The NFL may be celebrating the return of large audiences on its game broadcasts (30.5 million viewers each broadcast), but if the unfolding of divisional playoffs is an extension of the boring Super Wild Card Weekend we left behind on Monday night, let the league offices not expect the trends to continue.
The wild card round didn’t feel like the hot product the season was. 2021 was full of surprising outcomes such as covid positives among players and coaches. 34 games were defined by a touchdown play in the last second. Never in history has mankind witnessed so many NFL Finals. who perpetrated the faces of the fans as if they were theater masks.
Between the three days of wild cards, four games were blowouts.
With 278 games already part of the statistics books, another four games arrive to define the contenders for the AFC and NFC Championship Games.
As if it were an old tradition dating back to 1995, lhe Cowboys and their tribe once again will not feel the emotions of being on the cusp of the big Sunday. His 11 consecutive postseason appearances without reaching the conference title game is the longest streak since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.
But let’s throw the Boys aside, just as their supporters rudely littered the field.
Among the things to note in the divisional games is Tom Brady’s need to rewrite his stats. The quarterback has 709 career touchdown passes, including postseason games, 101 more than Drew Brees, who ranks second.
On a playoff Monday night it had less excitement than going out to dinner with your in-laws, though Matthew Stafford, with 13 years as a professional, obtained his first victory in the playoffs.
The good news for the Bills is that they haven’t lost a playoff game at home (3-0) under coach Sean McDermott.. The bad news is that they haven’t won one away from home either (0-3) since he took over in 2017.
Of the seven teams that entered the postseason without precedent in 2020, only the 49ers and the Bengals remain.
In fact, Cincinnati seeks to become the fourth organization in 13 seasons in advancing to a conference Championship Game the year after finishing last or tied for last in their division.
That said, and with two days of football ahead of us, let’s give the Divisional Picks kickoff.
This is how the divisional round is played
Bengals at Titans (-3.5):
Tennessee, the No. 1 seed in the AFC, earned a first-round bye after winning the AFC South for the second straight season. The Titans’ 12 regular-season wins were the most since they won 13 in 2008.
Last week, the Bengals earned their first postseason victory since the 1990 season.
The Titans will return to action Saturday after resting in the wild-card round, this time playing star running back Derrick Henry, who missed much of the season with a broken foot. However, he will face a tough rushing defense in Cincinnati, which allowed the fifth fewest rushing yards to opposing teams during the regular season. And the Titans, who allowed the eighth-most passing yards this season, will have to rein in Joe Burrow and Cincinnati’s dynamic wide receivers. Bengals 21-24 Titans
49ers at Packers (-6):
San Francisco and Green Bay meet in the playoffs for the ninth time, all in the last 26 years. Since the Packers defeated the 49ers at Candlestick Park in the 1995 postseason, no other team has played more than five times in the playoffs. Green Bay and San Francisco have split their eight playoff games, 4-4. The winner of a playoff game between the 49ers and the Packers has reached the Super Bowl four times: 1996, 1997, 2012 and 2019.
Aaron Rodgers hasn’t led his team to the Super Bowl since 2010 despite making the playoffs eight times since then. Three times during that stretch, it has been the 49ers that have eliminated Green Bay from the postseason. Rodgers has never beaten San Francisco in the playoffs, but for the second time, the game will take place at Lambeau Field. Can the Packers reach the NFC Championship for the third year in a row, or will San Francisco end Green Bay’s title hopes again? 49ers 21-28 Packers
Rams at Buccaneers (-3):
The Rams have defeated the Buccaneers in both of their all-time playoff meetings. Los Angeles also won each of the last two regular-season meetings against Brady and the Bucs, including a 34-24 victory at SoFi Stadium in Week 3 of this season.
The Buccaneers had no trouble winning their fifth straight playoff game by defeating the Eagles 31-15. Tampa Bay lost to the Rams 32-24 earlier this season. Rams 30-27 Buccaneers
Bills at Chiefs (-2):
Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, who each threw five touchdowns last week, combined to make the 2021 playoffs the first postseason in which multiple players threw five or more touchdowns in a game.
The Bills avenged their loss to Kansas City in the 2021 AFC Championship Game by beating the Chiefs 38-20 when the two teams met in Week 5 this season. The Chiefs had no answer for the dual-threat ability of Josh Allen, who threw for 315 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 59 yards and another touchdown. But since that loss, the Chiefs have gone 11-2 and are firing on all cylinders after Patrick Mahomes threw for five touchdowns against the Steelers in the wild-card win. Bills 33-28 Chiefs
PARLAY
Bills +2 OVER
Rams OVER
49ers + 6
Last Week: 5
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Finally! The NFL divisional round picks have arrived