Bengals (-5 ½) over Raiders: Hats off to the Raiders for winning four straight games, including that epic Sunday night match against the Chargers to get here. The problem they face here is that epic game. I’ve taken advantage of teams coming off that kind of effort several times this season, and I don’t think that this being a playoff game does anything to help a team come off that kind of a game. It just takes too much physically and mentally, and a week isn’t enough time to fully recover. Because the spirit is willing doesn’t mean the flesh is able.
Bills (-4) over Patriots: As the stakes got raised late in the season, the Patriots struggled because Mac Jones isn’t ready to carry a team when it needs it. I’m high on Jones overall and I think he will get there, but it will be losing games like this that help him get there faster.
Buccaneers (-8 ½) over Eagles: The Eagles’ defense allowed the highest completion percentage in the NFL, 69.4%. I hear the guy throwing the ball for Tampa is decent.
49ers (+3) over Cowboys: I’m a little concerned that the win over the Rams last week is the kind that’s hard to bounce back from, but unlike the Raiders/Chargers game, 49ers/Rams was more of a slow tempo slog. This is the healthiest the 49ers have been all season. Oh, and the Cowboys are coached by Mike McCarthy.
Chiefs (-12 ½) over Steelers: Which would you rather, go down with the Steelers if they’re just overmatched and Ben can’t keep up, or go down with the Chiefs if they frustrate you all day and never pull away? I’d rather be frustrated with a team that seemed like it could do more than sit and cuss myself out because I went down with a team that couldn’t do anything.
Cardinals (+4) over Rams: It took many years before the Chicago Cubs broke the curse of the Billy Goat and won the World Series. For almost as long as the Cubs hadn’t won a World Series, no team with an ex-Cub has won a World Series. The Lions are the NFL’s Cubs. Matthew Stafford is an ex-Lion. That’s all I got for this one.
Comment
Comments