Sarkus
1705
My gut feelling is that five of the six home teams will win this weekend. The two that may go the other way are 49ers/Cowboys and Cardinals/Rams. San Francisco could easily win. I feel like the Cardinals have a shot because they actually played much better on the road this season and because neither LA team has any real home field advantage.
As for Patriots/Bills, while I understand why people think Belichick is going to come up with something brilliant, I just don’t see the Bills being caught off guard like they were back in the wind game. Remember, the Bills controlled the Patriots in Foxboro just a few weeks ago and clearly have the better overall talent. Finally, while the Bills under McDermott lost to the Patriots the first six times they played, Buffalo is 3-1 against them since Brady left. So I think the Bills have a good chance of being able to counter whatever the Patriots come up with.
JonRowe
1706
Picks:
Sat
Bengals over Raiders
Patriots over Bills
Sun
Buccaneers over Eagles
Cowboys over 49’ers
Chiefs over Steelers
Mon
Cardinals over Rams
These are going to be some close ass games (well… most of them) as this is a pretty competitive super wild card weekend.
Only real upsets I have picked are the Cards and Patriots. Bellicheck beat the Bills at home earlier this year, and I just think that the Bills will be out-coached. Cardinals over the Rams is really just my thought that the Rams will implode at some point this post-season, and this is a tough one, they also lost to the Cards at home earlier this season.
The other one I almost picked was the Raiders over the Bengals. But I want the Bengals to win, and the tie-ruiners to lose. Though I think that it is a dangerous game for the Bengals.
My Picks:
Sat
Bengals over Raiders
Bills over Pats
Sun
Buccaneers over Eagles
Cowboys over 49’ers
Chiefs over Steelers
Mon
Cardinals over Rams
The closest of those will be the Bengals game.
NFL Network is celebrating the renewed SF/Dallas rivalry by showing the '82 championship game (“The Catch” game). Fun memories, after losing to Dallas 3 times in the playoffs in the early 70s, followed by the black hole years. It was the late game on the day of the -20° San Diego/Cincinnati game.
Why is everyone picking Bucs over my Eagles? I mean, I know Eagles squeaked in at 9-8 with a rookie coach and a near-rookie QB and a shitty defense going against the defending Super Bowl champs with a QB who is literally superhuman, but I mean, you never know – they might do well with the coin toss…
Sigh. It could be brutal.
CraigM
1710
On the one hand: Fuck Brady.
On the other: Revenge of the Double Doink
On the gripping hand I am giving Philly a reprieve on bad vibes, temporary for sure, while Florida gets no such thing.
Go Eagles (I hate myself for saying this)
Apparently the ticket resale prices for Bills/Patriots are plummeting. You can get into a playoff game cheap. Except it will be a night game with the temperatures forecast in the single digits.
The Bengals need to win so someone can finally send a text about a Bengals playoff win.
rshetts
1714
I have some friends in Buffalo ( they are season ticket holders ) who are giving their tickets away. Single digit weather in Buffalo? No thanks! I’ll watch it from my warm comfy recliner!
I am not surprised. Single digit weather is for the young. You get older and the big screen TV, couch, and fridge full of snacks and beverages is very appealing.
Sheesh, “The Catch” was 40 years ago?!?! Gah.
It’s just brutal. You can bundle up with all the warmest layers possible, but the sheer fact that you can’t move around for three hours makes it difficult to generate any body heat.
The players have heaters on the sideline, and when they’re on the field they’re running around and generating a lot of body heat.
I wonder if the Raiders pass rush is going to cause some issues for Cincy, especially if Burrow’s gimpy knee makes him less mobile than he might otherwise have been. I think for LVR to have a chance in this game, it had better.
Lantz
1719
Maxx Crosby had a crazy pants 61.5% win rate when they met. Bengals definitely need to figure out some answers there.
Sarkus
1720
So the only team to interview Brian Flores so far is the . . . Texans. If he ended up there (not out of the realm of possibility given the Patriots ties GM Caserio has) it would be very interesting. Guess who reportedly preferred to be traded to Miami because Flores was the coach? Yep, DeShaun Watson. Would he stay in Houston if he that is the new coach there? That would be a crazy scenario.
Scuzz
1721
Is it a question of where Watson is as long as the questions of rape surround him?
Sarkus
1722
There are indications that the civil cases aren’t all that far from being settled and that Watson may avoid significant criminal consequences. The Dolphins reportedly came close to trading for him before the trade deadline but wanted the civil cases resolved first. Other teams are supposedly still interested, to the point that “multiple first round picks” are the likely return again.
Assuming that the legal stuff gets resolved, then the assumption has been that he would be traded. That could still happen. I just wonder if he would reconsider his position if Flores took over the Texans in that scenario, assuming Flores and Caserio still would like to keep him.
Let’s at least enjoy Mailata!
https://youtu.be/RCbarLIlY1s
NBC’s Mike Tirico: Raiders have the worst Red Zone defense in the league, not just this year, but for the last 30 years.
Wow. That’s an amazing stat.
