Division round prediction thread

[Poppa San]

I'll take the home teams down the line. I went 0-4 last weekend. Nowhere to go but up.
SF 28-24 Capt Kirk goes down with the ship. Good thing his def could keep it close and Cook got some tough yardage or it'd have been a blowout.
Bal 38-20 MVP shows why.
KC 34-20 Andy Reid wins a playoff game before history rears its ugly head.
GB 27-17 Two teams that have won close games all season. Defenses rock in this one.

 

[Mondio]

Going SF, but i'd like the Vikes to pull it out of course

Baltimore and it won't be close. Henry is hard to bring down and the Titans have a good defense, but the Ravens are going to score points and I don't think the Titans have enough to come close to keeping up.

Been thinking KC all week, but as it comes to crunch time, I think this might be one of those games where the Texans defense makes a few plays, has a score and it's the difference in the game. I think for now i stick with my initial pick, but reserve the right to change my mind

Packers

 

[elcid]

SF -> 31 -17. Yes the Vikes match up well but they haven't faced this kind of defense this season and the Niners will pull it out of their reach in the third q.

BAL -> 24 - 20. I predict this to be closer than most. Henry will be able to keep the Titans in the game and Tannehil has faired well against the blitz, something the Ravens do most in the league

KC -> 28-23. I just dont trust the Texans at this point.

GB -> 20-17. Forced fumble by Preston Smith to end the final drive of the Seahawks and hence the game.

 

[Raptorman]

SF
BAL
KC
GB

 

[isocleas2]

I think all 4 home teams win but only 1 or 2 cover the spread. The team I think has the best matchup is Kansas city but after getting burned by yearly Chiefs playoff flops I'm hesitant to jump on the bandwagon.

 

[Do7]

I got Minnesota for the upset today same with Tennessee. I feel pretty good with those predictions.
I'll go with Houston for the next one
And of course I'll go with The Packers winning decisively 31-17

 

[Pkrjones]

49'ers 27 Vikings 20
Baltimore 31 Titans 24
Texans 24 KC 20
Packers 31 Seahawks 20

 

[gopkrs]

My upsets are Titans and Vikings.

 

[Mondio]

If there's an upset I think it's going to be the Texans over KC

 

[Do7]

My upsets are Titans and Vikings.

Highfive dude! I have them winning along with Houston.

 

[Albert Park]

SF 24 21 Vikes
Ravens 34 27 Titans
Chiefs 28 17 Texans
Packers 27 21 Seahawks

 

[Curly Calhoun]

I'll take the home teams down the line. I went 0-4 last weekend. Nowhere to go but up.
SF 28-24 Capt Kirk goes down with the ship. Good thing his def could keep it close and Cook got some tough yardage or it'd have been a blowout.
Bal 38-20 MVP shows why.
KC 34-20 Andy Reid wins a playoff game before history rears its ugly head.
GB 27-17 Two teams that have won close games all season. Defenses rock in this one.

What you said.

 

[XPack]

Titans are rockin this tie for now!

 

[OldSchool101]

Incredible 3 qtr performance by Tennessee. They are just imposing their will with Henry. Love the trick plays!
No one is unbeatable

 

[Do7]

It's funny, with The Ravens loss, all the teams, other than San Fran that were ranked ahead of us, are eliminated from the playoffs.

 

[jhawk008]

Actually really happy the Ravens loss. If we somehow played them in the SB we would get DESTROYED. That game reminded me alot of 2011 against the Giants... they shouldn't have rested their starters like we did.

3 weeks with no football is WAYY to much

 

[melvin dangerr]

I’m late
GB over Seattle
KC over Texans

 

[HardRightEdge]

3 weeks with no football is WAYY to much

That's the thing. See, now Henry looks like the league MVP, not Jackson. More games to play, though.

 

[gopkrs]

Tennessee has a good football team. They did a good job spying Jackson. But I have a question mark as to Jackson's ability to play QB. He makes some really nice throws. But he misses a lot too. And he had a lot of time. I thought the same think about Vick. It is a back yard style which can win a lot of games...but.

 

[Do7]

I know this is an unpopular opinion, but this is exactly why I called Baltimore a gimmick. Yes, their way of offense can prove to be effective, but if you get a good lead, they won't be able to come back due to the limitations of Lamar. This style of play only works when you have leads. I don't ever recall Baltimore ever winning a game this season when they were trailing from behind. I believe Lamar is 0-4 when his team is trailing at the half. Talented player yes, but again that offense TO ME felt like a gimmick and the Titans exposed them tonight like I predicted.

 

[Mondio]

There is a path to beat every single team in the league. TN just executed that plan against Baltimore. It was option football with a really strong run game. Jackson without Ingram making the machine go wasn’t the Jackson everyone was so high on.

 

[XPack]

I know this is an unpopular opinion, but this is exactly why I called Baltimore a gimmick. Yes, their way of offense can prove to be effective, but if you get a good lead, they won't be able to come back due to the limitations of Lamar. This style of play only works when you have leads. I don't ever recall Baltimore ever winning a game this season when they were trailing from behind. I believe Lamar is 0-4 when his team is trailing at the half. Talented player yes, but again that offense TO ME felt like a gimmick and the Titans exposed them tonight like I predicted.

How can a 14-2 team be called a gimmick, esp when they have beaten the likes of 49ers amd Seahawks who are now in mix.

I can see a lot of similarities with past years Packers where QB used to carry the team. We've had success,but never went the stretch as rest of team was lacking. They are in similar position more so with a playoff inexperienced QB and succumbed to pressure. But a gimmick, they definitely are not.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

I believe Lamar is 0-4 when his team is trailing at the half.

You're right, yesterday was the fifth time the Ravens trailed at halftime with Lamar starting. They have lost all of those games.

 

[Do7]

How can a 14-2 team be called a gimmick, esp when they have beaten the likes of 49ers amd Seahawks who are now in mix.

I can see a lot of similarities with past years Packers where QB used to carry the team. We've had success,but never went the stretch as rest of team was lacking. They are in similar position more so with a playoff inexperienced QB and succumbed to pressure. But a gimmick, they definitely are not.

The reason why I called them a gimmick is because A. This style of play doesn't necessarily work when you're trailing from behind. B. We've seen QBs like this before, in Kaepernick. Granted Lamar looks to be better than Colin ever was, but he was a running QB, with a solid defense, and as the years went by his style of play didn't necessarily work because people eventually figured him out, (Plus the coaching staff changed as well, but you get my point.) I just don't think this style of football would do well going forward and eventually Lamar would be figured out.

 

[XPack]

The reason why I called them a gimmick is because A. This style of play doesn't necessarily work when you're trailing from behind. B. We've seen QBs like this before, in Kaepernick. Granted Lamar looks to be better than Colin ever was, but he was a running QB, with a solid defense, and as the years went by his style of play didn't necessarily work because people eventually figured him out, (Plus the coaching staff changed as well, but you get my point.) I just don't think this style of football would do well going forward and eventually Lamar would be figured out.

I think you're conflating effectiveness vs sustainability here.

QB running numbers have been on a ever increasing trend in college football in past 4-5 years. And I believe that trend will eventually migrate into NFL. Colin and Vick may have been precursors but most young QBs drafted and to be drafted will sleep more in throw and run type QBs. It's a trend that'll stay for the coming decade at least is my guess.

Whether it's sustainable in a physically demanding NFL and whether teams will run schemes that expose their QBs to higher chance of injuries is anyone's call.

Looks at QB rushing yards this season.

1. Lamar
2. Kyler
3. Josh Allen
4. Deshaun
5. Gardner
6. R. Wilson
7. Daniel Jones

Wilson apart...you see the trend, right?

Lamar is a extreme outlier, but that "gimmick" will be a big part of future NFL.

And not trailing in any game all season is a outstanding achievement.