Sports Time Radio

Today starts the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs. There are four games this weekend as will get two today (Saturday) and two tomorrow (Sunday). Both #1 seeds are coming off of a Bye week to make their playoff debuts.

Last week their where six NFL playoff games and I was middle of the road with my predictions as I went 3-3. Both of the higher seeded teams I picked to pull off the upset got beat and one of the home teams I thought would win got upset. Well, let’s go through this weekend’s games and see how I do.

Today starts with the AFC’s #1 seed the Tennessee Titans hosting the Cincinnati Bengals. Tennessee is currently a 3 1/2-point favorite and they do get Derrick Henry back for this game. Now it’s unclear how much Henry will be on the field or how many carries he’ll actually get, but just having him on the field will force the Bengals defense to respect the run. Cincinnati will be missing defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi due to injury. With the return of Henry to the Titans backfield I’m going to go with Tennessee to win this game.

The second Saturday game has the NFC’s #1 seed in action as the Green Bay Packers will host the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers where the only higher seeded team to advance from the wild card round ad everyone seems to be talking about the way they run the football. Deebo Samuel has really come on when he gets some carries while Elijah Mitchell does the grunt work running the football. Now this is a formulable tandem running the Football for San Francisco, but I guess since they had last week off people have forgotten that the Packers may have the best running back duo in the NFL with Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillion. There’s also been a lot of talk about the weather for this game, but it’s just going to be cold and there’s not expected to be any wind or snow so the players should have no issues with the weather. Green Bay is a 5 1/2-point favorite and I’m picking them to win this game.

On Sunday we start off with the Los Angeles Rams on the road to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. it’s possible that Tampa Bay will have to play this game without two of their starting offensive linemen as tackle Tristan Wirfs and center Ryan Jensen are listed on the injury report and will both be game time decisions. If one or both of these players miss the game, it could put the Buccaneers at a disadvantage against a Rams team that can rush the passer. I’m sure there will be a lot of talk about the quarterbacks in this game as Tom Brady is well Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford just got hit first playoff win last week. Tampa Bay is a 2 1/2-point favorite in this game, but with the possibility of them having to play without those two linemen make it tough to pick them. I’m going to put my trust in the Rams and go with them to eliminate the defending Super Bowl champions.

This weekend’s playoff games wrap up on Sundy night as the Kansas City Chiefs host the Buffalo Bills. Both teams are coming off of pretty impressive performances last weekend and the Chiefs have been established as a 2-point favorite. Arrowhead Stadium is one of the tougher venues in the NFL for visiting teams, but the Bills did go into Arrowhead in October and get a 38-20 win over the Chiefs. Sadly, I don’t think the outcome of that game will have any effect whatsoever on this game. I think what this game is going to boil down to is which young star quarterback plays better. At one point in time Patrick Mahomes was considered the best quarterback in the NFL and even though he had what has to be considered as a down year he’s still one of the best. Josh Allen was very impressive last week against the New England Patriots and he’s as much of a threat running the football as he is throwing it. This is a tough game to pick, but I don’t think the Bills will be able to go into Arrowhead twice in the same season and Beat the Chiefs so give me Kansas City in this one.

Alright there you go. I’m going with Tennesse and Green Bay to win today and they I’ll take Los Angeles and Kansas City to win on Sunday. Let’s see how I do this weekend. Just like last weekend I want to know who you’re picking in these games. Please leave your picks in the comment section and I can see how you do.

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