Image courtesy of marada's Flickr page - Pro Football Hall of Fame: https://www.flickr.com/photos/marada/18349271420/in/photolist-s9jx2h-6WanDm-88EBAf-88EBFW-6Wakz7-6WamJ3-6WavG5-6Wapgd-7AA2Cj-eZaZFx-tXsP7C-ucHyh9-5V94An-8qJEgH-744DSK-ofEBCj-7ZjcnY-4qX6xk
Saturday Games
Tennessee Titans 22, Kansas City Chiefs 21 - There is a reason that I have always been hesitant to pick the Chiefs in the playoffs. They qualify often enough, but they always, always manage to choke. Witness KC managing to somehow blow a 21-3 halftime lead at home to lose to the Tennessee Titans. Yes, the Chiefs were indeed dominating through the first half. Yet, in the second, the Titans started to rally. Luck was perhaps a part of it, but it might have helped KC in the first half, too. Certainly, Mariota's blocked pass, which then rebounded right to him, so that it was in effect a completion to himself that went for a touchdown? Yes, that was a bit of luck. But the Chiefs seemed completely flabbergasted after that. They lost their momentum and their ability, became too nervous, and were playing not to lose, rather than to win. Naturally, it cost them big time. And so, a team that started off the season like world beaters, knocking off the Pats up in New England, and racing off to a 5-0 start, then recovering from a dismal mid-season stretch to win their final four games and seemingly regain some of that early season magic, somehow nevertheless managed to lose yet another playoff contest in which they held a big lead. A few years ago, they held a 28-point lead - twice - over the Colts, only to lose in the end. But at least that was on the road. This time, it was at home, and the Chiefs just seemed to collapse inexplicably. Yes, there was the controversial touchdown that might have won if for KC that was called back, although really, the Chiefs were not cheated there. Listen, when you have a huge lead at home, and then you blow it, you cannot really blame anyone for anything, except for yourselves. This, they did to themselves. I did not think that the Titans were quite ready, but they proved me wrong, although if there was a team that I would have expected them to be able to do this against, on the road, it very well might have been the Chiefs. Back to the drawing board for KC, while the Titans move on to New England now. My pick: Inaccurate
Atlanta 26, L.A. Rams 13 - I think most people kind of saw this coming. Even though it officially goes down as an "upset," the Rams were an unproven entity, while the Falcons very nearly won the Super Bowl last year, and looked incredibly hot by the end of this season, to boot. Atlanta, despite their lack of Super Bowl championship success, have quite a bit of valuable playoff experience. They qualified numerous times in the last decade or so, and enjoyed a strong run last season, resulting in only the second Super Bowl appearance for the franchise. By contrast, the Rams had not qualified for the postseason since the 2004 season, well over a decade ago. This was a notoriously unstable team, seemingly, until they managed to get hot and stay hot this season. But the Falcons appear to be better, with a potentially more explosive offense, and a tough defense. Yet, the Rams had home field advantage, but again, the Falcons had been especially hot on the road the last two seasons, so that did not faze them. They also seemed to know what to do, how to respond, in a way that the Rams simply could not compete with. I am not saying that the Rams should not have rested their starters last weekend, but they had the chance to clinch the third seed with a win, and they rested their starters instead, obviously gearing up for this game. It still was not enough. In the end, the Falcons kept stable, built a lead and hung onto it when it mattered the most. As good, and even dominant, as the Rams looked at times this season, they were unable to get past their one and only playoff game, because they has the misfortune of playing perhaps the best team in the Wild Card round, and it proved to be a bit too much for them in the end. My pick: Accurate
Sunday Games
Jacksonville Jaguars 10, Buffalo Bills 3 - A very low-scoring game. The Bills seemed to have everything in their favor at halftime, except for the scoreboard. Their offense, which struggled all season, failed to capitalize on a great defense effort, and despite owning an almost two to one advantage in terms of time of possession, the Jaguars were still very much in the game for the second half. And when they scored a touchdown to take a 10-3 lead, it seemed like this was the critical blow. The Bills simply could not score, had nothing left in the tank. And the Jaguars, who surprised many people, and found ways to win by both exploding for points, as well as winning tough, grinding, smash-mouth football games, somehow did it again. They beat a tough and physical Bills team that was determined to try and have a solid showing in their first playoff game in almost a full generation. The last time that the Bills had qualified for the playoffs was way back in 1999. Now, they will have to concentrate on not only getting back, but on winning a postseason game. For Jacksonville, this was a solid win, obviously. But they will have a much tougher test when they go on the road to face the Steelers up at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh next week. But, whether or not they win, they already had a solid season that they can be proud of, capped with at least one playoff win, the first for this franchise in a long, long while. My pick: Accurate
New Orleans 31, Carolina Panthers 26 - Often times, you hear that the hardest thing in the NFL to do is beat a team three times in the same season. It requires not only a season sweep during the regular season, but a third and final meeting that goes the same way in the playoffs. Such third meetings between teams that had one-sided rivalries, if you will, during the regular season are relatively rare, of course. I can think of a few such situations, dating back to the 1986 season. The Giants managed to sweep Washington during the regular season, yet they met in the NFC Championship Game. The G-Men won again, completing that rare 3-0 mark against the same opponent. In 1999, the Jacksonville Jaguars went 14-2, enjoying the best regular season mark of anyone. However, their two losses came against the same opponents - the Tennessee Titans. They met again in the AFC title game, and the Titans once again dominated, eliminating Jax. In 2007, the Giants got swept by the Cowboys in the regular season, but when they met in the playoffs, they got their revenge, knocking out Dallas en route to that amazing Super Bowl. And now, the Saints, who managed to sweep the Panthers in the regular season, once again found a way to beat their division rivals and move onto the divisional round. Carolina had looked awesome two years ago, when they went 15-1 and breezed their way through the NFC playoffs in dominant fashion, before being stopped dead cold against Denver in the big game. The Panthers never looked anywhere near that level in either of the two seasons since, and this game was kind of the proof of that. A solid win for New Orleans, who really looked like the best and most consistent team in the NFC South all season long. They now prepare for a trip up to Minnesota, to take on the tough Vikings, while Carolina has a long off-season now to try and fix the problems that they have faced these past two seasons. My pick: Accurate
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