The first round of the playoffs felt kind of boring no?
That may sound like a weird take but five out of the six games were won by two plus scores. This just left an uninteresting or surprised feeling (only three upsets via betting odds). I want more of what we got out of the Commanders–Buccaneers game where it came down to the wire for the game.
This week I decided to do something a little different than usual. I will be covering all four games with slightly smaller breakdowns than normal. This week the games include a rerun of a week 16 game; a battle between the young and upcoming versus the Super Bowl frontrunner; a veteran quarterback (QB) looking to finish out on top against the city of brotherly love and a showdown between the most valuable player (MVP) candidates.
(4) Texans look for revenge in rematch against (1) Chiefs
The Texans defense went insane. That in short explains how the Texans won their wild card matchup against the Chargers. They intercepted the ball from QB Justin Herbert four times with one of those going back to the house for a touchdown. Overall, this defense gave me a lot of hope and the main reason I am not counting the Texans out yet.
The reason why I am saying the Texans chances are low though is this offense. While yes they were not bad, when going up against a team such as the Chiefs, who have a very good and smart defense, you cannot get away with those off-script plays. Texans QB C.J. Stroud has just been disappointing this year and that carried over into this wild card matchup where he struggled overall, including a thrown INT. What does give me faith for this offense is running back (RB) Joe Mixon who continued off his strong 2024-25 season with over 100 yards and a touchdown.
As usual over the past few seasons, the Chiefs are coming off a bye. They have yet to lose a game coming off a bye since QB Patrick Mahomes was drafted. Hard to pick against them at home and with how Mahomes plays differently in the playoffs.
On top of that as I mentioned before this Chiefs defense is stout from defensive tackle (DT) Chris Jones on the defensive line (DL) to cornerback (CB) Trent McDuffie in the secondary. Both earned All-Pro honors for this season. While the defense is talented, a lot of credit should go towards defensive coordinator (DC) Steven Spagnuolo who’s playcalling is only matched by few in the league.
While I do expect the Texans to keep it close, it is the Chiefs and you should not bet against them in the playoffs at home.
Final Score: (4) Texans 23 – (1) Chiefs 26
(6) Commanders look to pull off massive upset in the motor city against (1) Lions
What a finish for the Commanders. In a game where many (including myself) picked the Buccaneers to walk out on top, they pulled it off from a clean game by the talented rookie QB Jayden Daniels and great gameplan by offensive coordinator (OC) Kliff Kingsbury. The defense also did not look bad whatsoever outside of maybe one or two players.
Tough to play a perfect game when playing up against a QB like Baker Mayfield but they got it done. I will say one thing that worries me about the Commanders is the fact how young Daniels is and how much “luck” they have gotten this season. With all of that being said, they are a still good team and I expect them to put up a fight against the powerhouse Lions.
Speaking of the Lions, I believe this is the first time in NFL history where the team will have home field advantage in the Super Bowl Era as well as have the first round bye. Good for them. I am just gonna cut straight to the point, I am expecting a lot from this team and especially when you consider they are getting healthy at certain spots at the right time with the return of off-ball linebacker (LB) Alex Anzalone and RB David Montgomery.
This is a very strong Lions team and honestly will probably be their best shot at the Super Bowl for some time (not saying they are bad, but overall this may be the weakest the NFC has looked for the playoffs in some time). Both coordinators are coaching for not only their chance at a Super Bowl but quite possibly their last time coaching the Lions (both are expected to leave for head coaching jobs in the offseason).
I am expecting a fun game that will look close in the end but if you watched the game you could tell the Lions easily won.
Final Score: (6) Commanders 24 – (1) Lions 34
(4) Rams head to the city of brotherly love in hopes of rekindling their SB magic against (2) Eagles
In a game where many people expected an offensive shootout, the Rams defense came to play and put any stop to that. They sacked Vikings QB Sam Darnold a total of nine times, six or seven you could have blamed on him. To add insult to injury, Darnold was stripped sacked a one point in the game and Rams rookie edge rusher (EDGE) Jared Verse took it back to the house for a touchdown. He also threw a costly INT.
While the Rams defense deserves most of the credit, we still need to give credit to the Rams offense who produced efficiently with a total of 20 points scored and zero turnovers. This came from a strong and clean game by veteran QB Matthew Stafford and RB Kyren Williams who had 19 touches for 89 yards and a touchdown. It will be interesting to see if the Rams can keep it up against the Eagles.
Overall, a very weird game for the Eagles. While yes they played clean and efficient offensive, they still left me with some worries with how the passing game struggled for the most part. Part of me feels like that may have been due to Eagles QB Jalen Hurts still recovering from a concussion he suffered just a few weeks prior.
Similar to the Rams, it was truly the Eagles defense that showed up when it mattered. They intercepted Packers QB Jordan Love three times, with one being the game winner to truly finish the Packers off. Again just as I mentioned with the Rams, I am interested to see if they can keep up that level of play.
This should be a good game all around but I have the more experienced HC and QB coming out on top.
Final Score: (4) Rams 30 – (2) Eagles 20
(3) Ravens take a visit up north in hopes making it to back to back championship games against the (2) Bills
This is easily the most anticipated matchup of the weekend. We get all of the following in just one game: Lamar Jackson vs. Josh Allen (MVP battle); Derrick Henry vs. the Bills (history of “owning them”); a possible snow game and a week four rematch. What more could you ask for?
The Ravens are coming off a pretty dominant showing against the Steelers in which Derrick Henry had his way with them and had more rushing yards than Jackson did passing yards. The score may have shown it was only a 14 point game but it was nowhere near that close.
This Ravens defense has slowly but surely come into form over the season being led by a great secondary and weirdly enough long-time veteran EDGE Kyle Van-Noy. Van-Noy has for the majority of his career played in a hybrid LB/EDGE role but the Ravens have just let him loose and it worked out amazingly leading to 12.5 sacks in the regular season.
The Bills started out slow against the Broncos but once they got going, there was no stopping them. After the Broncos scored their first touchdown, they would proceed to not score a single point the rest of the game and allow 31 points unanswered by the Bills.
This came from a great performance by MVP-frontrunner Josh Allen and a stout Bills defense that has proven time and time again to somehow stay at this great level of play no matter who they lost. Yes I am calling Allen the MVP. No other player carried his team like Allen did. He became the first QB in NFL history to be named to an All-Pro while zero of his teammates were named.
I expect a heavy back and forth battle but one shall stand and one shall fall.
Final Score: Ravens 23 – Bills 30
