By Brandon Simmons
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Tennessee Titans
For the 2nd straight week, the Cincinnati Bengals will be opening the playoff weekend, but this time they will be on the road facing the Tennessee Titans. The Titans are the AFC’s one seed after surviving a Kansas City Chiefs win and beating the Houston Texans in their regular season finale. It was a game they desperately needed to get their team back to full strength, particularly, regaining running back Derrick Henry. Henry suffered a foot injury in November and was sent to IR, but it was always believed that he would be back in time for the playoffs. Well, he returned to practice the week of the final game but obviously the Titans chose the smart move and rested him for this situation. Tennessee is going to need their offense to try and keep up with the Bengals high-powered attack. Cincy QB Joe Burrow helped his team pounce on the Las Vegas Raiders early in their Wild Card win last week. They have been nothing less than explosive all season and will need to employ those same tactics if they want to beat the Titans.
However, the Titans are going to emerge from this game, with a tough, hard-fought win. Everybody is amazed by this Bengals offense, but they are going against an experienced and stout Titans defense on the road. However, it’s the Titans offense that be the road block for Cincy to be productive on the scoreboard. Tennessee will be getting back running back Derrick Henry who will solidify their running attack, which has been sort of stable in his absence. Titans running D’onta Foreman as emerged a viable option in the ground game as well as Vontrelle Hilliard. It should not be forgotten that Tennessee can take it to the air as well. Titans QB Ryan Tannehill has wide receivers A.J. Brown and Julio Jones are two big targets that can be weapons if the rushing attack is not as effective. The Titans have too much experience, in addition to a more complete team and will outlast the Bengals.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Green Bay Packers
Coming off a thrilling win, the San Francisco 49ers are heading into the Frozen Tundra to face the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Divisional Round. The Packers are the number one seed in the NFC, in a season that saw them deal with some miniscule controversy, but not enough to derail their quest for a title. It’s a stark contrast from the journey the 49ers had to take. It was an interesting season of ups and downs for San Francisco, including the questioning of San Francisco QB Jimmy Garropolo’s future with the team. Still, Jimmy G and the Niners fought through any distractions to clinch a playoff berth and knock off the Dallas Cowboys on the road. Now they find themselves taking on the Packers, in a rematch from Week 3 in which Green Bay won 30-28.
You can expect Green Bay to walk away with another win in this game too. The Packers will be fully rested against a team that has been fighting for a postseason spot since the final few weeks of the season. However, it’s more to it than which team is rested more. The Packers already have the advantage with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. He will have to contend with the Niner tough pass rush, led by defensive end Nick Bosa, who has cleared concussion protocols, but he can get rid of the ball quick enough to slow down the aggressiveness of the defensive line. It’s easy to do that when you have a wide receiver such as Davante Adams. Even if Green Bay doesn’t get things going in the air, they can go to the ground with running backs Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon. The Packers will take this game in a contest that will not be as close.
Los Angeles Rams vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are looking for revenge against the Los Angeles Rams when they meet up this Sunday in a rematch from Week 3, in which the Rams won 34-24. The Rams handed the Bucs their first loss of the year in front of the home Los Angeles crowd. Now the tables have turned with Tampa Bay playing host to L.A., which should turn into an instant shootout. It starts with Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady. Both QB’s are in the top 10 of the major passing categories such as touchdowns, yards and completions. Each quarterback is coming in this game with their own weapon at wide receiver. Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp is leading the league in receptions, yards and touchdowns while Bucs receiver Mike Evans is 2nd in touchdowns. However, it was Evans posted a big statline of 9 catches for 117 yards and a touchdown in Tampa’s Wild Card win last weekend, while Kupp only had 5 catches for 61 yards and a touchdown.
The Buccaneers are going to be the victors in a tough shootout. While both offenses are going to be off the charts, it’s going to come down to who has the best defense, which will be the Buccaneers in this case. This unit is 5th in the league overall, 3rd against the run but 21st against the pass. Don’t let the latter stat fool you, because this unit can find various ways to bring pressure to the quarterback, which spells trouble for Rams QB Matthew Stafford. Stafford can certainly give the Rams a chance to win behind his arm but him being in the pocket will out him at risk of being susceptible to the exotic blitzes of Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. L.A. could employ their run game but Tampa can stop that as well. There is also the fact that QB Tom Brady is going to be on the field and thrives in big moments such as these. This is going to be a tall task for him since he’s playing behind an injured offensive line but it’s nothing that Brady has not seen before and football fans will see it once again.
Buffalo Bills vs. Kansas City Chiefs
If “saving the best for last” was a football game this would be it. The Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills are squaring up in a rematch of their Week 5 matchup, in which the Bills won 38-29. It was a game where both teams switched fates within their season. The Chiefs went on a 5-1 run while the Bills went 3-3. This weekend’s game will also feature 2 QB’s with some high-powered offenses. While the Bills defense finished number one in the season, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is a different breed and will find a way to pick apart this unit. Bills QB Josh Allen will most likely put up numbers against the Chiefs defense, but do not underestimate the plays that this unit could make.
It really is no easy task to choose a winner in this game, but the Kansas City Chiefs are pulling this win out of a thrilling matchup. At the time of that game, the Chiefs had a myriad of issues including offense committing turnovers and defensive being subpar; but during their turnaround, they cleaned those things up for the most part. It is a different team than what Buffalo faced earlier this year. This Chiefs team are back to their offensively explosive ways and the defense has found ways to keep this team in the game if things don’t go right. This game really could come down to which defense makes the better play at the right time, and at this time, the Chiefs are likely going to claim that moment.
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