Kansas City Chiefs over New England Patriots AFC Championship game: Even on the road anytime you want to back the combo of Brady and Belichick you are going to pay a premium. We will call the offenses equal for this game. However they do go about their business differently. Kc has more weapons and they are more explosive. NE depends on short passes and ball control on the ground with Michel.I do expect NE to have success running the ball but if they do fall behind as I expect they will that patience will be tested.
Los Angeles Rams over Dallas Cowboys: The goal for Dall obviously run effectively with Elliot control the clock and keep the rams offense off the field. However if they were to fall behind by a margin that will become more difficult. The market is down on the Lar as Goff and the team struggled down the stretch. Big favorites often they failed for their supporters. Regardless s/u they were 7-1 at home. Dall has a big dichotomy home vs. away in their numbers. Lar offense is still dynamic and explosive. I project them winning this game by 2 touchdowns.
Indianapolis Colts over Houston Texans: Both teams recovered well from slow starts. I rate both teams’ defenses about equal. However I do think Indi will have more success moving the ball through the air. Mach Ebron and especially Hilton. Indi is ranked 7th in pass offense while Houst is 28th at pass defense. Secondly despite the mobility of Watson Houst has had pass protection and offensive line issues all year. Lastly in the coaching department there is a clear edge with Reich over O’Brien. Indi wins outright gets the value.
Los Angeles Chargers over Baltimore Ravens: Balt has the #1 defense however it will take more than that for them to win and cover this game. Lac are 7-1 s/u and ATS on the road. This is a veteran group led by Rivers who will not be intimidated by this challenge on the road. Jackson is a runner more than a Qb at this point. This will be his 7th start in total first in the playoffs obviously. Much impact on this line how Balt went into Lac 2 weeks ago and dominated. This is true however it also gives Lac a quick second look at the uniqueness of Jackson.
Los Angeles Chargers over Baltimore Ravens: Lac has clinched a playoff spot and now have their sights on a top seed. Lac will get a boost with the return of Rb Gorden and likely return of RB Ekeler and WR Allen. Lac will have had extra rest and prep time off their big Thurs night win over Kc. Balt will travel to the west coast on a short week. They is no doubt Balt has an excellent defense ranked #1 overall. However Lac are not too shabby either ranked 8th. We get a huge adv at Qb with Rivers over Jackson. Balt has an excellent rush offense but Jackson is just that a runner.
Philadelphia Eagles over Houston Texans: Can Foles do it again? At least Phil has more than just hope at a chance for a playoff spot. This is a potential let down flat spot for Houst a second consecutive road game after their comeback win against Nyj last week. Both teams should have success moving the ball through the air. Despite Watson being a mobile Qb he has been sacked and pressured often with a weak HOust offensive line. Phil is very good at putting pressure on the opposing Qb.
Cincinnati Bengals over Oakland Raiders: Two very bad teams granted but the money is the same when you win and value is value. Oak travels east for an early start time. Off the big win at home vs. Pitts that was their super bowl for this year. They still have rivals Kc and Den to finish out the season. This trip is a major inconvenience. I expect a let down this week in a nothing game. Oak has cluster injuries on the offensive line pass protection for Carr will be an issue. Two horrible coaches Lewis and Gruden which one will make the least mistakes.
Green Bay Packers over Chicago Bears: GB can go out sling it around nothing to lose play spoiler. Game 1 under Philbin that is exactly what they did. Granted at home against a bad Atl team. However Chic has its own issues heading into this one. Chic will win the North this week next week regardless. They are off that huge Sunday night performance against Lar that the whole football world saw. They were dominate on defense no doubt. This could be a let down spot for them. In addition what also is being overlooked Trubisky did not look good in his first game back.
Los Angeles Rams over Chicago Bears: Trubisky likely to make his return here however all that has done is help lower the line. Still a big gap between himself and Goff. Lar will be able to put some heat on him forcing him into some errors. Yes the Chic defense is good but the best offense to date they have gone up against Ne put 38 on them. Lar have played the 11th ranked SOS Chic comes in at 30th. Lar have clinched the division so what about motivation? Sunday night prime time stand alone game and Lar are still fighting for the #1 seed to answer the question.
Denver Broncos over San Francisco 49ers: Not often I spot road points in the NFL but it is warranted here and we still have excellent value. This line has been adjusted down because of the loss of WR Sanders for Den. Granted it is a big loss but conversely SF will be without RB Breida which is even more important. Den has the 5th ranked rush offense while SF is 15th in stopping the run. I expect the combo of Lindsay and Freeman to have big days. I am not a believer in Keenum but he should be able to effectively manage this game and he is better than Mullens.