Last year’s divisional round was perhaps the most exciting weekend of football in NFL history. The first 3 games all ended with a game winning field goal as time expired. Then the Chiefs vs Bills said, hold my beer as they played one of the greatest games of all time (unless you like defense) and after a 13 second drive to kick a field goal to tie it, the Chiefs won the coin toss and the game in overtime. This led to a change in the overtime rules despite the exact same thing happening to us a couple of years earlier when we were on the wrong end of the coin flip and no one cared. For years Bills fans had “wide right” to focus on. Now they have 13 seconds and a coin flip to focus on instead. You’re welcome.

I cannot imagine this weekend coming close to comparison but you never know. In the AFC the top 4 seeds and division winners will compete and in the NFC as we all expected, the NFC East has 3 of 4 of the teams playing. This is the beauty of the NFL. The worst division in the league two years ago now has 3 teams in the divisional round. That is parody my friends. Anyway it should be some good football this weekend. Let’s dive in.

The Undefeated on Saturday Game: Jaguars @ Chiefs

The Jags advanced to round two after erasing a 27-0 deficit against the Chargers. The Chiefs got a bye because they won the most games and because the Bills and Bengals didn’t finish their game. Trevor Lawrence is 37-0 on Saturdays including high school, college and the NFL. There is no mention of flag football or pee wee football…so is he really undefeated on Saturdays? Mahomes is 4-0 on Saturdays in the NFL. So something has to give here. This is another rematch of an earlier game as the Chiefs beat the Jags by 10 giving them their first loss by more than one score. JuJu also got knocked out in this game. The Chiefs looked at their best the last game of the season but it was against the Raiders. The Jags are coming off a high and I am sure have a “nothing is impossible” vibe going. Andy Reid and Doug Pederson obviously know each other well and both have had a great year coaching. It might snow on Saturday to add to the fun. Lawrence made the decision to say that he didn’t think Arrowhead would be any louder than their stadium last Saturday. He was probably just trying to give a shout out to his fans and say that he can handle the noise. But of course our obnoxious fan base is like, “challenge accepted”. They were already going to be fired up but now they will be extra loud. You add in that this might be our only home playoff game and it should be extra rowdy. Plus, Lil Jon is playing at halftime. Are the Chiefs going to win? “Yeeaaah!” I think these four teams are the teams to beat in their divisions for the next 5 years and you are going to see them run into each other a lot in the playoffs. The Jags will keep it close for a while. But as Mahomes once said, he is a snow guy and I think the Chiefs pull away and get the weekend started off with a win.

Chiefs 31 Jaguars 20

New York Strip vs Philly Cheese steak: Giants @ Eagles

The food has nothing to do with the game really…they are just two of my favorite foods and I didn’t have anything else clever to call the game. This is the 3rd meeting of these two teams. The Eagles demolished the Giants in New Jersey in the first game. But then the Giants JV team kept things close with the Eagles in Philly the last week of the season. The Eagles had some late season injuries that derailed the end of their season. Hurts and Lane Johnson are the most notable ones. They are healthier…but are they healthy? Can the Eagles regain their momentum and return to their form of earlier in the year?

On the other side, the Giants have been playing some of their best ball since their shellacking from the Eagles in week 14. They just beat a good Vikings team…one that chokes a lot…but still. Daniel Jones is playing his best ball and Brian Daboll can flat out coach. The Giants will be ready and bring their A game. Also, the Giants have a weird pattern going. They either lose in the first round of the playoffs or they win the Super Bowl. Nothing in between. And they didn’t lose in the first round…so…

I think the Eagles will come out and play well. They are rested and the more talented team. Despite all the Giants success, I still can’t name a receiver on their team. The Eagles have too many weapons and will “soar” to victory. Yes, I went there.

Eagles 38 Giants 24

The “To Be Continued” Game: Bengals @ Bills

Do we get to start this game where the other one ended? 7-3 Bengals leading with a few minutes left in the 1st quarter? It’s the least we could do for the Bengals who got hosed in the whole neutral site playoff debacle. I don’t like the Bengals but I can be honest that they got the short end of the stick. While there was great concern that the Bills would not lose home field advantage because of the game being cancelled, there was little to no concern when it came to the Bengals. If the Bengals had beaten the Bills, they would be playing at home this week. But instead, they head to Buffalo. I’d feel sorry for them, but I don’t like them. They are also trying to play the disrespect card a little much. Joe Mixon seems to be the ring leader of complaining. He says they are disrespected because tickets are being sold for the neutral site game in Atlanta. Literally every year tickets for the championship games are sold at this time to season ticket holders. This is not a new thing. But whatever motivates you, I guess. If I were the Bengals I would be less worried about being disrespected and more worried about having enough offensive linemen.

On the other side, the Bills seem a little off. Josh Allen is turning the ball over a lot. Their defense doesn’t seem as solid as it once did. In short, they have some issues. The Damar Hamlin story is inspiring but it really hasn’t inspired the Bills to play any better. They are at home and it will be cold with a chance of some light snow. But the Bengals are used to all that. If the Bills had Von Miller against that beat up offensive line, I’d feel better about them in this game. Both teams have a ton of weapons. If Josh Allen remains turnover free, I think the Bills will win. But that is a big if. I think he turns it over multiple times and the Chiefs get another shot at the team I hate.

Bengals 27 Bills 24

Battle of teams that used to be great when I was a kid: Cowboys @ 49ers

I remember watching these teams battle it out in what seemed like NFC championship after NFC Championship. They took turns winning super bowls and had two of the best rosters in the league. The 49ers were the team of the 80’s and the Cowboys were the team of the 90’s. Of course all of this happened before I graduated high school. To be fair to the 49ers they have made a couple of super bowls since then and been close a few other times. The Cowboys on the other hand…not so much. With their win on Monday night, the Cowboys are 4-10 in the playoffs since I graduated high school a few years ago. But both teams looked great during wild card weekend. Could this be a return of this great rivalry?

This will be Brock Purdy’s biggest test. He is playing a team that can put up a lot of points and has an opportunistic defense. On the flip side, Dak has choked in close games. These two teams played in last year’s playoffs when a sea of red rolled into Cowboys stadium. There was some terrible playing calling and clock management that cost the Cowboys the game. Will they get their revenge?

No matter who wins, the real winner is Fox who will get huge ratings as these are two of the most popular teams in the nation and it is the second game on Sunday. The 49ers have the better overall roster but the Cowboys roster is solid and they both have a lot of weapons.

I have gone back and forth on this one. I think the 49ers have the better team but the Cowboys have enough talent to put up points on them. And I sort of have a gut feeling that the Cowboys are going to win. But I am basing some of that feeling on their performance on Monday night that while it was great, they were playing the Bucs and the Bucs have sucked all year. Whenever I am undecided about a game, I look to the coach and quarterback to help me decide. I don’t trust Dak or McCarthy at all. On the other side, Brock Purdy, although young and inexperienced, hasn’t shown me any reason not to trust him up to this point. And Kyle Shanahan usually doesn’t choke until the super bowl. Give me the niners in a close one.

49ers 35 Cowboys 31