Last week I went 2-2. Not what I wanted, but “any given Sunday”
as they say. This week we will look at the divisional round. Let’s go!
Kansas City Chiefs
at New England Patriots
The premier matchup of the weekend if you ask this humble
blogger. The Chiefs shutout of the Texans last weekend in the Wild Card round
was more than just a win on the road in the playoffs, it was a statement. It
may not seem like much, being that the Texans were the weakest team in the
playoffs, but anytime you shut out a team in their stadium, you are asserting
yourself as a team not to be reckoned with. Alex Smith was once again the role
model for an efficient game managing quarterback. That should never be
considered an insult to any QB, game managers go out and win ball games. The
defense was the star of the day though, causing 5 turnovers and keeping the
pressure on the entire game. The negatives for the Chiefs are injuries. Wide
receiver Jeremy Maclin (high ankle sprain), running back Spencer Ware (sprained
ankle), offensive linemen Mitch Morse and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (both have
concussions), and defensive linemen Justin Houston (knee) and Tamba Hali
(broken thumb, knee). As of today, everyone is expected to go except those
O-linemen. Neither have passed NFL concussion protocol. Andy Reid and his team
of coaches will have this team ready to go. Their foe this week, the New
England Patriots, are coming off another season in which they have a bye week in
the first round of the playoffs. After being hobbled towards the end of the season
they are expected to get some of their key playmakers back this week. Julian
Edelman is expected to play after being absent for two months which will make
Tom Brady’s job a little bit easier. If you are the Patriots, the health of
tackle Sebastian Vollmer is the number one priority. He didn’t play the last
few weeks of the season, and the line showed its vulnerability without him. For
all the talent and praise Tom Brady has received in his career, he is like any
other QB who is pressured constantly, pedestrian. The Chiefs defense has a real
strong defensive line, making the trenches the most important matchup to watch
this Saturday. It will determine the outcome.
A coin
flip, but my coin continues to land with the Chiefs: Kansas City 31 New England
23
Green Bay Packers
at Arizona Cardinals
Aaron Rodgers, you wild man you. Last week I challenged you
and your fans to admit you can’t be in the conversation as a top QB without working
with lesser tools, and out you came. It took a little bit of time into the game
to get started, but when you did, you reminded me and everyone else who doubted
you why you are an MVP and deserve the praise you get. I stand emphatically
corrected. Going into Arizona is going to be a much bigger challenge than was
presented with Washington. The Packers running game looked much improved last
week, with both James Starks and Eddie Lacy hitting the hole hard and getting
around the edge multiple times. The question marks going in are DaVante Adams
(MCL sprain) and David Bakhtiari (sprained ankle). Adams, while important, can
be overcome with the talent in Rodgers right arm, but Bakhtiari is another
issue. Since Bakhtiari hurt his ankle, the line has given up 13 sacks, 8 of
them coming from the carousel at left tackle. It’s a major issue because of the
defense they are going up against. Since Bruce Arians took over down in the
desert, his offense has soared, but the quiet giant on the team is the defense.
Multiple times this season the Packers have looked pedestrian, but no more so
than when they faced this Cardinals team in week 16. The Cardinals won that
game 38-8, when both teams were still fighting for either a playoff berth or
playoff position. Arizona’s defense benefits greatly from the bye week,
bringing in two key players who have been hurt the past month in Frostee Rucker
and Josh Mauro, making the NFL’s 6th best rushing defense deep and
better then the last time the Packers came to town.
Won’t be a blowout,
but expect the same results: Arizona 35 Green Bay 21
Seattle Seahawks
at Carolina Panthers
Seattle got out of Minnesota by the hair on their chinny
chin chins. And that hair was probably frosted up from the 3rd
coldest game in NFL history. The Seahawks didn’t look like the dominate team
they were showing towards the end of the season, but did show the moxie and
toughness that has carried them to the past two Super Bowls. This defense is
still looking like they are clicking on all cylinders, even though they could have
lost the game last week, let’s not forget that they didn’t allow a touchdown and
held Adrian Peterson to under 50 yards (for the 2nd time). Going into
this game, who is going to be running the ball for Seattle will be a major
factor. Marshawn Lynch took himself out last week, which turned out to not be a
major factor, but this week they will need him. Being able to control the clock
and wear down this Panthers defense will be the key for the Seahawks to pull
out a win. The Panthers however, have many more options to beat the Seahawks.
When these two teams met in back in week 6 the Panthers exposed the Seahawks
defensive weakness: tight ends. The Seahawks were 26th in the league
covering the tight end, which spells trouble because guess who the leading receiver
for those Panthers is? That’s right, tight end Greg Olsen. In addition to Greg
Olsen, the Panthers defense is nobody to sleep on as a catalyst to win this
game. Being led by Luke Kuechly, this defense is grade A across all levels and
has saved Cam Newton a couple of times this season. Then there is the ultimate
x-factor in the form of Super Cam. His ability to command the offense goes
almost unnoticed when reading about his game. When he takes off out of the
pocket he doesn’t just run out of bound or slide to the ground, he looks for
the hole, isn’t afraid of contact, and is hard to take down. When he stands in
the pocket to throw he goes through the progressions and finds the open man,
most of the time dropping the ball on a dime in that receiver’s pocket.
Super Cam cements his
case as the MVP: Carolina 30 Seattle 21
Pittsburgh
Steelers at Denver Broncos
The Steelers are playing with house money at this point.
Yes, the Bengals had some mental mistakes in the form on reckless penalties
that allowed the chip shot field goal for Pittsburgh to advance, but let’s not
forget that it was a football play that changed the game for them. The late
interception changed their sealed fate to a wild win finish. But it came at a
price, with key injuries to the men who make that offense tick. Ben
Roethlisberger had his shoulder banged up pretty bad, tearing ligaments and
spraining the AC joint. Head Coach says there is still a chance Big Ben plays Sunday,
but Landry Jones will be taking nearly all the snaps in practice this week. The
other injury is Antonio Brown who is still under the NFL concussion protocol
after the vicious hit he took at the end of the game last week. These two are
responsible for this team’s success, the Steelers would be facing an uphill
battle if they were 100% healthy. If DeAngelo Williams can somehow get in the game,
which will help ease the load for whichever QB is taking the snaps for the
black and yellow. They are going to need everything against this Denver Broncos
team. Through QB controversy, bad offensive line, inconsistent running back
play, and a coach who won’t adjust his offense, this team looks every bit the
part of the number one seed they earned. Peyton Manning comes in after a short
appearance in the regular season finale against the Chargers in week 17,
looking like the time off helped improve his health of that foot. The big
change that took place in that game that few people talked about was the change
at right tackle, right when Manning came in. Michael Schofield was replaced by Tyler
Polumbus, and just like that the complexion of the offensive line looked very
different. Of course it wasn’t just that, Peyton has seen every defense
imaginable, so his pre snap reads and audible calls help make everyone look
better. If Peyton reverts and the INT’s start coming back, I don’t expect we
will see Brock come back. He isn’t going to be 100% and Kubiak is smart to know
the best chances to win still reside in 18. If all else fails, this defense is
still number one in the league and taking on a beat up offense.
Pittsburgh has a
chance, a small one, but it’s there: Denver 35 Pittsburgh 17
