This should be a tough defensive game, between two teams who finished tied for 54th in sacks during the regular season. This will be a good test for Jimmy Garoppolo, who's really getting his first taste of playoff football as a starter. He's had a mixed bag as far as his play has gone over the last month. He came up big against the Seahawks at the end of the season to clinch the division, but your unsure which Jimmy G your going to get. It looks like a pretty even matchup between the teams, so if the Niners want a chance, they need the Jimmy G they got the last day of the season.
Minnesota needs the same kind of performance out of Dalvin Cook that they got out of him against the Saints last week. If the Vikings want to have a chance against this San Francisco pass rush, they need Cook to be playing at the top of his game. If he's even close, then Kirk Cousins will be able to use the play action pass to great advantage and exploit the 49ers for what they have behind their front seven.
This game is going to be a very close game, just like what the Vikings just went through last week. This time, it won't end the same. The saying that defense wins championships. Well the 49ers had the 2nd best defense overall and the top pass defense in the entire league during the regular season. They get to show that skillset off against the Vikings. Minnesota keeps it close but the Niners get the nod.
Prediction: 49ers 30, Vikings 17
Talk about mounting pressure. The Titans had to go into New England last week to play maybe one of the greatest dynasty ever assembled in football. They beat them. Now they got to try and pull it off again this week. Since benching Marcus Mariota for Ryan Tanahill, the Tennessee offense seemed to have changed their point of view. They've had a little more luck with the passing game. Of course, a lot of that has to do with the strong running attack of the NFL's leading rusher this season, Derek Henry. He's been a beast all year long and had a monster game again last week against New England. For the Titans to even stand a chance, they need him to be like that.
Lets not forget, the Ravens have their own weapon in Lamar Jackson. There little doubt in anybody's mind that by the end of the year, Jackson was a serious threat to be MVP of the entire league. He's a duel threat as both a passer and a runner, he can beat you both ways. He can do it all on offense. The Ravens defense is no slouch either, they've been good from start to finish this season.
Bottom line here is that Baltimore was the top team in the AFC all year long and they are going to prove it again against Tennessee here. Look there no denying what the Titans did against the Patriots was great, they had a game plan stuck with it and it worked out. But its a different animal when your playing the Ravens. Baltimore shows why here.
Prediction: Ravens 35, Titans 14
This could be a fun one this weekend. It took the Texans a little while to get going last week against the Bills and they had to go to overtime to get the win. Now Houston already beat the Chiefs once this year, a 31-24 win in week six. For Houston to be able to pull something like this off again this week, they need Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins to recapture that second half magic from last week and keep it for an entire football game. They also need the defense to step its game up, who is a solid unit, but they're going up against a tough test with Kansas City.
Over the final seven games of the season, Kansas City had been the best defense in the league. Kansas City has no trouble applying pressure to the opposition, with Frank Clark and Terrell Suggs, while the back end is led by Tyrann Mathieu. On offense, Patrick Mahomes has found his stride and has the offensive clicking. Travice Kelce has been Mahomes biggest weapon and Tyreek Hill can still be a big threat. They can still have a solid run game, but it's going to rely on Mahomes arm to do the bulk of the work if the run game isn't there.
Watson and company are coming in with a little bit of momentum after the OT win against the Bills last week. But they are going up against a well rested and very dangerous Kansas City squad who's looking for payback from the loss earlier this year. Watson may show some flashes in this game, but it's Holmes time to shine.
Prediction: Chiefs 30, Texans 14
A matchup of teams with similar styles, this one should be good. It's also going to be Aaron Rogers first test as a playoff quarterback without Mike McCarthy as his head coach. Still Rogers has had a good enough year to help put the Packers as the 2nd seed in the NFC and get at least one home game. And Rogers is still capable of delivering magic this season. just look at the games against the Raiders, Chiefs and Giants this season. He also has Aaron Jones who has started to emerge as a major threat at the running back position. They've got a good offense and happen to be facing a batter and banged up Seattle defense.
Lets not put the Seahawks out to pasture just yet. Bobby Wagner is still the leader of a group that still out to try and prove something. They won't go away quietly. As for the Seattle offense, Russel Wilson has been having one of those Magical years, a year in which some players only really dream of having. Anything is possible with him getting the ball in his hands. I mean he did throw for 325 yards last week in the win over the Eagles.And not to take anything away from the run game, which finished 4th in the NFL during the regular season.
All in all, this maybe the closest matchup of the entire weekend. Playing in Green Bay, in the winter, is a very tough thing to be able to do. Wilson is good enough where the offense can keep them in the game. But going up against a guy like Rogers, with a defense as banged up as the one Seattle has, it going to be hard to fight.
Prediction: Packers 27, Seahawks 10
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