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Last week, I went 4-2 on my playoffs predictions and I am perfectly fine with that. Initially, I had the Browns beating the Steelers. But by the time I wrote my predictions up, I had changed my mind to the Steelers winning the game. Folks, if your gut is telling you something then just listen to it! I couldn't tell you how many fantasy games/races I have lost because I didn't listen to my gut. As for the other game I incorrectly predicted, I just didn't think that the Rams could put together enough offense. I also didn't think the Seahawks would be as god awful as they were, either.
As for this weekend, I am very excited for all 4 games and I think all four of them will be very competitive! A win this weekend and you are off to the conference championship game! A loss and you will be watching from home next weekend! Just like in the Wildcard round, I am breaking my predictions into two articles: One prediction article for the Saturday's games and one for the Sunday's games!
Alright let's get started!
Rams at Packers -
A lot of people in the media I think are underselling the LA Rams! I think they have limitation on offense, but that defense is legit the best defense in the league and top 3 across the board. No, really! They are graded top 3 in pass rushing, top 3 vs the run and top 3 in coverage. This is a scary unit, but they will be facing the league's No.1 offense at Lambeau Field! I believe the Rams have a shot in this game, if they can do 2 of these 3 things on Saturday: Control time of possession, consistently get after Aaron Rodgers and run the football! I think time possession will be the most interesting one though. Because if they win the TOP (time of possession), then there's a good chance that Rodgers felt their pass rush and there's a good chance that the Rams were able to run the football. I think on flip side, the Rams can't be dropping back to pass the ball. Jared Goff will be eaten alive, if they get into too many passing situations!
I think the Packers are overrated in a sense because people think they will run away with this game. I think the Rams are gonna keep this close for the most part. I do believe they will pull away at some point, though. I am 100% expecting Davante Adams to be moved around and used as a chess piece to get good matchups. So it will be interesting if Ramsey travels with him, I think he needs to. With that said, I think the Packers are vastly underrated at receiver. The narrate is there is only one good receiver in that Packers' offense and that is just false. This group can really move the ball, but they do it as a unit. 10 yards here, 8 yards here, 13 yards there, etc. Add in the tight ends and running backs catching the ball from a guy completing over 70% of his passes? And remember this offense is built to get guys open, Lafleur loves scheming guys open! So you want to take away Adams? Just watch Lazard, Tonyan, St Brown, MVS, Jones, Williams, etc have plays specifically designed to scheme them open! Personally I think specifically running backs, fullbacks, tightends, etc will be use a lot in this game to move the ball in the pass game.
Prediction - Like I said up above, I think the Rams have a shot in this game! I also believe that the Rams just don't have the offense to get it done. For the Rams to win this game, i think they need to get some turnovers. It doesn't matter, if you slow down the Packers offense. The Rams need some short fields to set themselves up for some easy scores. A lot of things will need to go right and I think the Rams will come up short!
Ravens at Bills -
I am really looking forward to this game and I was really hoping we would see this game because it would be such a fun matchup. I know most people are picking the Bills to go all the way, but I don't know about that one. I love Josh Allen and the Bills' team, but they could had easily lost that game to the Colts! The Bills had it moments and moved the ball well, but this Buffalo team didn't blow their doors off or anything. And I am worried about the Bills' run defense. The Colts had their way vs the Bills' defense. And I think that is gonna be Buffalo's biggest problem in this game! Josh Allen is gonna find his openings and drive down the field. But Josh Allen has no run game to rely on and has a defense that can give up big plays! And I am not trying to take away anything from this awesome Buffalo team, but I don't think it will be easy for the Bills to win this game! I will say that Buffalo has the best two players in this game, though and that is always a pretty big advantage!
Entering the playoffs, the Baltimore Ravens were one of the league's hottest team and they kept on rolling with a win over the Titans! And honestly, I was kinda surprised so many people picked the Titans in that one. In week 16, the Packers kinda showed us the blueprint for beating the Titans! Commit to stopping the run and load the box vs Henry. If you are able to stop Henry, then their pass offense is way less effective and that pretty much what happened to the Titans. On the flip side, the Ravens are one of the league's best run offenses in football and I think that is a big disadvantage for the Bills in this one! I watched that Colts vs Bills game and damn the Colts were able to break off big run after big run. Did it help that Colts has a really good offensive line? Sure, but Buffalo is around 20th vs the run this season and 19th in their last three games.
Prediction - This will be a close game, but I smell an upset in this one. I this Baltimore is very capable of running the football in this game and Buffalo has proven that they are below average in stopping the run. I don't think it will be quite as bad as last week, but I expect Baltimore to get their fair share. I think Josh Allen will keep Buffalo in this game, but I think Baltimore is gonna win this game!