By Brandon Simmons
Minnesota Vikings vs. San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers begin their playoff run by hosting the Minnesota Vikings, who are coming off their overtime road victory against the New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card. The Niners are currently reaping the fruits of their rebuilding labor, which has been headed by General Manager John Lynch. While the offense can be overpowering, the San Francisco defense can be just as menacing, especially their defensive line, which features defensive ends Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead. They will have to prove that against a Vikings team that can be suspect in key moments, but recently found itself clutch in the right time.
The Niners defense is going to have their hands full getting after Vikings QB Kirk Cousins and running back Dalvin Cook. Cook had 94 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns in last week’s win and was a huge reason Minnesota was able to hang around before Cousins started picking things up in that game. Cook, as well as backup Alexander Mattison, could be a problem for San Francisco, who is 17th against the run. However, if Cousins thinks he’s going to get off like he did against the Saints, then he will be disappointed. The 49ers are ranked 1st against the pass and a major component to that is because of their defensive line which has this unit tied for 5th in the league for sacks. Armstead leads the team in sacks but opponents still have to deal with Bosa and defensive end Dee Ford. This stout combination of a combination can terrorize the QB, even so much as to forcing him to make an erroneous throw into the secondary.
What it really comes down to is the 49ers are just the better football team and not afraid of this moment. They have already been in a few primetime, nationally televised matchups this season in which they played big, whether they won or lost. Their blowout win against the Green Bay Packers proved they can beat playoff-level competition in a major way. The Vikings do have their weapons in which they can make plays with such as Cook, as well as wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen. However, the San Francisco offense can get explosive. The Niners zone read running game is lethal with its committee of Tevin Coleman, Matt Breida and Raheem Mostart. All three of these backs can hit the end zone before you blink. Niners wide receivers Emmanuel Sanders and Deebo Samuels have been a tough duo ever since Sanders came over in a trade from Denver. Then tight end George Kittle gives San Fran QB Jimmy Garropolo a big target to terrorize the defense at his will. The Vikings pulled off a good win but the Niners will get the victory off a better performance this weekend.
Tennessee Titans vs. Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens make their playoff debut against the Tennessee Titans, who probably scored the biggest upset of Wild Card weekend. The Titans knocked off the New England Patriots behind a solid run game led by running back Derrick Henry. However, when you talk about running, and beating the Patriots, nobody was better at both than Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. The 2nd year phenom had a breakout year this season and has catapulted the Ravens to the top of the league. Baltimore will be facing a Titans team that has Ryan Tannehill, a QB who catapulted them from their own obscurity.
What’s interesting about this game is the fact that both teams are coming with their own solid running attacks. The Titans have been on a 2 game surge with the ground game. Against the Texans, Henry was able to get 211 yards rushing and followed up with a 182 yard performance. But when it comes to running the ball, the Ravens have everyone beat, almost literally. Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson is a big component of this run game as he can move around in the pocket and move down the field. His scrambling ability has put defenses on high alert, anticipating when he breaks the pocket and sometimes neglecting the tight ends in coverage that he just casually hits. Running back Mark Ingram is also moving the number one rushing Ravens all over the field, as well as spell back Gus Edwards.
The only upset coming from the Titans in this game will be their defensive coordinator upset that Jackson has eluded most of the players. Baltimore has been dominating teams for most of this season with their ground attack and defense. Tennessee didn’t do much in the air but that could be attributed to their success on the ground. But they will get an early lesson on whether or not to challenge that Ravens secondary, especially when cornerback Marcus Peters is taking a chance on the ball. It was a good “run” for the Titans while it lasted but Baltimore will be ending that one and continuing on with their own run.
Houston Texans vs. Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are hosting the Houston Texans in a tough rematch from their Week 6 loss to Houston. In that game, the Texans overtook a 17-3 1st quarter deficit to score 20 straight points in the 2nd quarter for a 23-17 halftime lead and ended up winning 31-24. For the Chiefs, it was a game that was an aberration to their season. This was the game before KC quarterback Pat Mahomes went down with an injury and the return of wide receiver Tyreek Hill from his injury. There were quite a few other players hurt, including wide receiver Sammy Watkins. Fast forward to now and the Chiefs are looking to avenge their loss from long ago.
Many people’s eyes are going to be glued to this for the QB matchup of the Chiefs’ Pat Mahomes and the Texans’ Deshaun Watson. Both guys show similar skillsets with having the ability to throw the ball downfield but also stay mobile to escape the pocket. Mahomes has the upper hand on receivers with just Tyreek Hill alone. In their first matchup, Hill had 2 TD’s for the Chiefs after returning from the injury. The Texans have wide receiver Deandre Hopkins, but he had a quiet 9 catches for 55 yards in this matchup. However, Watson was able to provide two rushing TD’s of his own while throwing one to running back Duke Johnson.
The one thing that will separate these two teams and their playmaking QB’s is how well the ball can be ran, in which the Texans have the advantage. In the first game, Texans running back Carlos Hyde had 116 of the team’s 192 rushing yards; Watson added in 42 of his own. At the time of that win, defensive tackle Chris Jones was out and that could have played a factor; but he has since returned and the run defense has improved just a little. Since Jones came back, they’ve held opponents to under 100 yards 4 times; but it’s a far cry from the 180’s and 203’s they were giving at the top of the season. The flip side of this is that the Chiefs cannot run the ball that great either, which should be easy for the Texans and their run defense. Watson has already proven he could come back on Kansas City and demonstrated the same on the Buffalo Bills last week. This week, he will just find another way to win a tough game on the road.
Seattle Seahawks vs. Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers will be hosting the Seattle Seahawks as well as some tough weather conditions in their playoff game this Sunday. The Packers are coming into this game as the number 2 seed in the NFC courtesy of the Seahawks losing to the 49ers in Week 17. Now Green Bay can repay Seattle by handing them a loss of their own. However, that will not be an easy task since the Seahawks have not only revived their passing game, but it’s possible that their rebuilt run game should catch fire as well. But that should not deter from the fact that the Packers have built up a ground attack of their own.
The real Aaron that has made a difference for the Green Bay Packers has been Jones. The 3rd year running back has been an offensive blessing for the Packers and 1st year head coach Matt LaFleur. Jones has displayed the ability to run the balls but catch it if needed, as evidenced by his 7 catch, 159 yard game he had against the Kansas City Chiefs. The other RB, Jamaal Williams, provides a nice change up for their ground game. At the end of the day, the Packers are going to win this game with stability. The Seahawks’ banged up running back group has affected them a little bit too much for them to be moving deep into the playoffs. The scored 17 points against an injury-filled Eagles team in the middle of the 3rd quarter and failed to score another point after that. Just look at their games against San Francisco this season. Seattle had 147 in the first one with their original running back committee and won; but 125 in the second matchup with the new group and lost. The Packers do not have an issue at all with that. Both of their RB’s are healthy and Rodgers is still his competitive self. On top of that, the Smith brothers, Zadarius and Preston, are two pass rushing threats who can get to the QB with ease, so the Seattle offensive line is going to have their work cut for them. The Packers will be cheesing more than their heads when they get the W t the end of this one.