac Jones is starting to look like a rookie again. The Bills finally figured out how to incorporate the running game into their offense which has been a huge help for them going into the playoffs. These teams know each other well given that they are division opponents that split the two regular season matchups. The first of which was really affected by the weather and Mac Jones only threw a total of 3 passes. The Patriots offense will need a lot more than that from him coming into this one, but he’s a rookie and I expect him to play like one. The Bills defense has really been a headache this season for every opposing offense they went up against and I expect more of that in this game. The Bills defense is going to put the pressure on Mac Jones who will inevitably try to do too much and could cause a few turnovers in the process. This will help setup the Bills offense in good scoring position and they usually take advantage of that with some points on the board. Bill Belichick is a master in the playoffs and has really turned this team around quick, but I still think the Patriots have some holes on the offensive side of the ball when it comes to the passing game. This should be another great matchup between these two teams, but I think the Bills are the better team and will come out with the win in the end.
Bills over Patriots 24-17
Las Vegas Raiders Vs Cincinnati Bengals
With the season that the Raiders have had it’s amazing that they have made it this far! There was nothing but turmoil throughout this season and they were able to overcome and focus on the field at the task at hand. Derek Carr has really held his own and proven he is a true leader and a good quarterback that any team would be lucky to have. The Bengals on the other hand have a high-flying offense that has been really fun to watch this season! Joe Burrow has been lights out this season and the rookie Ja’Marr Chase looks to be the next great receiver in the league! Both of these teams are very similar because they have absolutely no playoff experience and have never been in this position in recent years which means this can go either way. The better team is obviously the Bengals, but the Raiders are on fire right now and came roaring into the playoffs and don’t look like they are about to give up easily. The edge in this matchup is the Bengals offense. If they are able to open it up on the Raiders defense and score a lot of points then the Raiders offense won’t be able to keep up because they don’t have the firepower. The Raiders were able to make the best with what they were given this season and that says a lot, but I believe it will all come to an end against Cincinnati.
Bengals over Raiders 30-20
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