Dude…
This weekend we get 4 incredible divisional round games! Each team is eyeing to extend their season as they head further into the playoffs. Seeking for the opportunity to go to New Orleans. Who will it be? The first round byes are over, now you have to win or go home. Here is the divisional round predictions from the Dudes!!
Chiefs vs. Texans- The back to back Super Bowl Champions haven’t had their starters play since Christmas. Securing the one seed, the Chiefs look to do something that hasn’t ever been done before. 3 peat. The Texans are looking to continue their win streak by doing the improbable. Beat KC in Arrowhead. Patrick Mahomes may not have had his best season ever, but he still has a 15-2 (technically 15-1 since the starters did not play in week 18) team. Steve Spagnola has the defense firing on all cylinders and it has shut down most of the top offenses this season. The running back duo Isaiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt combine to be a huge threat. The passing game is always led through Travis Kelce, but don’t sleep on weapons such as DeAndre Hopkins, Xavier Worthy, and Hollywood Brown. On the other side of the ball, CJ Stroud continues to show off his throwing prowess by beating the favored Chargers with only one healthy threat at wide out. Joe Mixon demonstrated why Houston signed him and ate up LA’s rush defense. The defense looked outstanding against the Chargers, forcing 4 interceptions, one which ended up in 6 points. Houston has had a great season, but not having Stephon Diggs and Tank Dell drastically changes their odds at upsetting the Chiefs. Spags will draw up a defense that will be too much for Stroud and will put emphasis in stopping Mixon. Stop Mixon, stop Houston. Give me the Chiefs in an easy win. In Patty We Trust.
Bills vs. Ravens- This is the matchup of the divisional round. The MVP race has a head on head duel between the top contenders for the award. Lamar Jackson continues to be an absolute dog as he has 10 touchdowns to every interception on the season. The rushing of the Ravens is lethal as King Henry has continued to dominate the league. If Derrick Henry gets going, good luck stopping this offense. The Bills have Josh Allen, who has also had an impressive season. With no legit #1 wide receiver, Allen has tossed the ball around to everyone this year. James Cook can also cook on the ground and run all over a defense. This is going to be about who can limit the rushing game and force both QBs to throw the football. If you stop Henry, you’ve taken a huge aspect of the Ravens offense out of the equation. Same with stopping James Cook for the Bills. Can you stop either QB from running it themselves as one of their best weapons is their legs. I think you have a better chance at stopping Cook than Henry. However, Allen can sling the rock a little better. I think home field is going to be a factor, especially in Buffalo. Give me the Bills in a classic to take on the Chiefs in the AFC Championship.
Lions vs. Commanders- The rookie vs. the veteran. The one seed vs. the six seed. Who comes out on top? The Lions had a first round bye thanks to the week 18 win over the Vikings. Now, Goff and company look to hand Jayden Daniels his first ever playoff loss. Amon-Ra St. Brown is a top 5 wide receiver. The rushing duo is back now that David Montgomery is now off of IR. Jahmyr Gibbs is a top 5 running back that is the Batman to Montgomery’s Robin. Dan Cambell and his staff continue to play that hard nose football that has been successful ever since he got to Detroit. Apparently, all Washington needed was a QB to be able to throw the football. Rookie Jayden Daniels has looked impressive throughout his first year. Scary Terry McLaurin has been a beast for JD and the running backs have been consistent in Austin Ekeler and Brian Robinson Jr. Bobby Wagner has revamped the Commanders defense into a solid option. Ok, Cinderella is over. We saw JD do great things, upsetting Baker and Tampa Bay. However, we are talking about the Lions here. I think the Commanders are set up for a bright future, but it won’t be this year that they make it all the way. Give me the Lions in a difficult game that turns out to be an easy win in the end.
Eagles vs. Rams- Can the Eagles take out the Rams? The Eagles beat the Packers with ease. They have the second best if not the best rushing attack in the league. Led by Saquon Barkley, the Eagles ran all over Green Bay. The defense continues to look great and having home field advantage always helps. Can their passing attack improve. It looked lackluster this past weekend and they need it to be going to defeat this young defense. The LA Rams had one of the bigger upsets on Wild Card Weekend, even if they were the higher seed. Mathew Stafford played calm, cool, and collected as he dotted up the Vikings defense. Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp may be the best wide receiver duo left, even if this hasn’t been the best year for Kupp. Kyren Williams will run the rock well and the defense looked incredible last week. Forcing 3 interceptions and over 10 sacks as a whole. I think LA is being slept on. They are not the most exciting team, but they are consistent everywhere. I think the passing game is the Eagles achilles heel. I think it’ll hurt the Eagles even more than last week. Saquon will go off, but Hurts will let down Eagles fans. Give me the only upset of the divisional round as the Rams take out the Eagles and may officially end Nick Sirianni's tenure as the Eagles Head Coach.
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