Sanders's Divisional Round Playoff Predictions Part 1

By Jacob Sanders

Okay. Well. That didn’t go how I expected at all. Wild Card Weekend was…well…for lack of better words, wild! I mean. The one team I expected to be blown out of the water was the Titans and they came back from a huge deficit and won. Drew Brees proved why he still has the talent and skill to lead his team to another Super Bowl. The Falcons took far more control of the Rams than I imagined. And the Bills? Well. They just didn’t show up for a team that hadn’t made the playoffs in almost two decades. Made you wish the Chargers or the Ravens had won the tie-breakers instead. Anyway, on to this weekend’s picks!

Sanders went 1-3 last weekend putting him to 148-100 on the season. Ouch. That’s worse than last year.

Atlanta Falcons VS Philadelphia Eagles

A case for the Falcons:

Much has been made about how this Falcons offense hasn’t been as explosive this season. This is true and has been all year. However, the Falcons beat the Rams handily last week through a mix of big plays, shutting down the Rams explosive offense, and capitalizing on the Rams’ special teams mistakes. Two of those winning conditions can be brought into the game against the Eagles. If the Falcons can clamp down on what will be a much weaker Eagles offense than the Rams had, and continue to have a mix of big plays on offense, they’ll play some hard fought football for a win. It may not be pretty, but then again, not all champions have played their brand of football pretty in the past.

A case for the Eagles:

The Eagles defense is no joke. They’re a tough group that can make big plays and stonewall opposing running offenses. In fact, they were the No. 1 defense against the run this season and were able to hold their opponents off to 18.6 points per game which was 4^th best in the NFL. However, the concern isn’t about the Eagles defense. The big concern is about the Eagles offense. Will Nick Foles actually come alive and take advantage of the talent around him? If he does, the Eagles can pull out a win and be one step closer to a Super Bowl appearance.

Final Verdict:

I have watched the Eagles last few games since Wentz went out with an ACL. It’s not pretty. I don’t expect it to be pretty when they face the Falcons either. Strangely enough, I think this is the first time I have ever heard of a No. 1 seed being an underdog in a playoff game. But, that’s what the Eagles are and while the Titans gave us a pleasant surprise, I don’t expect the Eagles to be another fun underdog story. Their offense just isn’t good without Wentz. Falcons pull it out here with relative ease like they did last week against the Rams. But because of how tough the Eagles defense is, I expect kicker Matt Bryant to be the MVP of the Falcons this weekend.

Falcons 23 Eagles 10

Tennessee Titans VS New England Patriots

A case for the Titans:

The Titans showed just how they can succeed in the second half of last week’s game against the Chiefs. Play an up-tempo offense that adheres to Mariota’s strengths with a mix of big run by Derrick Henry. The Titans were a completely different team in the second half and if their offense can keep up that kind of game, it’s possible to beat what has been a leaky Patriots defense for a majority of the season. A big worry is that the Titans secondary needs to hold up against Tom Brady and Co. They were getting murdered in the passing game until Travis Kelce got hurt. Next up? Another menacing tight end in Gronkowski.

A case for the Patriots:

I don’t need to say anything about Tom Brady. I think he’s played long enough for anyone to know what he brings to the table. However, the person to talk about, is Dion Lewis. This man has been bringing the Patriots’ running game to new heights and has brought even more dimensions to what has been an excellent offense this season. The defense has slowly become bend but don’t break as the season has drug on. They allow a lot of yardage but have been tight in the redzone limiting opposing offenses to scoring opportunities. Not a bad way to win.

Final Verdict:
You know. I was shocked by the Titans beating the Chiefs, I was. Did it instill some faith in me for the Titans to make a run at the Super Bowl? Not. At. All. In fact, I am still hoping Mike Mularkey will be gone after this season as he simply has not seemed to grasp on how to fully maximize Mariota’s skills and I believe Mariota needs a coach who will do that. In the meantime, the Patriots are just a much better team and should take care of Tennessee. However, the score might be closer than most are thinking. I believe it will be till the very end of the game.

Titans 20 Patriots 33