By Brandon Simmons
Rams vs. Packers
The Los Angeles Rams escaped the first round with a victory over the Seattle Seahawks but will now focus their attention on the Green Bay Packers. The Rams beat the Seahawks last Saturday with the help of their defense. who finished with 5 sacks and a pick 6. L.A. defensive linemen Leonard Floyd and Aaron Donald had 2 sacks apiece. They will have their hands full with the Packers, are coming into this postseason as the number one scoring offense, led by Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers threw for a career high 48 touchdowns and only had 5 interceptions. Rodgers vs. the Rams’ number one ranked pass defense is going to be a matchup key to this game.
In a game, with that matchup on hand, Green Bay’s running game is going to crucial in winning the game for them. Rodgers is truly one of the game’s great passers, but Packers running backs Aaron Jones and Jamal Williams have become a nice 1-2 punch in the backfield that he can rely on. If things aren’t going right through the air, or if the Rams pass rush is becoming a pest, these 2 guys can take that pressure away. Now Aaron Rodgers is Aaron Rodgers, but he even he struggled against a solid 49ers defense last year in the playoffs. If the Packers go through Jones and Williams, they can neutralize that Los Angeles pass rush while wearing down that defense. Look forward for the Packers to be cheesing after a victory.
Ravens vs. Bills
The Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens are coming off big, close wins in the Wild Card round and will collide in a huge matchup this weekend. For Baltimore, they went back to the 2019 version of themselves in last weekend’s win against the Tennessee Titans: run the ball, feature QB Lamar Jackson and play tough defense. It’s a recipe they have used in 2018 and 2019 regular seasons but failed in the postseason, until this year. The Bills had a rough start to last weekend’s Wild Card win over the Indianapolis Colts. But due to numerous Colts’ mistakes, Buffalo regrouped and got their gameplan going. The interesting part about both teams is that their offenses have a limitation on each side. The Ravens can run the ball extremely well, but their passing offense isn’t up to par. It’s vice versa with the Bills; killer receiving trio but not able to run the ball as efficiently.
The thing that Baltimore going for them in this game is Lamar Jackson. Sure, he had 179 yards passing, but he also had 136 yards rushing, meaning he could not be contained very much. What might have gone unnoticed in the Wild Card win is that Ravens wide receiver Marquise Brown had one of his better games during the season with 7 catches for 109 yards. If Brown fails to get things going at any point of the game, Jackson still has tight ends, like Mark Andrews, to rely on and get the ball to. Buffalo has the better receiving core, hands down, but the weather is being forecasted to have some snow, as well as some high winds. There’s a possibility to limit both teams’ passing game and make them run the ball, which falls in favor of the Ravens, who finished the regular season number one in rushing. If the weather doesn’t slow down the Bills passing attack, then Baltimore’s 6th ranked will step up to the challenge of containing Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs. The Ravens will be prepared for a dog fight in the snow and get Lamar his 2nd playoff victory.
Browns vs. Chiefs
The Cleveland Browns had a convincing win against the Pittsburgh Steelers last weekend and now they will have to do the same thing against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Browns win came with a lot of headlines, with most of them surrounding the failures of the Steelers late in the year, and not the dominance of Cleveland in the first quarter. However, they will need to repeat that performance against the Chiefs if they want to have even a whiff of a win. Kansas City has clinched homefield advantage throughout the playoffs and all their players will be at full health.
The Browns are not going to have the same success they had against the Steelers, against the Chiefs. Kansas City has been playing great and they are still very much the same explosive team they were when they won the Super Bowl. Cleveland is a good team, and they showed up to the Wild Card when Pittsburgh didn’t, but the Chiefs are a different animal. One key difference about this year’s team is that it does not appear to be a shakiness vested in the defense. It’s a unit that’s ranked 10th in total points allowed, as well as 10th in opposing quarterback rating. The latter can be probably be attributed to All Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu, who finished the regular season 3rd for interceptions. Kansas City will have to take out the Cleveland running game, led by Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. However, the Chiefs offense can score quick, slow, and plentiful, with QB Patrick Mahomes and wide receiver Tyreek Hill. That combo is a dangerous mix for any team that they face. The Chiefs are going to pull away with this win.
Buccaneers vs. Saints
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints will clash for the 3rd time this season, in what many are expecting to be an epic, final showdown between Bucs QB Tom Brady and Saints QB Drew Brees. Last weekend, Brady led Tampa Bay to a 31-23 victory off his 381 passing yards. Brees led his team to a 21-9 blowout win with 265 yards but a lot of help from his defense. Speaking of defense, it has been the key to New Orleans winning both meetings this season. In each game, Brady was sacked 3 times and threw at least 2 picks. Last weekend, both teams easily handled their opponents with their legendary quarterbacks leading the way; but now, they will put them both against each other to see who is going to rise up for the win.
As much as the narrative wants to lean towards Tom Brady overcoming adversity this late in his career, or 3rd time’s a charm for Tampa to beat New Orleans, this Saints team just might sweep him for the season. Both offenses are phenomenal in their own way, but there’s a key irony here. Just as Brady was able to operate the Patriots offense to the fullest because he’s known it for years, the same can be said for Drew Brees in the New Orleans offense. This is Brady’s first year in the Bucs offense, and he has done good, but he’s needed some extra weapons to curve his success. The Saints offense has weapons all over the place, including 2 quarterbacks. Last week, it was Saints wide receiver Deonte Harris that got things rolling early with 7 catches for 83 yards. But if the N.O. offense can’t get things going right away, their defense will hold it down until they do. The 5th ranked Saints passing defense against the 2nd ranked Bucs passing offense is going to be a matchup to watch, but the latter has had 2 chances to succeed and has not. With the intricate, offensive firepower of New Orleans, and their stout defense, the Saints will be getting the win in this game.
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