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The 2021-22 regular season is now over. To be sure, it was a strange one. However, it was also entertaining, perhaps because it was so unpredictable. There is no single team that appears to be so dominant that they are heavily favored to reach the Super Bowl, much less win it all. No team like the 1985 Chicago Bears, for instance. Even the Packers, with the best overall record in the year, look beatable. That is especially true given that two of the teams in the NFC, the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the San Francisco 49ers - who themselves reached the Super Bowl a couple of years ago - both dominated the Packers in recent postseason meetings. And Green Bay looks like a similar team, with similar weaknesses.
Of course, we have games this weekend to see what happens first, because the Packers (and Titans) are not in action this weekend. No, but this weekend feels, in some ways, like a revisiting of the past. Specifically, of the first half of the nineties. The Steelers will meet the AFC West champion Chiefs, like they did in the 1993-94 season. The AFC East champion Buffalo Bills will host a playoff game, as they did almost every season in the early nineties. The Bengals meet the Raiders, as they did in the 1990-91 season. And one of the most stories rivalries in playoff history gets another chapter this weekend when the Dallas Cowboys host the San Francisco 49ers.
So, some interesting stuff right there. But I will take these previews in two batches, previewing the Saturday games first, and then Sunday and Monday games next, perhaps tomorrow.
Let's take a closer look at all of the action from Sunday's games:
Las Vegas Raiders at Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals pursue their first playoff win since the 1990-91 season - over 30 years ago - with a home game against the Raiders, the team where this record postseason losing streak began. Yes, the Bengals had just beaten the Houston Oilers (who have since become the Tennessee Titans) in the Wild Card round, and then traveled to Los Angeles (not Oakland, and certainly not Las Vegas) to take on the Raiders. That game is perhaps most famous today for the injury to Bo Jackson. Cincinnati had reached the Super Bowl two years prior, and they were hoping to get another shot at it, but the Raiders got the better of them in that game. The Bengals have yet to win a playoff game ever since.
Then again, the Raiders themselves have gone quite a long time without a playoff win. In fact, prior to qualifying for this postseason, they have only made one postseason appearance between reaching Super Bowl XXXVII following the 2002-03 season and this one. That was in 2016, and they lost, although they were without some key starters. But neither team has won a postseason game in the better part of two decades, so obviously, neither team has a clear or decisive advantage in terms of playoff experience to fall back on.
But there are reasons why this year's Bengals might actually have a shot at winning this one. They are fairly well rested, and should be brimming with confidence. They have a hot young quarterback who nevertheless has picked up a couple of good years worth of experience, and is really beginning to come into his own. And they made strides on both offense and defense. Finally, they have home field advantage, which should really help matters in this one.
However, the Raiders are red hot right now. They have won four games in a row, and keep winning the really tight ones. That tells me that they know how to win the close games, and do not get overwhelmed by the tough circumstances. Two of the key wins were on the road, against the Browns and the Colts, and the game in Cleveland was in cold weather, so the Raiders should not feel overly daunted by the weather, which is supposed to be chilly, with possible rain or even snow possible.
The Silver and Black have been an extremely streaky team all season, but they appear to be peaking at the right time. Again, this winning streak showed resolve and depth that many people - myself included - were not even certain this team possessed. They just look like they know how to win football games, and thus, they are a dangerous team. That is why they are my pick to come out with yet another win here, even on the road. They already won one game in Ohio recently, and they should be able to get another important road win in that state this weekend.
My pick: Las Vegas
New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills
Unlike the earlier game, neither of these teams has a long playoff streak to overcome. The Bills had one entering last season, but they went on a tear, going 13-3 and wining their first division title in a quarter of a century, then following that up with two postseason wins. They won the AFC East division title for a second year in a row this season with an 11-6 record, which is why they get to host this one against their division rivals.
Speaking of which, the Patriots are not exactly strangers to the postseason themselves. The last time they won a playoff game was back in 2018, when they won the Super Bowl. There are some players from the squad still on this team, and obviously, head coach Bill Belichick is still stalking the sidelines, and should have his team well prepared for this game. However, young quarterback Mac Jones is making his postseason debut. He figures to reach the playoffs many times in the future, judging on how well he has played. But the nerves could still get to him in this one.
The weather should be very cold in Buffalo for this game. No surprise there, of course. But since both teams are from very cold weather regions, I suspect that the weather will not be a decisive advantage necessarily for either team.
New England looked incredibly hot a few weeks ago. But they then suffered a loss at Indianapolis, and followed that with another loss at home to the Bills, in a game that decided the division title, for all intents and purposes. Add to that the loss in Miami last weekend, in what was hardly a meaningless game for the Pats, and you have a team that has lost three of their last four.
During that same stretch, the Bills have overcome their own struggles, and now find themselves on a nice winning streak that has reached four games, and not only clinched a playoff spot, but the division title, to boot. In other words, they are hot, while the Patriots have cooled off.
That said, it is never a safe bet to go against Belichick teams in New England. Again, his preparation is meticulous, and the Patriots should be ready to go. They will be tough.
However, the Bills feel like the hotter team, and they are where almost everyone assumed they would be, hosting a playoff game in January. It was a bumpy road, to be sure, but that probably adds to their experience and mental toughness. If there were doubts when they were going through the hard times, they feel like a team that has come out of a tunnel and is now seeing the clear light of day right on time for the postseason. That is why they are my pick for this game.
My pick: Buffalo
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