The Divisional Round brought one of the best football games I’ve ever seen. The Chiefs/Bills game was phenomenal. Back and forth like no other game. I know it ripped Concret3Cowboy’s heart out several times in the last minute and our text message exchange will support that. BrendawnoftheDead and I definitely enjoyed the roller coaster of emotion that he went through. Shockingly, he didn’t whine about the overtime rules like I predicted. But I’m sure that was only because I said he would. All of that aside, let’s see how the three of us did with our picks.
Divisional Record:
Blind Owl: 1-3
Concret3Cowboy: 2-2
BrendawnoftheDead: 2-2
Wow. This is strange. I don’t even know how to do this. I actually lost the week. But here it goes. You’ve got to give the devil their due, the Cowboy and Brendawn did well. They tied yet again, which will make for an interesting rest of the playoffs. Let’s see how it impacts the overall playoff records.
Total Playoff Record:
Blind Owl: 5-5
Concret3Cowboy: 6-4
BrendawnoftheDead: 6-4
As any loyal reader knows, we were all tied after Wildcard weekend, so the 1 game lead those two hooligans hold over me carries over to the big picture. It’s a tough spot to be in for me because there are only 3 games left to pick. What could work to my benefit is the fact that they are tied and will have to try and beat each other. I could use that to my advantage. So let’s take a look and see if one of them can assert their dominance, or if I can stay alive on Championship Sunday.
CIN @ KC: KC -7
Blind Owl: Is it possible for both of these teams to lose? I think everyone except Chiefs fans don’t want the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. The whole country was cheering for Josh Allen to pull off the victory. I am definitely with the crowd there. Meanwhile, everyone is worshiping the ground Joe Burrow walks on. It is sickening. I think the guy is a front runner and quite honestly gives me douchebag vibes. This is definitely a pick your poison kind of game for me. Last week, the Bengals didn’t beat the Titans, they just didn’t lose to the Titans. Ryan Tannehill beat the Titans. The Chiefs on the other hand had to pull out all the stops to beat the Bills. Football wise, it would be dumb not to pick the Chiefs. Looking at this from the perspective of this competition, the Cowboy is 100% picking the Bengals in this game. He would marry Joe Burrow if he had the chance. To stay in this thing I have to pick the Chiefs. Seven points is a big spread for a Conference Championship game, but I have to do it. And let’s be honest, we all want to see the Cowboy bitch and moan about how “the Chiefs shouldn’t have even been here!” when they beat Cincy by 13 points.
Concret3Cowboy: GEAUX BENGALS. Maybe I’m biased or maybe I’m too loyal. Joe took a beating in Tennessee, getting sacked more than Kim Kardashian, but was still able to get his team in position to beat the number 1 seed. But really, I like the Bengals defense more than the Chiefs defense. The Chiefs have a more dynamic passing game, but the Bengals have a better run game. The Chiefs can win games one way (as good as they are at it) and that’s with Mahomes. The Bengals have the Joe-Joes. I’m also expecting the other guys to go with Kansas City so color me different. Editor’s Note: He also just hates the Chiefs and wants to be all analytical so he doesn’t have to admit it. But we all know
BrendawnoftheDead: I don’t like this spread. I think KC is the better team, but Cincy was able to eke out the regular season matchup. I really want Cincy to win, I think Joe Burrow is going to be a stud for years to come, but I don’t see it happening this time. They moved the ball but struggled to score touchdowns against the Titans. If they do that again, they will lose by multiple touchdowns. It is a fact that the Chiefs defense could not stop the Bills a week ago. Cincy has better receivers overall and a far better running back, but an abysmal offensive line. I think this one will be close with the Chiefs getting the win, but Cincy does enough to cover.
SF @ LAR: LAR -3.5
Blind Owl: This game will definitely be the better of the two Championship games. Nothing beats two teams playing for the third time in a season. Not going to lie, I have enjoyed the 49ers Cinderella run through the playoffs. They’ve beat two very good, complete football teams. The Rams on the other hand almost squandered away a MASSIVE lead against Tampa. For all those saying that Tom Brady almost came back single handedly are dead wrong. The Rams did their best to lose this game. The LA offense was impressive early in that game but there wasn’t much else I liked. I did enjoy seeing TB12 get a penalty for whining about getting hit in the chin. I think the Rams got a serious wake up call last weekend. They will definitely tighten things up on Sunday. I also know the Rams are the Cowboy’s Super Bowl pick so I know he’s picking them. So I’ll go against my instincts and try to win this thing. So I’ll take SF with the points. Jimmy G is a good looking man, so I’ll trust him.
Concret3Cowboy: Scary. McVay can’t beat the 49ers. Much like Aaron Rodgers and the Packers can’t in the playoffs. The Rams could have ended all this but let the 49ers get into the playoffs with the overtime game in week 18. The Rams looked really good, albeit the Cardinals looked really bad, in the wildcard round. They continued to look really good in the first half against the defending champs, and held off a classic “everything falling Tom Brady’s way comeback.” I said the 49ers were a scary dark horse in preparations for their game against the Cowboys. Well, here they are one game away from the Super Bowl. I have to stay with my NFC pick.
BrendawnoftheDead: The Rams built this team to win now, and I think they ultimately will (this week). The 49ers won both regular season matchups, so this isn’t exactly cut and dry. I think the Rams do everything a little better than the 49ers. They have better weapons on offense and have two of the best players at their positions on defense (Aaron Donald & Jaylen Ramsey). Mathew Stafford is a better QB than Jimmy G, but he’s not as handsome. The Rams finally solve this puzzle and advance to the super bowl, LA by 6.
