We’re now a week into the NFL playoffs, and the field of teams remaining in the mix in the Super Bowl is down to eight. By the end of this weekend, we’ll narrow it down even more, with just two teams in the AFC and two in the NFC vying to represent their conferences on soccer’s biggest stage.
As usual, we expect some wild things to happen when these games actually get going. So, here we are again with no bold predictions. Just like last week, we have one for every match in the schedule.
When the Chiefs and Jaguars played again in Week 10, Travis Kelce had a good game. He caught 6 of 7 passes thrown at him, totaling 81 yards and a touchdown. But as we know, Kelce is capable of so much more than that baseline. The Jaguars have struggled hard to defend their tight ends this season. Jacksonville ranks 32nd (aka last) in the NFL in DVOA on throws to tight ends, according to Football Outsiders. The Jags yielded 81 receptions for 1,066 yards and seven scores to the position players, and we’ve seen their players, in particular, benefit from coverage throughout the year. even against chargers Last week, Gerald Everett and Donald Parham combined for 10 receptions for 133 yards and a score of 13. We expect Keelce to have a great day on Saturday.
Danny Dimes has shown a lot of improvement this season in just about every area. Nowhere was this more evident than in his performance against Vikings In Super Wild Card Weekend, which was probably the best game of his career. Jones completed 24 of 35 passes for 301 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing 17 times for an additional 78 yards. In two games against Minnesota this season, Brian Dabul and company let Jones air it, taking advantage of one of the friendliest pass defenses in the NFL. Eagles do not have a friendly defense. They have one of the best rushing passing units in the league, and a very consistent group of coverage players. Jones was 18 of 27 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown the last time those two teams played, and although he added four carries for 26 yards and extra points, he also grabbed four sacks. The Giants offense is better now than it was then, but dealing with the Philadelphia defense is still a much tougher task than the one it faced a week ago.
Invoices against. Bengals: Buffalo exposes Sensei’s lack of depth up front
The Bengals bleed offensive linemen in a week. Again in Week 16, they lost right tackle Lyle Collins of the season due to a torn ACL. In Week 18, they lost guard Alex Capa to an ankle injury. And last week in a Wild Card match vs crows, they lost left tackle Jonah Williams with a knee problem. The Bengals will probably only start two-fifths of their starting offensive line. Maybe they could get away with establishing Hakim Adeniji, Jackson Karman, or Max Scharping…but are they all? That’s simply too much to survive against a Buffalo defense – even with Joe Burrow at the controls. Greg Russo, Chuck Lawson, Ed Oliver, DaQuan Jones, AJ Ebenessa, Boogie Basham, Tim Settle – the Bills have a lot of talent up front. And they can complete that group with Matt Milano and Tremaine Edmonds streaming the ball.
49ers against. Cowboys: Shanahan’s show continues
Brock Purdy barely broke a sweat during blasting the 49ers offense against Seahawks last week. Of his 30 pass attempts, only two have been thrown into a tight window, according to NFL.com’s Next Generation Stats. This is the Kyle Shanahan effect. The San Francisco offensive mastermind can plan players as well or better than any coach in the NFL, and with Christian McCaffrey, Debo Samuel, Brandon Ayuk, George Kittle and Elijah Mitchell, has one of the best skill teams in the NFL. that you work with. It’s an unfair limit. Dallas Tampa’s defense shut down Monday night, but it’s still shorthanded in the secondary and could have a bit of Jaron Kersey after he suffered a knee injury against Bock. The bet here is that San Francisco finds a way to take advantage of that group on the back end.