Football

NFL Championship Round Preview

I apologize for not getting a preview article out for last week’s Divisional Round. My preview for this week is going to be a little bit different than my Wild Card preview. Since I already did a 2019 season recap for the Titans and I’m too lazy to do one for the other teams, you will only get a preview, players to watch and predictions. So with that, let’s go over Titans vs. Chiefs and Packers vs. 49ers.

6 Titans @ 2 Chiefs

An unexpectedly good matchup in AFC Championship at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The Titans have history in their favor and the Chiefs have quality. The Chiefs have bad luck in big games and have choked in the playoffs on multiple occasions. These teams met earlier in the year in week 10; a Titans win at Nissan Stadium.

Titans player to watch: Ryan Tannehill. In the Wild Card round, I picked the leading rusher, Derrick Henry. This time around, I’m going to pick the Titans best player in the second half of the season, their main Quarterback, Ryan Tannehill. In 2019, he had the league’s best passer rating and fifth best completion percentage. Tannehill also lead the league in yards per catch and yards per attempt.

Chiefs player to watch: Travis Kelce. a huge part of their comeback win last week against the Texans. He had 134 yards and three crucial touchdowns in their 51-31 win. He wasn’t bad during the regular season either. He had 97 catches, 1,229 yards and five touchdowns in 2019.

Score Prediction: Titans 28, Chiefs 23

2 Packers @ 1 49ers

A classic two seed versus one seed matchup at Levi’s Stadium. This is another redemption game, but this time it is at the same stadium as the first. The Packers will hope to get the Niners back for the 37-8 thrashing in week 12. The 49ers have been an interesting team because they are one of the only teams to balance a great offense with a great defense. The key for the Packers this season has been consistency, which they haven’t had mush of in recent years.

Packers player to watch: Davante Adams. Huge for the Packers last week with 160 yards and two touchdowns. He has been the Packers main go-to this season with 83 catches. In 12 games, he had 997 yards with five touchdowns.

49ers player to watch: George Kittle. There are so many options we could choose here, but we’re going with Kittle. He had 129 yards and a touchdown versus the Vikings. In 2019, he caught 85 passes for 1,053 yards as well as five scores. The Packers are going to have a tough time stopping him.

Score Prediction: 49ers 35, Packers 21

Sources:

• NFL on Youtube
• teamrankings.com
• espn.com

NFC Wildcard Round Preview

Vikings (10-6) @ Saints (13-3)

A matchup of two double-digit win teams at the Mercedes Benz Superdome in New Orleans. These two teams balance potent rushing and passing attacks leading to strong offenses. They also both have good pass rushers. Minnesota will try to remind the Saints of their 2017 matchup and last minute touchdown, while the Saints will try to shake off their past.

Saints:

Player to Watch: Michael Thomas. This season, Michael Thomas broke the all-time NFL record for most catches in a season with 149. He also isn’t bad outside of catching the ball with 1725 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.

Success of 2019: Quick offense. The Saints ranked third in yards after catch, second in snap to throw speed and were tied for third in terms of sacks allowed. This helped them in having the league fourth most efficient offense, and led them to 13 wins.

Struggle of 2019: Just like the Texans, the Saints were masters of the art of close games. Six of their wins were by one score and nine were by two scores. when your season’s on the line, all you want to do is prevent the game from getting close.

Vikings:

Player to watch: Danielle Hunter. One of the most feared defensive ends in 2019, Danielle Hunter racked up 14.5 sacks, 50 tackles and forced three fumbles. His sack tally was the same as last year and he was tied for fourth in the NFL in that category.

Success of 2019: Pass defense. Though not great on all cylinders, the Vikings pass defensive has been pretty solid in 2019. The ranked third in interceptions, fourth in yards per catch and eighth in yards per attempt.

Struggle of 2019: Pass offense. There have been some great passing plays for Minnesota, however, they just haven’t spent a lot of time on offense, ranking 26th. This is probably the cause of a passing offense that ranks 23rd, not good for a playoff team.

Score Prediction: Saints 28, Vikings 10

Seahawks (11-5) @ Eagles (9-7)

A rematch of the week 12 game which the Seahawks won at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. In terms of record, you could say that the Seahawks should host this game, but the Eagles won a tough division and the Seahawks came in second in a tough one. Regardless, both bird teams will come out flying.

Eagles:

Player to watch: Miles Sanders. A candidate for Rookie of the Year, Sanders led all rookies in scrimmage yards, with 1327, 509 of those being receiving yards. He was on the injury report this week with a sprained ankle, but he’s expected to be back healthy for the game.

Success of 2019: Run Defense. In 2019, the Eagles ranked third in rushing yards per game and 11th in yards per carry. This could be crucial to stopping a lethal running back like Chris Carson.

Struggle of 2019: losing games they could have won. For a season in which they played only five teams with winning records, nine wins is nothing to cheer for. They even lost to two teams with less than six wins (the Lions and Dolphins). If they can’t beat the bad teams, how are they going to play against the big boys?

Seahawks:

Player to watch: Bobby Wagner. He’s a bright spot in defense that’s lacking bright spots. In 2019, he led the NFL in tackles with 159. He also has some playoff experience, providing 2 interceptions and 125 combined tackles in six years for the Seahawks in the playoffs.

Success of 2019: Passing Offense. The Seahawks ranked fourth in passer rating sixth in yards per attempt and eighth in yards per catch. This contributed to a complete offense, which ranked eighth in yards per game.

Struggle of 2019: Injuries. At one point in the season, it looked like the Seahawks were going to take the NFC West division crown. They stumbled at the end, though, losing three of their last four games. This was mostly because of their injuries. It got so bad that in week 16, they had to start their fifth-string running back, Marshawn Lynch.

Score Prediction: Seahawks 27, Eagles 13

Sources:

• NFL on Youtube
• pro-football-reference.com
• nfl.com
• foxsports.com
• teamrankings.com

AFC Wildcard Round Preview

Bills (10-6) @ Texans (10-6)

A classic defense vs. offense matchup @ NRG Stadium in Houston. With all due respect to the Bills offense and Texans defense, this game is mostly worth watching to see how the Bills defense deals with the Texans offense. The Bills boast the 2nd best team defense, while the Texans are blend a great rushing and passing game, especially when it matters. Statistically speaking, this might be the most intriguing Wildcard Weekend matchup.

Texans:

Player to watch: JJ Watt. JJ Watt makes his triumphant return after being sidelined since week 8. The 3-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award winner could help to stop the Bills offense, which could change the game drastically.

Success of 2019: Darren Fells. he made a big impact in tight games for the Texans. He has 341 yards and 7 touchdowns this season. They are 5-0 when he scores a touchdown.

Struggle in 2019: Close games. The Texans have an expected record of 7.8 and 8.2, a losing record. That’s not good for a playoff team. 8 of their 10 wins have been one-score games. They haven’t looked extremely convincing at all this season and they might come up short here in the postseason.

Bills:

Player to watch: Tre’Davious White. This season, Tre’Davious White has become one of the biggest shutdown corners in the league. He has 58 tackles, 6 interceptions, and a 45.1% passer rating allowed, adding to the second best team defense in the NFL.

Success of 2019: Running game. At the beginning of the season, the Bills were not expected to have a very good offense. Their offense has been pretty OK this year; especially with running the ball. They are ranked 8th in yards per game and 13th in yards per carry, pretty good for an offense we expected nothing out of.

Struggle of 2019: Rush defense. The Bills give up the NFL’s 18th best yards per carry. The also tie for the league’s 19th best pass defense to running backs, which could cost them against the Texans, who rely a lot on Duke Johnson on passing plays.

Score Prediction: Bills 30, Texans 17

Titans (9-7) @ Patriots (12-4)

Another AFC East vs. South match up, this time at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. Just like Buffalo, the Patriots have a somewhat sluggish offense, but a killer pass rush. The Titans have a respectable offense, but the story has been the offense, especially the running game. The Titans will look to built off of the momentum they gained after clinching a playoff spot, while the Patriots will look to get back on track after a tough loss last week to the Dolphins. Either way, both teams are in it and this game should not be passed up on.

Patriots:

Player to watch: Stephon Gillmore. He was probably the Defensive Player of the Year in 2019. He locked down some of the league’s best receivers. He had 53 tackles, 6 picks, and 20 passes deflected; the last two stats he led the league in.

Success of 2019: Best defense in the league. First in points allowed, touchdowns allowed, yards per game allowed, points per game allowed, etc. I could go on, but you get the picture.

Struggle of 2019: The passing game. After it seemed like the Patriots had a lot of great receivers in the beginning of the season, that simply isn’t true anymore. Julian Edelman has been the only consistent receiver for the Patriots. He was the only Patriots to get over 1,000 yards receiving and the next closest with 645 was a running back, James White. The next closest receiver to 1,000 yards was Phillip Dorsett with 397.

Titans:

Player to watch: Derrick Henry. Henry surprised everyone this season by becoming the NFL’s leader rusher. He also led the league in touchdowns. The Titans were 6-0 when he rushed for more than 100 yards, helping the Titans clinch a playoff spot.

Success of 2019: Ryan Tannehill. Ever since taking over for Marcus Mariota in week 6, Ryan Tannehill has been the story of the Titans. He has the highest yards passer rating, yards per catch and yards per attempt in the league since week 6.

Struggle of 2019: Protecting Ryan Tannehill. It’s fair to say that the Titans have one of the worst offensive lines in the league. They are third worst in sacks allowed. This could be an edge for the Patriots as their pass rush isn’t bad.

Score Prediction: Patriots 28, Titans 20

Sources:

• NFL on Youtube
• pro-football-reference.com
• nfl.com