RECORD LAST WEEK 8-8
RECORD FOR THE SEASON 171-99-1
Saturday, January 15, 2022 - 4:30 pm ET
Las Vegas Raiders @ Cincinnati Bengals
The playoffs are here, and we start with what will be one of five rematches this weekend. The Raiders defeated the Chargers last week in overtime to make the playoffs. These two teams met earlier in the season, a game the Bengals won in Las Vegas. The Bengals haven’t won a playoff game since January 6, 1991, but something about this group of young stars feels different. The key to the game is the Raiders pass rush led by Maxx Crosby versus the Bengals weak offensive line. Quarterback Joe Burrow has been hot over his last four games he has 11 touchdowns to 0 interceptions. Burrow was sacked 51 times, the most in the NFL and the Raiders have two elite pass rushers in Crosby and Yannick Ngakou. The Raiders secondary however, hasn’t been as strong as they are last in the NFL, with 6 total interceptions and 24th in quarterback rating allowed. Derek Carr gets his first playoff game this week and he’ll have his full stable of weapons healthy but in the end, I believe Cincy has too much fire power on offense and their defense will come up with a big play to seal the victory.
Raiders 26 - Bengals 31
Saturday, January 15, 2022 - 8:15 pm ET
New England Patriots @ Buffalo Bills
The trilogy between the Patriots and Bills takes place this weekend. New England took round one while the Bengals took round two. Mac Jones has struggled over the past month and will need his best game to keep up with this explosive Bills offense. The Bills pass defense is ranked first in every category while the Bills pass rush has come along securing nine sacks last weekend. The Patriots will look to make this their type of game by controlling the clock with the run game and limiting possessions for Josh Allen. That is the Bills weakness on defense stopping the run. The Patriots ran for over 200 yards in their first meeting with the Bills. I expect a tight game, but the Bills move onto the Divisional round.
Patriots 21 - Bills 31
Sunday, January 16, 2022 - 1 p.m. ET
Philadelphia Eagles @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Another rematch Jalen Hurts leads the Eagles into Tampa Bay to face the defending Super Bowl Champions. The Bucs are much different on offense from their first meeting as the Bucs lost Chris Godwin to a torn ACL, and Antonio Brown, well no need to get into that. The Eagles Secondary has been their strongest position group and Darius Slay will be tasked with shutting down Mike Evans. The problem for the Eagles is they don’t get to the quarterback and the Bucs don’t allow sacks, so if Brady has all day, I think you know what happens more times than not. The Eagles have the best rushing offense in football averaging 159.7 yards per game and they’ll need all that against one of the best rush defenses in the NFL. Tampa Bay allows 92.5 yards per game. Jalen Hurts will have to have one of his best passing games to pull off the upset in Tampa Bay, but I can’t see that happening.
Eagles 23 - Bucs 28
Sunday, January 16, 2022 - 4:30 pm ET
San Francisco 49ers @ Dallas Cowboys
The only game of the weekend that doesn’t include a rematch is between two of the NFL’s most historic playoff rivalries. Dak in his last four games has 13 touchdowns to 0 interceptions and the 49ers secondary will need their best efforts to contain the boatload amount of weapons at Dak’s disposal. Nick Bosa will have to get to Dak Bosa, who had 15.5 sacks this season and with a weak secondary, the pass rush will be extremely important. The 49ers can pull off the upset, but will be up to Jimmy G not to turn the ball over against a Cowboys defense that led the league in takeaways. The 49ers, similar to the Patriots, will look to run the ball and control the clock taking pressure off Jimmy G and also limiting the Cowboys possessions. The 49ers have struggled to protect Jimmy G and the Cowboys have one of the best pass rushers in the NFL. Dallas however, struggles to stop the run as they rank 23rd against the run. I feel like this is the most difficult game to predict, but I’m going with the 49ers in an upset.
49ers 24 - Cowboys 21
Sunday, January 16, 2022 - 8:20 p.m. ET
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Kansas City Chiefs
Back to rematches, the Steelers faced the Chiefs a few weeks ago and got smacked by the Chiefs 36-10. It will be up to TJ Watt and this Steelers pass rush to disrupt Patrick Mahomes and this Chiefs offense that still seems off but is back to putting up points. Pittsburgh is mediocre against the pass and that’s the last thing you need when going up against the Chiefs. The Steelers led the NFL with 55 sacks and will look to take that dominance into Arrowhead this weekend. The Chiefs offense allowed the third least amount of sacks this season and their offensive line has really been strong this season. Tyreek Hill has a heel injury so it will be interesting to see how healthy he is this week. Byron Pringle had a big game against the Steelers as he had six catches for 75 yards and a touchdown. The Steelers offense will have to put up way more points than 10 to get the biggest upset of the weekend. The Chiefs defense has been better in the past few months, but still can had. I don't believe in the Steelers offence to be able to exploit the Chiefs defense. Mahomes and the Chiefs get the win this week.
Steelers 17 - Chiefs 35
Monday, January 17, 2022 - 8:15 pm ET
Arizona Cardinals @ Los Angeles Rams
The last game of Wild Card weekend features another rematch. In their last matchup Aaron Donald had three sacks and wrecked the game. This as most games do in this day in age will come down to the quarterback. Murray and Stafford struggled down the stretch, especially Stafford who has thrown eight interceptions in the last three games. The Rams pass defense has struggled mightily this season The Rams pass rush will be able to take advantage of a middle of the pack Cardinals offensive line that allowed 39 sacks this season. Cooper Kupp had an historic season, and in his last game against the Cardinals, he had 13 catches for 123 yards and a touchdown. I picked the Rams to win the Super Bowl and I have confidence in them to get the win this week.
Cardinals 24 - Rams 27
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