by Jon_48469 2 years ago
Boy do we have some catching up to do! A lot has happened since our last power rankings blog post came out in week 10: we released our newest power rankings, pre-season futures bets selections made by the coaches of GZ were revealed (that we all seem to have failed at miserably), the playoff bracket was released and we've even had four games already take place. We'll probably just do an end of the season recap blog in the near future to split this up a bit, so the main focus of today will be the playoff bracket & matchups.
If you haven't seen the bracket, below are the teams and seedings for each conference:
AFC:
1. Tennessee Titans (15-2)
2. Baltimore Ravens (13-4)
3. LA Chargers (11-6)
4. Buffalo Bills (10-7)
5. Indianapolis Colts (11-6)
6. Denver Broncos (11-6)
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)
NFC:
1. Seattle Seahawks (15-2)
2. Detroit Lions (14-3)
3. Philadelphia Eagles (13-4)
4. Atlanta Falcons (13-4)
5. Green Bay Packers (13-4)
6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7)
7. Dallas Cowboys (9-8)
Just looking at the names on those lists, we knew we were in for an entertaining postseason where anything could happen. That was evident in the very first game:
#7 Pittsburgh @ #2 Baltimore (-2.5): We kicked off the playoffs with an AFC North matchup between the Ravens & Steelers. As division rivals, these two had already seen each other twice this season, with Baltimore winning both matchups by a combined score of 68-27. You wouldn't have guessed that by how this game went, as Pittsburgh played shutdown defense on their way to a 36-14 upset of the hosts. Forcing 7 turnovers in the game, including two interceptions from both Myles Jack & Terrell Edmunds, the Steelers were able to build a lead that allowed them to basically coast through this one. Chris Boswell was in the zone, booting through 5 (yes, FIVE) field goals with a long of 64, while Baker Mayfield tossed two TDs to his Tight-Ends Freiermuth & Ebron in route to the 22 point victory. Baltimore ran for an impressive 180 yards in the game, 141 coming from RB JK Dobbins, but the game script called for more passing and Lamar just never seemed to get comfortable. Pittsburgh is off to the #1 seed in Tennessee next week, while the Ravens can join this writer along with many others down in sunny Cabo San Lucas.
League Pick: 80% Baltimore (-2.5)
#6 Denver @ #3 Los Angeles (-1.5): Our second AFC matchup was another division pairing between AFC West foes. These two actually played earlier in the day to wrap up our week 18 slate, with Denver ballhawking their way to a 38-24 victory. That victory earned them a season split, and a rematch in the playoffs. With the momentum on their side, you would've thought the Broncos were poised to give us the second upset in as many games, but that was overwhelmingly not the case as the Chargers cruised to a 44-0 victory (although an infamous chip may have contributed to the massive difference in the scoreline, not to take anything away from the impressive performance from LA). Justin Herbert was the biggest comeback story of this matchup; having been picked off 5 times in week 18 he bounced back in a big way, going 17/21 with 240yds & 3TDs. Just like the previous matchup, TEs were the beneficiaries as they caught all 3 of those TD tosses with Gerald Everett snagging two & Donald Parham getting the other. The Charger safeties commanded the skies, accounting for 6 of rookie Desmond Ridder's 7 interceptions. The Chargers host the winner of our remaining AFC showdown between Buffalo & Indianapolis (shocker, not a division rematch) while the Broncos simply ride off into the sunset (and probably the bathroom, hope you're doing better man!).
League Pick: 78% Los Angeles (-1.5)
#5 Green Bay @ #4 Atlanta (-1.5): Switching over to the NFC side, we had an incredibly intriguing matchup that featured two 13-4 teams who came into the year as potential NFC favorites led by MVP level Quarterbacks. This was also the first playoff game where the opponents hadn't played against each other during the regular season, so there was no familiarity in what to expect from one another. The game was close throughout, but a few costly turnovers proved to be the difference was the Falcons defend home turf 27-17. Both QBs threw the ball well as expected; Aaron Rodgers going for 281yds & 2TDs, and Russell Wilson matching him with 260yds & a pair of TDs as well. FINALLY, receivers ruled the day catching all four TDs passes while both RBs really struggled to establish the ground game. In what was a shock to most, Kyle Pitts was "contained" by going a measly 6-92, Romeo Doubs posted a 3-95-1 scoreline to lead the Packers that was highlighted by an incredible catch & run in traffic. Like we eluded to, turnovers won the Falcons the game as Aaron Jones coughed it up twice to kill Packer drives. Atlanta now waits to see if they will be hosting the divisional round against rival Tampa Bay; or if they will be making the trip North to the City of Brotherly Love to take on the Eagles in a Battle of the Birds. "Falcons country, let's ride!" - Russ Wilson, probably.... actually he's definitely saying that right now.
League Pick: 57% Atlanta (-1.5)
#7 Dallas @ #2 Detroit (-3.5): Our night cap featured the biggest spread of the Wild Card round as the Cowboys made the trip to Motor City to take on the Lions in a battle of Thanksgiving mainstays. These two met all the way back in week 7 in the Lone Star State, with the Lions coming out victorious 28-17. Ugly game for the QBs, combining for 12 interceptions, and an even uglier game for Zeke Elliott who could only muster 18 yards on the ground. Looking at those stats, you could never IMAGINE what happened in this one. Tony Pollard commanded the backfield carries, and put in an incredible performance rushing for 200yds on the dot and finding the endzone twice to lead Dallas to the 33-24 upset. Tim Edwards was much more careful with the ball for Detroit, only tossing 3 picks compared to the 7 he threw in the previous meeting, but D'Andre Swift just couldn't get rolling this time around after amassing nearly 100yds with 2 TDs in Dallas. After sneaking into the playoffs at the very last moment, Dallas is taking full advantage of the fresh slate and will look to keep the momentum rolling next week as they head to the Pacific Northwest where the #1 seeded Seahawks await.
League Pick: 92% Detroit (-3.5)
Two more intriguing matchups still remain before we wrap up the Wild Card Weekend and jump into the Divisional Round. Upsets dominate the headlines so far; will the trend continue, or will the favorites prove why they are just that? There really is nothing quite like postseason football!