SSX Lorenzo Carter.
SS Stephen Denmark or Jonathan Jones.
Robert Woods.
TC.
Four playoff games. Two road favorites. The Wild Card Round is here, and it is weird.
This weekend's action is dominated by teams that started the season slowly but ended it red hot with the (13-3) London Black Knights flying across the pond and the country to visit the (13-3) San Francisco 49ers.
It's a strange season when 13-3 is considered a poor season but that's exactly what's happened as the 49ers turned in a disappointing early part of the campaign with losses to fellow playoff teams the Dolphins, Eagles, and Falcons but then ripped off 10 straight W's.
The Black Knights had an equally strange season although for different reasons. It's rare for a 13-3 team to not win it's division but that's exactly what happened in this season's NFC South as the Knights two losses to the high-flying Atlanta Falcons relegated the Knights to wildcard weekend despite dominating the rest of their schedule.
The Black Knights aren't the only team reliving a recurring nightmare in the playoffs.
Yes, on Saturday they must deal with all the things they spent the season trying to avoid. They must play in the first round. They must face the 49ers. They must do it in prime time. Fate seemed to be dealing cards from the bottom of the deck to make much of it happen. A Viking loss in the last week of the season to doom the Black Knights to face a team they'd rather avoid until the NFC Championship? Sure. The best young corner in the league who gets snubbed for DPOY despite an NFL record 12 interceptions (only to be trumped by Oakland's Tesfaye and Minnesota's Southward)? Why not? Force the Brits to travel across the pond and play at 10:00 AM London time? Done, done, and done.
It feels like last year's script playing itself out all over again.
It's all happening to the 49ers again, too. They are entering the playoffs with league leaders at all positions led by 3rd year player Cason Chustz and rookie QB Shane Falco. They have a dominant record. They have made mockery of most of the league but consistently lose to the upper echelon of competition in both the AFC and NFC. A 49er victory would send the West Coasters back to Soldier Field in the Divisional round to face the Chicago Bears who they have yet to beat in 4 seasons - is the recurring nightmare playing itself out again for both teams?
With both teams focusing on one week at a time, expect this wildcard matchup to be a low scoring affair with both teams struggling to put up more than 24 points. The Black Knight defense is led by one of the best cornerback tandems in the league - expect the 49ers to control the pace of the game with a methodical attack that uses it's potent running attack to set up the intermediate passing game. The 49er defense is equally impressive at every level led by an exceptional safety/cornerback grouping and an impressive, albeit aging linebacking corps. Expect the Black Knights offense to attack the 49er lineback corps lack of speed with vertical routes that matchup receivers on the 49er 'backers and ultimately could result in Keuchly and Jamie Collins seeing a minimal number of snaps throughout the game.
In the end, Vegas has set the home team 49ers as a 3 point favorite for a reason. The prediction here is the 49ers edge out a close game 24-17 and send them to Soldier Field for a grudge match with the Chicago Bears dynasty.
In a mid-season matchup that pits the undefeated London Black Knights against the defending NFC South champion Atlanta Falcons, week 8's game of the week has more riding on it than most mid-season matchups.
For the Black Knights, the hopes of an undefeated season, the #1 seed in the NFC, and most importantly, a 2 game lead in the NFC South is on the line. For the Atlanta Falcons, this week brings with it an opportunity to defend it's NFC South title and preserve any hope they have at a week one bye in the playoffs.
In a year in which one could argue 5 or 6 of the best teams in the league are found in the NFC, it feels a bit unfair for either of these teams to be wildcard teams but the loser of this game will likely find themselves playing on wildcard weekend.
With the scene set, this matchup pits two teams with distinct and opposite philosophies. The Black Knights have rode an overwhelming defense to their 7-0 record, led by Jalen Ramsey who has an unfathomable 9 interceptions in only 7 games. Mix in some pressure here and there and a run defense that hasn't given up 100 yards on the ground to an opposing running back and the Black Knights have a definite recipe for slowing down the high flying Atlanta Falcons. In fact, the Black Knights have given up the fewest points in the NFL and have the 4th best run defense in the league.
The Falcons on the other hand enter week 8 with a clear mandate that has led them to a 5-1 record and the second highest point differential in the league: run the ball, run the ball, then run it some more. The Falcons bring the second best run offense in the league into the Georgia Dome for week 8 and likely plan on running the ball into the teeth of the Black Knights defense and see how they like it. Led by second year player Trayion Spikes, who leads the league in rushing yards by a wide margin, fans who clamor for old-school smash-mouth football won't have to worry about not seeing the minimum number of rush attempts in this game.
Expect a low scoring, time of possession battle that sees the Falcons controlling the flow of the game. The smart money says the Black Knights can't control Spikes for 4 quarters and see him break a big run or two at some point in the game.
Take the Falcons at home by two scores with the Falcons winning 31-17.
In a battle of NFC East rivals, Opening Day brings us an important early season divisional matchup. The Dallas Cowboys (10-6 in 2019) are still bitter after missing the playoffs despite winning an identical 10 games as the Redskins (10-6 in 2019).
Both teams are likely to find themselves in contention for a playoff spot again as the loaded NFC East remains one of the most competitive divisions in football. Despite a stable of talented coaches and players, it is unlikely that 3 teams from the NFC East will make the playoffs in 2020 making tonight's game all the more important - tie breakers will likely determine playoff spots and seeding yet again as the Cowboys remember all too well.
Both teams play similar styles with both teams possessing less than a 100 point score differential in 2019 - we should expect a close game with the opening line favoring Dallas by 3.5.
Washington is led by all-world Ezekiel Elliot who looks to take advantage of the league's new run minimum to turn the game into a ground and pound marathon. Elliot does find himself behind a mediocre offensive line which threatens to hamper Washingtons talented receiving core. Mike Evans can't catch what young gun Mike Winchell can't throw. The Redskins did add talented left tackle Navon Murrell to the offensive line - he is likely to find himself lined up at left tackle against Dallas's Khalil Mack. Good luck rook, you're going to need it.
Dallas is led by aforementioned Khalil Mack and Von Miller who lead a talented but aging defensive core that is likely to apply constant pressure to Washington's talented young quarterback. Connor Cook leads an average offense highlighted by dynamic LeQuinton Lawrence who burst on the scene in 2019 with a stellar sophomore season. Lawrence will toast whoever Washington lined up against him - expect the Redskins to employ two sets of eyeballs on Lawrence at all times.
Can Dallas's aging defensive line put pressure on Washingtons young offensive line and contain their potent running attack? Can Washington contain a dynamic receiver with next-gen hands and speed?
It will be interesting to see what the public thinks in the run-up to game time, polling doesn't seem to indicate a clear favorite at the time of this article. Give the points and take Dallas by a touchdown.
My view is that while penalties and fumbles enhance the randomness of the game (which is realistic), too much of either is frustrating and has a disproportionate effect on the game. Given the current sliders, I would advocate for both to be reduced by 25-50%. Beyond that, I think we are A-Ok.