The NFL’s Divisional Round will produce three great games, not four.
This is one of the best weekends of the sports year, when the NFL playoffs are down to eight teams and four games on Saturday and Sunday. And all four wild card teams are gone-zo, which should make for the best games possible, except of course for the Houston Texans at the New England Patriots Saturday night.
The Texans have, statistically, the best defense in the NFL. The Pats have, statistically, the best offense. So that should make for a fairly even game, right? Wrong. The two teams met early in the season, and the Patriots whitewashed Houston 27-0 with third-stringer Jacoby Brisett at quarterback. With Tom Brady back for New England expect even a bigger blowout. The Pats are 16-point favorites, record high for the playoffs.
Earlier Saturday, third-seeded Seattle faces No. 2 seed Atlanta in one NFC semifinal. The Seahawks have been to two of the last three Super Bowls, but they don’t have the same offense this season while Atlanta is a popular dark horse pick to reach SB 51, with Matt Ryan enjoying the best season of his career. Sorry Russell Wilson, your booby prize is going home to new bride Ciara. Tough on you.
Sunday features the two best games. In the AFC, the No. 3 Steelers visit the No. 2 Chiefs, and in the NFL the No. 4 Packers play America’s team, top-seeded Dallas. The Cowboys have not won a divisional playoff game since before rookie sensations Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott were born, and they are at home in America’s stadium, the massive Jerry Jones dome outside of Dallas.
So which other two teams will move on to Final Four Sunday?
I will be rooting for Kansas City, coming off the bye week and playing at home, to beat the Steelers because the Chiefs are the easier foe for the Patriots. But Pittsburgh and Big Ben are the most dangerous team right now, having won eight straight. Besides the Steelers advancing on Sunday, I like the Cowboys to win a thriller over the Packers and Aaron Rogers, who also haven’t lost since late November. That last game Sunday caps off an awesome weekend.
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