Introduction
Well, Coin Flip Weekend lived up to its nickname. Now we are on to the 2019 NFL Divisional Round. All 3 games were decided by one score. The only home team to win was Houston and they needed a near miracle 4th quarter comeback to do it. I ended up going 1-3 in my picks, which is the worst outcome.
2-2 let’s me brag that at least I was .500 and could have won money. 3-1 means that I was only one game off from perfect. 4-0 keeps that dream alive. Hell, even 0-4 is cool because then I could shoot for the winless streak. But, 1-3 just means that I was bad. Or, the weekend was really weird. Probably a little bit of both. Okay, let’s make some more terrible picks.
Saturday Games
Minnesota Vikings at San Francisco 49ers – Chris offered me the option of the Seahawks or the 49ers a few weeks ago as the NFC representative in the NFC. I’m more or less 100% convinced that nobody is beating Baltimore in the AFC. I picked Seattle at the time because they were “the more complete team. San Fran has a good defense, but I wonder about Jimmy G”. Honestly, that hasn’t changed except Seattle has so many injuries that they’re no longer as complete. Regarding this game, I thought that New Orleans was going to destroy Minnesota. I should have done a bit more research at the Saints tortured playoffs past. I again have that feeling this week about the 49ers. The only thing that gives me pause is Jimmy G’s inexperience. If he holds up, 49ers roll.
Tennessee Titans at Baltimore Ravens – The Ravens have been the best team in the NFL, by far, since they lost to the Browns early in the season. Lamar Jackson is the run away MVP. I think their running back (who’s name escapes me and I’m too lazy to Google right now. Yes, I understand that I could have Googled it in the time it took me to type this, but that means switching tabs. Don’t judge me.) may come back this week. Tennessee knocked off the Pats, but that was their last hurrah. This game will be over shortly after halftime.
Sunday Games
Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs – This is another game that I can see being an absolute blowout. The Texans ruined my Bills dream this year, but that’s okay. The Bills will hopefully be back next year and the Pats, unless they make some great moves, will most likely take another step backwards. There are some arguments against a blowout. Andy Reid (though this isn’t the Championship yet), Watson can get hot, and the Chiefs defense is still suspect at best. Still, I think they get it done and give everyone the LJ/Mahomes matchup they want.
Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers – This is the only game that I don’t foresee a blowout. Both of these teams are pretty evenly matched. I did pick Seattle, as mentioned above, but I’m lukewarm on that pick. Maybe this is finally the game that the injury riddled Seahawks lose. I guess I’ll pick the Seahawks, still, as the lone “upset” road win for this week to stick to my guns.
The Verdict
The 2019 NFL Divisional round is a decent group of games. Three of them are going to most likely end in a blowout. The fourth very well could do the same. If I remember correctly, that’s sort of how the playoffs go lately. The first round is a coin flip. The second round is home field with several blow outs and the championship round and Super Bowl are decent games.
Well, if all goes according to plan this week, next week looks great. KC/Baltimore and Seattle/San Fran will be great games. They will also keep my Super Bowl pick alive. Alas, I put no money on that, so again, I’m left looking like a chump. Oh well, see you next week for the Conference Championships.
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