Welcome to the NFL Playoffs!!!
Most of you should know how this goes by now. For the first two weeks of the playoffs, correct points are worth 3 and correct upsets are worth 5. There’s no limit to the number of upsets you can get credit for, meaning there’s a max of 20 points each week of the playoffs.
With this in mind, here we go!
GAME OF THE WEEK – Saturday at 8:15 EST - Atlanta Falcons (10-6) at Los Angeles Rams (11-5), LAR by 6.5 – This is shaping up to be one heck of a battle between two teams that have the capability of putting up a lot of points. You gotta feel as though Atlanta is much happier facing Los Angeles on the road than New Orleans. The big difference maker here is that the Rams have the better defense, meaning that even if the Falcons’ offense heats up to its capabilities (which it hasn’t done a whole lot this year) the Rams are in a much better position to slow them down. Of all the teams playing this weekend, I feel like the Rams have the best chance of advancing to the Super Bowl, and it begins here.
Rams 27, Falcons 24Saturday at 4:30 EST – Tennessee Titans (9-7) at Kansas City Chiefs (10-6), KC by 8.5 – Fun fact: Vegas actually gives the Titans worse odds to win the Super Bowl now than it did before the season started. Hard to see any chance of the Titans coming in and picking up a win on the road against a Chiefs team that recovered well from a midseason swoon.
Chiefs 31, Titans 13Sunday at 1:00 EST – Buffalo Bills (9-7) at Jacksonville Jaguars (10-6), JAX by 8 – Two teams that haven’t been to the playoffs in a long time. Whichever one wins is the team I’m rallying behind in the AFC. The difference is the Bills are just happy to be here, whereas the Jags have a legitimate chance at making some noise.
Jaguars 27, Bills 14Sunday at 4:40 EST – Carolina Panthers (11-5) at New Orleans Saints (11-5), NO by 6.5 – This is going to be another hard-fought contest, and the fact that it’s divisional foes adds some extra oomph to the matchup. The Saints are just so well-balanced this year that it’s hard to pick against them at home. The Panthers are going to have to play mistake-free football to have a shot.
Saints 27, Panthers 20So call me boring, but no upset picks for me this week!