Full disclosure, you’ve got a tired Owl on your hands. I’ve shoveled snow for the first time in a longtime and I’m not at home. So these picks may be brief. Also, the playoffs didn’t start well for me, so I’m in a bit of a mood. Enough of my bitching, let’s take a look at how the boys and I did in the Wildcard round.
Playoff Record:
Blind Owl: 2-4
Concret3Cowboy: 3-3
BrendawnoftheDead: 2-4
If you paid attention during the regular season, the Wildcard round was just more of the same. The Cowboy got a narrow victory because Brendawn and I trusted Tom Brady. Well guess what, never again. Now let’s get set for the Divisional Round and see if Brendawn and I can catch the Cowboy.
JAX @ KC: KC -9
Blind Owl: The Jags are in the Divisional round? This is weird. I’m not sure how to feel about this. Trevor Lawrence threw 4 picks last week and still won. That’s only because the Chargers are the Chargers. He doesn’t get that luxury today. KC is on a totally other level. They are the class of the NFL. The Jags have a lot to be happy about, but the story ends today. KC will win big.
Concret3Cowboy: Lawrence was clearly uncomfortable the first half against the Chargers. Fortunately for the Jags, the Chargers decided to keep throwing short passing attempts and let them claw back in. How do you lose when you’re +5 in turnovers? For this game, it’s either going to be a KC blow out or Jax finds a way to keep it close, I don’t see any scenario that the Jags pull out the W. I don’t trust Lawrence, I’ve seen him play live (back in 2021) and was very unimpressed. I think it’s more of his head space than actual talent, but he’s not ready to get into a duel with Mahomes and Andy Reid.
BrendawnoftheDead: I love an underdog story. Unfortunately for Jacksonville, that was last week. KC wins and covers, only the Chargers or Falcons could choke away that kind of lead.
NYG @ PHI: PHI -7.5
Blind Owl: The AFC Least has turned into the AFC Best apparently. The Giants had similar luck to the Jags. They played a Vikings team that is known for choking. This is almost a carbon copy of the above post. The Giants should be pleased with where they are, but Philly is just that good. They even make Gardner Minshew look good. There is just too much talent on the Eagles. They’ll fly today.
Concret3Cowboy: I’m disappointed in the Vikings, but the writing has been on the wall all season. Philly isn’t exactly coming into the postseason firing on all cylinders. With Hurts missing time, this Philly team needs to recapture what it was at the mid season point. That’s not easy for an inexperienced team. The Giants got stomped in the first meeting of these teams, and kept in close in week 18 (when Hurts played and not Danny Dimes). This is a tough one, I’m going to go with the Eagles though.
BrendawnoftheDead: I would love to see the Giants take this one, but I don't see it. I do see them covering though, the Eagles have been sloppy this past month.
CIN @ BUF: BUF -5.5
Blind Owl: This is a game we’ve been waiting for since a few Monday nights ago. Dare I say we’ve been dying to see it? Is that in poor taste? Well, I said it, so there it is. Anyway, this has Game of the Year potential. A lot like KC/Buffalo last year. Both teams are winning, and might be the upper echelon of the AFC for the next dozen years. This one is going to be an absolute slugfest. Points on top of points on top of points. HAMMER THE OVER! As for the game itself, it’s going to be back and forth. It’ll really come down to who has to kick field goals instead of scoring TDs. I did a double take when I saw the spread. I even had my phone read it to me to confirm that I wasn’t that blind. 5.5 is a lot of points for such a tightly contested matchup. I think the Bills will win, but it’ll be close so I have to pick the Bengals.
Concret3Cowboy: Bengals. They have a chip on their shoulder. They were the only team that was actively put at a disadvantage with the playoff situation after the incident that happened the last time these teams met. The Bengals have a very solid, well rounded roster.
BrendawnoftheDead: Not today Josh Allen, not today. These teams are far too evenly matched for this kind of spread. The Bengals have all kinds of fire power to match Buffalo, this will come down to the last possession.
DAL @ SF: SF-4
Blind Owl: Is it 1990? Did something happen? Both the 9ers and Cowboys are really good teams and are playing each other in the playoffs. Dallas and Tampa screwed me last week, I am not letting that happen again. This has potential to be another good game. Great defense vs. pretty good offense. Unfortunately for Dallas, they’re offense has struggled against worse defenses than San Fran. The 49ers are going to take this one with a smothering defense and enough offense to win by a TD.
Concret3Cowboy: I’m more on the Dallas bandwagon then I have been at any point this season. Winning that playoff game (that everyone thought they’d lose because of one guy) really took the monkey off of Dallas’s back. At the end of the day, San Fran has a killer defense and can do basically whatever they want on offense. Purdy looked good for his first playoff game but this Dallas D will be the best defense he’s seen yet. This one will be fun, but I have to ride with San Fran.
BrendawnoftheDead: Don't be fooled by Dallas's performance last week. The BUCS didn't deserve to be there, I just thought Brady had one more in him. San Francisco wins easily. Dak has turned the ball over far too much this year and you won't beat San Francisco when you give them extra possessions.
