First up, with the 3:40 kickoff Saturday is the Los Angeles Rams taking on the Green Bay Packers. Los Angeles is coming off the win in Seattle last week to get to the divisional round. it marks the second time in three years that the Rams got out of wild card weekend. Rams are looking to get back to the NFC title game for the second time in three years. They go up against a Packers team that's coming off its second straight 13-3 season and NFC North title. Green Bay has won a round in each of the last four trips to the playoffs. Green Bay is trying to get to the NFC title game for the second year in a row. This marks the 3rd ever meeting between the clubs in the playoffs, with the teams splitting the first two meetings.
Los Angeles did a pretty good job with the run game against Seattle last week, which is a hard thing to do against that Seahawks front line, but they did it. Akers 131 rush yards says a lot against that kind of a D. It also served well to open up play action for Geoff to work with Kupp and Woods on the outside and Geoff didn't have to do as much with his injured throwing hand as you might have expected. But they aren't used to playing in the kind of cold they're going to have to deal with playing at Lambeau. And for as good as Geoff has been with Kupp and Woods in the passing game, Rogers has been even better with Davante Adams. And knowing Sean McVay, he's going to throw something at Aaron Rogers to try and get him off his game. It might not totally work. Lets face it the Rams defense will put up the fight, no doubt about it. But lets be real the Packers have a little more offensive firepower going for it then Los Angeles does. The NFC title game is going through Lambeau.
Pick: Packers 30, Rams 21
Second game on Saturday, with an 8:15 kickoff, is the Baltimore Ravens taking on the Buffalo Bills. Baltimore is back in the divisional round for the second year in a row, following a win over the Titans last weekend. Its the first Ravens playoff win since 2014. As for Buffalo, the win last week over the Colts was Buffalo's first playoff victory since 1995. This game marks the first ever meeting between the Bills and Ravens in the playoffs.
This is going to be a fun QB battle between Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. Both guys are pretty good dual threat QB's so its the most evenly balanced matchup of the entire weekend. Whats going to be the difference in this game is can the receivers make the big plays? With the way that both Beasley and Diggs have been playing for Buffalo, they have the edge. This isn't a slight against Marquise Brown or Mark Andrews in Baltimore, as both are fine pass catchers and play makers. The key in this game is going to be slowing down the other quarterback. Not to take anything away from what Baltimore's defense can do. They managed to shut down Derrick Henry last week. But Buffalo's defense is playing at a different level then the Ravens and they have for most of the year. That's going to be the key. its going to be a close ball game, but at the end of the day Allen is going to make more plays then Jackson.
Pick: Bills 30, Ravens 27
First up on Sunday, with a 2:05 kickoff, is the Cleveland Browns taking on the Kansas City Chiefs. Thanks to the Browns win over the Steelers last week, its the first time they've advanced in a playoff game since 1994. That was also the last time the Browns saw the divisional round and are looking to make the championship game for the first time since 1989. As for Kansas City, the defending champs won the West for the 5th straight year with a 14-2 record. They're looking to get to the AFC title game for the 3rd year in a row. This is the first ever meeting between the teams in the playoffs.
Cleveland is coming off a huge upset win over the Steelers, a game which they dominated and forced Pittsburgh into turnovers. That's been a staple for the Browns this year is getting pressure on the other team. They also had a pretty good power running game from Chubb and Hunt, and are going to try and go with them again this week. They can also throw the ball and Mayfield can go with the group of his wide outs. But your going up against a better built passing game in Kansas City. Mahomes should be able to have plenty of work for Kelce and Hill. Kansas City has a pretty good defense that is going to put pressure on Mayfield and take full advantage of whatever mistakes Cleveland makes. The Browns secondary hasn't been great and with the way the Chiefs throw the ball, it going to be rough for Cleveland.
Pick: Chiefs 34, Browns 17
Final game of the weekend is a 6:40 kickoff Sunday night between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints. After beating Washington Wild Card Weekend, this marks the first Bucs playoff win since 2002. Tampa is looking to get to the NFC title game for the first time since that 2002 season. After beating the Bears last weekend in the Wild Card Game, New Orleans won for the first time since 2018. The Saints are looking to reach the NFC title game for the first time since that 2018 season. New Orleans won both meetings between the teams during the regular season. This marks the first ever playoff meeting between the two clubs.
We finally get the dream playoff matchup that everybody wants. Tom Brady vs Drew Brees. The Saints have blasted the Bucs in both meetings between the two teams this season. Both teams have weapons in both the passing and running games. Rushing edge has to go to the Saints. Kamar is better then Fornette. Passing game is a slight edge to the Bucs with Evans, Goodwin and Gronk. For as good as Brady is, Brees and Co. seem to have had his number this year and the Saints D have caused Brady into situations he isn't comfortable with. It's going to be a battle of wills between the two quarterbacks and offenses. Brady has never lost to a team three times in one season. That is until now. Brees has the advantage in his final year and seems to be finding his groove. He's find the edge over Tom and is going to be able to get it here.
Pick: Saints 34, Bucs 31
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