Sports

[gardenman]

It's playoff football time! Do or die! WIn and stay in, lose and go home.

Our first game this weekend will be the Colts at the Bills. Not an ideal situation for the Colts. A dome team heading to Buffalo is not ideal. The Bills are red hot and playing very well. The Colts will need another big game from Jonathan Taylor, their kid running back. That will keep the ball away from the Bills and give them a shot at eking out the win. I think the Bills will get the win. It's a tough matchup for the Colts.

Game two will be the Rams at the Seahawks. The home-field advantage due to crowd noise in Seattle is largely gone now. The Rams defense has done a good job against Seattle this year holding them to 23 and 9 points in their two earlier matchups. Jared Goff will be trying to play despite very recent thumb surgery. Will he be able to play? I doubt it. That would give the edge to Seattle. That Rams defense should keep things close, but I'm not sure they can score enough without Goff to get the win.

Game three on Saturday will be the Buccaneers at the WFT. Yeah. Tom Brady and the Bucs should have little trouble here. The Eagles tried to lose to the WFT last week and still almost won despite playing very few starters and largely treating the game as the first preseason game of 2021. I'll take the Bucs in what could be the ugliest game of the weekend.

On to Sunday where we start out with the Ravens at the Titans. This should be a good one. Both teams are largely built for the playoffs with a good running game and a stout defense. Lamar Jackson is the wildcard in this one. If he plays up to his potential the Ravens should eke out the win. If he makes a mistake (fumble, interception) then things lean more towards the Titans. I think whoever wins this game is likely headed to the AFC championship game.

Game two on Sunday has the Bears heading to the Saints. This could be an ugly one. The Bears have been a streaky team this year. They won five of their first six, then lost six in a row. Now they've won three of their last four, but lost last week. The Saints are more battle and playoff-tested. I've got the Saints in this one.

And our final playoff game this week will be the Browns at the Steelers. The Browns got crushed by the Steelers back in October 38-7. They eked out a win over the Steelers reserves last week 24-22. The Steelers won't be playing their reserves this week. The Browns have a very talented roster, but the talent tends not to always show. I'll take the Steelers for the win here. Hopefully, the Browns can keep things interesting though.

[Big Joanie]

OMG .. its gonna be good .....can't wait .....I'm from Upstate New

York and weather in Buffalo can be a factor ..it can get pretty

nasty .....

[fancy pantsy]

thank you for this comprehensive update @gardenman !  between the holidays and then coming down with a nasty stomach virus, i have completely lost track of the football season.  i so very much appreciate this post of yours! 

[gardenman]

As I speculated a week or two ago, Jason Garrett is getting at least one interview for a head coaching gig. The Chargers are interviewing him. Not a bad fit. They have a young QB for Garrett to mold in Justin Herbert. Former Chargers coach Don Coryell created the Air Coryell offense Garrett teaches and uses. It makes sense all around. The Giants are unlikely to beg Garrett to stay since the head coach and Garrett reportedly aren't best buds. We could see him signed there pretty quickly. 

[teganslaw]

The Saturday weather forecast for Buffalo is 30 and sunny. That could change closer to the weekend, though. The Bills are favored, and I hope that the Colts have a good game plan with everyone healthy.

The Eagles are getting plenty of criticism about benching Hurts. Social media doesn't seem to be backing the Giants, though. People have called them "whiners" and the general thought is that the Giants shouldn't complain. If they wanted to win the divison, then they should have had a better record.

I have some doubt about Baltimore. As talented as the team is, Lamar Jackson has yet to prove he can win a playoff game. As long as the Ravens win Sunday, I think they could go far. They remember what happened last year, and won't underestimate the Titans. That was probably the problem last time: too confident and underestimating the opponant. 

[AuntG]

I agree about the ugliest game next weekend.

[Travone]

The Browns just announced that their head coach Kevin Stefanski, another coach not named and two additional unnamed players just tested positive for Covid.

[Spurt]

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@gardenman 

Okay here's my wildcard picks----

Colts vs Bills--- The Colts have the unfortunate task of going up against the hottest team in the NFL, the Bills, at home!  Thankfully the weather doesn't look too bad. But I think THE BILLS are a team that won't be denied...and the Bill's mafia will be celebrating! 

Rams vs Seahawks--- It's a bad break for the Rams (pardon the pun) that Goff required surgery on his thumb right before the playoffs....It was looking like the Rams had a good chance considering the Seahawks offense was becoming a bit too Russell Wilson centric which played into the hands of the Ram's defense....But now Goff will be playing with a thumb that has had recent surgery which puts things up in the air for the Rams... Also, the Seahawks defense has improved.....  Considering the injuries I'm taking the SEAHAWKS, but it wouldn't surprise me if somehow the Rams managed a win....This will be a close one....

Bucs vs WFT----  Well at least my WFT made it to the promised land.....and it could be a quick and ugly exit featured in prime time no less....  While the defense looks promising against a stand in the pocket Tom Brady who has trouble handling pressure....On the other side QB Alex Smith is almost totally immobile...BUT Ron Rivera said he is thinking of rotating QBS Smith and Heinicke as needed....that might put an interesting quirk in the offense and this offense needs all the help it can get....Another factor would be the inconsistency in which the Bucs have played this season and there's a question that they may be overconfident and looking towards the next game and the Packers.... Although my heart is for my WFT,  my brain says BUCS will win....(a bit of reverse psychology)  As Al Michael's once said, "do you believe in miracles" ya never know, doubtful-yes, but that folks would INDEED be an AMAZING miracle if my WFT won...

😉  

Ravens vs Titans--- In what looks like the marquee matchup of the day----two good teams clash!!!  Ya got your bulldozer in Derrick Henry...and on the other side a mobile QB in Lamar Jackson......Both teams have decent defenses....Coin flip here...taking the TITANS at home!!! 

Bears vs Saints--- The Bears lucked their way into the playoffs.....Meanwhile the Saints, who were not at full strength, easily disposed of their opponent.... Let's see Brees vs Trubisky (Trubisky may be auditioning for another team...who knows if the Bears continue with him as their starting QB).....Im going with Brees and the SAINTS!

Browns vs Steelers --- Just when things were looking up for the Browns, their coach and some players get hit with Covid....this team and city is cursed!! I just think the Steelers have been a paper tiger throughout the season and think that  somehow someway all the talent on the BROWNS will come up with a win! 

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE! 

[Spurt]

ALEX SMITH WAS NAMED COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR!!!----- Well deserved! He was at death's door, almost lost a leg and worked hard to make an amazing comeback on the field!!!  CONGRATS ALEX~ 🏆

[gardenman]

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@Spurt wrote:

ALEX SMITH WAS NAMED COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR!!!----- Well deserved! He was at death's door, almost lost leg and worked hard to make an amazing comeback on the field!!!  CONGRATS ALEX~ 🏆

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Deserved. I'll be rooting for the WFT come Saturday, Brady's won enough, but I'm not optimistic about their chances.