An exciting first week of games brings the playoff picture into clearer focus as we shirf to the Divisional Round. Four exciting matchups on tap. Who is going to earn a spot in their conference's championship game? Will 2nd year QBs Johnny Manziel and Teddy Bridgewater lead their teams to glory or will future Hall of Famers like Tom Brady and Drew Brees emerge victorious once again?
You have heard about epic trilogies in boxing (Ali and Frazier), MMA (Edgar and Maynard) and at the box office (The Expendables). However, you rarely hear about them in the NFL. Maybe it is because division rivals play each other twice every year. Or maybe its because most teams have played each other dozens of times in their histories. But every so often two teams square off in the playoffs and it is the third meeting between the two teams that year. None of those will ever match what we are about to witness in New England.
These two teams split the season series 1-1 with the Patriots winning at home in Week 14 and the Bills winning in Buffalo in the final week of the season. The Bills win ended the Patriots undefeated season. It also left New England (15-1) and Buffalo (14-2) with the two best records in the AFC. Usually you would want to see this rubber match in a championship game, but because of the NFL seeding rules, we will see it in the second round.
The edge has to go to the Patriots who have the series lead over the past two seasons (3-1). They also have home field advantage. However, the Bills gained some confidence with their Week 17 win and now know they can beat the almighty Patriots. It would be a stretch to think the Bills should be favored, but seeing them pull out a win in Foxboro would surprise nobody.
Cleveland and Kansas City met in Week 2 of the regular season with the Chiefs wining 28-10 in Cleveland. This time the matchup switches to KC where the Chiefs are a tough out at home (15-1 over last two years).
During the Week 2 matchup, Jamal Charles ran for 134 yards and a touchdown and the Chiefs' defense forced two turnovers. Cleveland managed only 234 yards of total offense and converted only 37% of their third down attempts. Cleveland's defense played lights out in the snow during their first round win against the Chargers. The Browns will need an equally valiant effort in this game, regardless of weather, along with a little more productive offensive effort if they hope to advance to their first AFC Championship in 25 years.
This game is a rematch of the Week 17 matchup in Minnesota. That game was a back and forth battle that ended up in overtime. Each team had two possessions in the extra frame and both teams came away with just one field goal and the game ended in a 30-30 tie.
Two weeks later we will run it back but this time from Santa Clara, CA. Although the advantage isn't as big as you would imagine for the 49ers. Minnesota actually had a better road record (6-2) than at home (5-2-1) while San Francisco went undefeated on the road (7-0-1) and only 6-2 at home. Its interesting that each of these teams were better on the road than at home this year.
The Week 17 tilt was also difficult to gauge as far who was the better team as the Vikings were playing without Pro Bowl running back Jerick McKinnon and starting left tackle Matt Kalil. Minnesota also sat quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and middle linebacker Chad Greenway as they had their division and playoff seed sewn up and nothing to play for. That didn't stop backup QB Jake Locker for throwing for 309 yards against the 9ers D though.
This is really a tough game to call with so many starters having not played for Minnesota and San Francisco not being the home field advantage most expected. The 49ers have the #2 seed in the playoffs for a reason. However, the Vikings looked almost unbeatable in the first round against Tampa Bay and now they are fully healthy.
The final matchup of the NFL's second round of playoffs sees the Philadelphia Eagles travel to New Orleans to take on the defending champion Saints. These two teams played in Week 6 at the Superdome and New Orleans squeaked out a 31-28 victory. The Saints committed five turnovers in that game including three interceptions from Drew Brees. Although the Saints finished the season 14-2, they have had an up-and-down season. Owner beeswarm has been out for periods and the team has dealt with injury and consitency issues. They certainly do not look like the team that plowed their way through the 2014 playoffs. Although the same could be said about that team prior to the playoffs starting a year ago.
The Eagles have been enigmatic as well. After losing to the division rival Cowboys in the season opener, they reeled off four-straight wins before dropping the game in New Orleans. Four more wins saw them in first place in the NFC East before they fell again to the Cowboys who won only four games all year. The Eagles were mostly competitive down the stretch despite going 2-4 to close out the season. Philly started out in a 14-0 hole in the first round of the playoffs against the Bears but fought back and came away with a 27-24 victory. They will have to build off of that momentum and overcome a Saints team that will undoubtedly play better than the turnover machine they faced earlier in the season.
You have heard about epic trilogies in boxing (Ali and Frazier), MMA (Edgar and Maynard) and at the box office (The Expendables). However, you rarely hear about them in the NFL. Maybe it is because division rivals play each other twice every year. Or maybe its because most teams have played each other dozens of times in their histories. But every so often two teams square off in the playoffs and it is the third meeting between the two teams that year. None of those will ever match what we are about to witness in New England.
These two teams split the season series 1-1 with the Patriots winning at home in Week 14 and the Bills winning in Buffalo in the final week of the season. The Bills win ended the Patriots undefeated season. It also left New England (15-1) and Buffalo (14-2) with the two best records in the AFC. Usually you would want to see this rubber match in a championship game, but because of the NFL seeding rules, we will see it in the second round.
The edge has to go to the Patriots who have the series lead over the past two seasons (3-1). They also have home field advantage. However, the Bills gained some confidence with their Week 17 win and now know they can beat the almighty Patriots. It would be a stretch to think the Bills should be favored, but seeing them pull out a win in Foxboro would surprise nobody.
Cleveland and Kansas City met in Week 2 of the regular season with the Chiefs wining 28-10 in Cleveland. This time the matchup switches to KC where the Chiefs are a tough out at home (15-1 over last two years).
During the Week 2 matchup, Jamal Charles ran for 134 yards and a touchdown and the Chiefs' defense forced two turnovers. Cleveland managed only 234 yards of total offense and converted only 37% of their third down attempts. Cleveland's defense played lights out in the snow during their first round win against the Chargers. The Browns will need an equally valiant effort in this game, regardless of weather, along with a little more productive offensive effort if they hope to advance to their first AFC Championship in 25 years.
This game is a rematch of the Week 17 matchup in Minnesota. That game was a back and forth battle that ended up in overtime. Each team had two possessions in the extra frame and both teams came away with just one field goal and the game ended in a 30-30 tie.
Two weeks later we will run it back but this time from Santa Clara, CA. Although the advantage isn't as big as you would imagine for the 49ers. Minnesota actually had a better road record (6-2) than at home (5-2-1) while San Francisco went undefeated on the road (7-0-1) and only 6-2 at home. Its interesting that each of these teams were better on the road than at home this year.
The Week 17 tilt was also difficult to gauge as far who was the better team as the Vikings were playing without Pro Bowl running back Jerick McKinnon and starting left tackle Matt Kalil. Minnesota also sat quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and middle linebacker Chad Greenway as they had their division and playoff seed sewn up and nothing to play for. That didn't stop backup QB Jake Locker for throwing for 309 yards against the 9ers D though.
This is really a tough game to call with so many starters having not played for Minnesota and San Francisco not being the home field advantage most expected. The 49ers have the #2 seed in the playoffs for a reason. However, the Vikings looked almost unbeatable in the first round against Tampa Bay and now they are fully healthy.
The final matchup of the NFL's second round of playoffs sees the Philadelphia Eagles travel to New Orleans to take on the defending champion Saints. These two teams played in Week 6 at the Superdome and New Orleans squeaked out a 31-28 victory. The Saints committed five turnovers in that game including three interceptions from Drew Brees. Although the Saints finished the season 14-2, they have had an up-and-down season. Owner beeswarm has been out for periods and the team has dealt with injury and consitency issues. They certainly do not look like the team that plowed their way through the 2014 playoffs. Although the same could be said about that team prior to the playoffs starting a year ago.
The Eagles have been enigmatic as well. After losing to the division rival Cowboys in the season opener, they reeled off four-straight wins before dropping the game in New Orleans. Four more wins saw them in first place in the NFC East before they fell again to the Cowboys who won only four games all year. The Eagles were mostly competitive down the stretch despite going 2-4 to close out the season. Philly started out in a 14-0 hole in the first round of the playoffs against the Bears but fought back and came away with a 27-24 victory. They will have to build off of that momentum and overcome a Saints team that will undoubtedly play better than the turnover machine they faced earlier in the season.
Deadline is WED at 11 PM CST
