The Divisional Round Approaches

The NFL Super Wild Card Weekend had a little bit of everything. 

Blowouts, nail biters and one head scratching play call that adds a unique chapter to the 49ers-Cowboys postseason rivalry.

12 teams entered, 6 teams advanced, which now gives us a chance to preview the four games on the schedule for the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs.

Bengals-Titans

Divisional Round action will kickoff on Saturday afternoon when the Cincinnati Bengals travel to the music city to take on the top seeded Tennessee Titans. On one hand, the Bengals enter this game with a ton of momentum. Joe Burrow is quickly emerging as one of the rising stars under center in the NFL, Ja’Marr Chase is off to a Hall of Fame start to his career, and the Bengals defense has given up an average of 20 points over the last 5 games.

However, the Titans offense could receive a major boost if last seasons’ rushing champion, Derrick Henry, is able to return to the field for the first time in nearly three months. Henry is currently taking contact in practice but still isn’t a full go after receiving foot surgery earlier this season. 
Derrick Henry’s status aside, the Titans secured the number one seed in the AFC without his services for a good part of the season because of the impressive coaching job done by Mike Vrabel. 

The Titans defense is vastly improved, Ryan Tannehill has produced 28 total touchdowns despite all three of his Pro Bowl weapons missing significant time this season, and this team just has a resiliency that reflects their Head Coach.

If I could confidently say Henry was going to be healthy for this game, I would likely roll with the Titans. However, even if Henry is a go, there is a chance he has to knock off some of the rust. The Bengals have peaked at the right time and have a young franchise Quarterback that isn’t afraid of the big moment.

Prediction – Bengals 34, Titans 27

49ers-Packers

The Green Bay Packers once again find themselves starting postseason play at Lambeau Field. On paper, not much has changed from last season for the Pack. Aaron Rodgers is playing at a MVP level, Davante Adams is still in the conversation for best receiver in the league, and still boasts a Top 10 unit defensively. 

However, they will have to face one of the recent ghosts of playoffs past. As the San Francisco 49ers, who soundly defeated Rodgers and the Pack in the 2019 NFC Championship game, are riding into Green Bay with a ton of momentum. 

When you consider that Kyle Shanahan’s team barely qualified for the postseason by going to overtime with the Rams to secure a playoff berth and went down to the wire with the Dallas Cowboys, this team is starting to feel like a team of destiny.

In fact, the formula to upset the Packers is pretty similar to their model from the 2019 NFC Championship game. Run the football (Mostert ran for 220 yards and 4 scores two seasons ago) with Deebo Samuel and Elijah Mitchell… and get after Aaron Rodgers.

Now, that may be the roadmap to a Niners upset, but this is a different scenario for the Packers. First, the game is at Lambeau Field. Second, the Packers now have one of the best backfield duos in the league with Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon. Lastly, the Packers run defense is improved from 23rd in 2019 to 12th in 2021.

If the Niners pull off the upset, it could be the end of the Aaron Rodgers era in Green Bay. 

Much of the 49ers potential upset hinges on the health of Nick Bosa, who suffered a concussion against the Cowboys on Sunday. He is still in concussion protocol and is certainly in danger of missing this game with a short week. 

Bosa’s status aside, I just don’t see Jimmy Garoppolo coming into Lambeau and knocking off Aaron Rodgers this Saturday. If there was ever a perfect game for Rodgers to exact some revenge for the catastrophe in 2019, this is his chance.

Prediction – Packers 27, 49ers 23

Rams-Buccaneers

The defending Super Bowl champs handled their business against an outmatched Eagles squad on Sunday. While the Los Angeles Rams exposed and disposed of their NFC West counterpart on Monday Night Football.

So… both teams looked impressive on Wild Card weekend, both teams have a roster filled with Pro Bowlers, and both teams have veteran coaching staffs with postseason success.

Now, if the Rams 34-24 win back on September 26th is any indication of how this one might play out, you may give the Rams the advantage heading into this one.

After all, Matthew Stafford torched this Bucs secondary to the tune of 343 yards and four scores through the air, and the Rams didn’t even have Odell Beckham Jr. on the roster at the time of this first encounter.

For some context, the Bucs were pretty banged up in the secondary and hope to get Sean Murphy-Bunting back into the fold for this matchup.
However where the questions lie are with the Bucs offensive unit. Pro Bowl right tackle Tristan Wirfs suffered an ankle injury against the Eagles and was spotted in a walking boot earlier this week. 

Wirfs isn’t the only starter that is questionable on the offensive side of the ball, with running back Leonard Fournette still trying to get his hamstring right. 

When you combine those injuries with the loss of Antonio Brown and Chris Godwin, this Bucs offensive unit has a lot of issues to figure out on the fly against a quality opponent.

Now, no player is more experienced or better suited to make these adjustments than the 7-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, but we did see some timing issues with some of his younger pass catching options against the Eagles this past Sunday.

All that being said, the Rams pushed their chips into the center this season when they mortgaged their future to bring in Matthew Stafford to get this team over the hump and hoist the Lombardi trophy. It’s poetic that they’ll have to knock off the defending champs and the man widely considered the GOAT in order to make that a reality.

The reality is that Stafford has a grand total of one playoff victory in his career, while Tom Brady has 35.

I simply believe in Brady far more than Stafford in moments that matter.
Prediction – Bucs 30, Rams 24

Bills-Chiefs

The Buffalo Bills have known all along that in order to return to the Super Bowl for the first time in over 27 years, they would have to go through Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bills are riding high after a virtually perfect offensive performance against their arch nemesis Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. Josh Allen was superb in that outing, tossing five scores and leading seven scoring drives on their first seven offensive possessions.

While the Kansas City Chiefs got off to a bit of a slow start against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mahomes threw five scores as well after trailing 7-0 early in the second quarter.

Speaking of trailing in a postseason game, the Bills led the Chiefs 9-0 in last year’s AFC Championship game until the Chiefs responded with a 38-6 run to help secure their second consecutive AFC Championship.

This game feels like a crossroads for this rivalry. If the Bills win, we officially have ourselves a rivalry in the AFC for years to come. But if the Chiefs triumph once again, it will be another long offseason in upstate New York filled with thoughts about how to get past Mahomes and the Chiefs. 

Prediction – Chiefs 38, Bills 27