Divisional Round Preview - Buccaneers look to prevail

by Crimsion | 7 years ago | 1 Comments

Now that the Wildcard Round is behind us, the tension between teams as well as the stakes have risen with the Divisional Round approaching.

Last week we saw some close calls with the Kansas City Chiefs and Carolina Panthers pulling out some late game heroics to propel them one step closer to their goal of a Super Bowl.

This week brings in even more excitement and another slate of solid match ups, the Cleveland Browns host the surging New York Jets, the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers clash for the third time this season, the Kansas City Chiefs travel to Indy to take on Andrew Luck and his Colts, while the Carolina Panthers face a familar foe in the Dallas Cowboys.

(11-4) New York Jets @ Cleveland Browns (13-3)

There's no doubt in my mind that this game will likely be the most watched in regards to playoff match ups, it features one of the most consistent owners in B and a very good up and comer in Deme. 

Now both teams have their ups and downs, the Jets defense has been solid, but the Browns offense is no joke, they may suffer from turnover problems but they get the job done regardless.

Kizer had thrown 51 touchdowns during the course of the regular season, which I feel will be the X-factor in this one as the Jets' run defense is a tough one to crack, and considering that the Browns had 4 players record over 1,000 yards in the air this year look for the Jets to key in on Kizer and this Browns' passing attack.

Prediction: NYJ - 27 / CLE - 40

(11-5) Atlanta Falcons @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (12-4)

Here we find a match up that can be compared to a good boxing rivlarly, as Q and Steps head into their third meeting of the season. Week one the Buccaneers were able to get the best of the Falcons with a 38-32 victory which kickstarted their NFC South title run.

The Falcons then fired back in week 11 and took it to the Bucs, defeating them 38-19 to even up the series. 

Going into a playoff match up knowing you've defeated your opponent once before can be a distraction at times but I think both these squads will be guns blazing out the gate.

We shall witness two pass first offenses go head to head, with the likes of Mike Evans, who recorded 892 yards on the year, and Ryan Montgomery, who doubled Evans' production with a whopping 1,898 yards, at the top of the pecking order when it comes to targets. 

This will be a fun one to watch, but not to be apart of, at least for the loser of this contenst.

Prediction: ATL - 31 / TB - 28

(12-4) Kansas City Chiefs @ Indianapolis Colts (13-3)

As exciting as this match up is as a whole, there will be a game within the game played between the Kansas City DBs and star Indy wideout Ender Wiggins.

The Chiefs came into the post season allowing the least amount of passing yards, while the Colts posted the 5th most yards through the air. 

Indy doesn't seem to have a grasp on their run game, but they'll likely need to find a way to get it going in this one if they want to give themselves the best possible chance to advance.

With that being said, Andrew Luck does have the weapons and the ability to expose this top rated defense, it's just a matter if receivers outside of Wiggins can find space with the openings they will be given.

Prediction: KC - 23 / IND - 21

(11-5) Carolina Panthers @ Dallas Cowboys (12-4)

Both of these teams have a very similar approach to things on both sides of the ball. Carolina relies on the legs of Christian McCaffery and Cam Newton to get the job done, while the Dallas Cowboys look to Franklin Pennington to carry the rock exclusively for them,

They both rank in the top 6 when it comes to their rushing attacks, and are listed on the bottom 15 in passing with Dallas coming in at 15, meanwhile Carolina is ranked 28th.

Dallas has the advantage on paper when it comes to their defensive numbers, but Carolina has a handful of playmakers who can turn the tide at any point in the ball game.

This will be a game of inches, literally, as the rock will be controlled by the backs for the majority with the passing attack taking a back seat if history is any idicaton.

Prediciton: None