Make no mistake when you peruse this slate of NFL Divisional Round football games. All these road dogs could win. Some of them will, just to spite the way I pick the games. Such is the cross I must carry.
These are the marquee match ups of the year. All your TV-friendly teams made it to the final eight, including the league’s three best offenses in the Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs. There’s a good chance all of them will be eliminated this week and we’ll end up with the Dallas Cowboys vs New England Patriots Super Bowl all your most annoying friends and relatives are pushing for.
Regardless of the outcome, I expect most of these to be great games and only one of them to make me want to chew my fingernails to the quick. Here’s your Friday Afternoon Quarterback for the NFL Division Playoffs.
Related: NFL Betting Guide
SATURDAY
Indianapolis Colts at Kansas City Chiefs (-5, O/U: 56.5)
- The Chiefs have won a total of one playoff game since the 1994 season and have lost 10.
- The last time the Colts and Chiefs met up in the playoffs, Indianapolis (led by Andrew Luck) came back from a 31-10 halftime deficit to win 45-44.
- Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is 11-13 in the playoffs and is 1-4 with Kansas City.
Chiefs have scored at least 25 points in each of the 17 @NFL games Patrick Mahomes has started.#FunFact
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) January 10, 2019
The Colts come in 10-1 in their last 11 games and, in spite of Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ success this season, I find it very tough to trust Andy Reid in the postseason. I’ve been feeling a divisional round loss for the Chiefs all season, which will make what I’m about to do seem even dumber. Chiefs 31, Colts 30
Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Rams (-7.5, O/U: 50)
- The Rams and Cowboys have met eight times in the playoffs and are dead even at 4-4. All eight of those games spanned from 1973 to 1986.
- Their last postseason meeting was on Jan. 4, 1986 in the NFC Divisional Round. The Rams won 20-0 with Eric Dickerson rushing for 248 yards and two touchdowns. Los Angeles would go on to lose the NFC title game 24-9 to the Chicago Bears.
- The Rams have made back-to-back trips to the playoffs for the first time since the 2003-2004 seasons.
DeMarcus Lawrence was asked for his thoughts on Jared Goff: “He’s a quarterback. I don’t like quarterbacks.”
What about Dak Prescott?
“Dak’s my teammate. If he wasn’t, I wouldn’t like him either. He knows it.”
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) January 10, 2019
Of all the teams to make the playoffs in the NFC, the Cowboys were easily the best-possible match up for the Rams. Which means, this game will have me rending my garments by the second quarter. If Los Angeles does lose, Sean McVay will look a lot less like the NFL’s boy genius and a lot more like Marvin Lewis. Rams 34, Cowboys 30
SUNDAY
Los Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots (-4, O/U: 47.5)
- In spite of being two of the original AFL franchises, the Chargers and Patriots have met only three times in the postseason. New England is 2-1 and both those victories came in the Tom Brady – Bill Belichick era.
- In their last meeting in the AFC Divisional Round, the Patriots won 24-21 on Jan. 14, 2007. New England came back from a 21-13 deficit in the fourth quarter.
- Tom Brady is 27-10 in the postseason all time with a 62.8 completion percentage, 10,226 yards, 71 touchdowns and 31 interceptions.
Philip Rivers & Tom Brady have more in common than just their age…
Rivers & Brady average nearly the same time to throw, air yards per attempt, deep attempt % and rate of throws from inside the pocket this season.#LACvsNE #FightForEachOther #GoPats pic.twitter.com/JVgXxvgCxu
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) January 10, 2019
The Patriots are nearly invincible at Foxborough, but there’s an opportunity here for the Chargers who have the superior roster by a pretty wide margin. Of course, if Belichick has re-upped his deal with Satan, none of that matters. If you read the fine print on these deals with devils, there’s always a twist at the end so I’m calling it! Chargers 24, Patriots 20
Philadelphia Eagles at New Orleans Saints (-8, O/U: 51.5)
- The Eagles and Saints last met in the playoffs in 2013, with New Orleans winning 26-24. That remains the only postseason loss of Nick Foles starting quarterback career.
- Their Wild Card victory over the Chicago Bears was the Eagles’ first road playoff win since beating the New York Giants 23-11 on Jan. 11, 2009.
- Under Sean Payton and Drew Brees, the Saints have never lost a home playoff game. They are 5-0.
Here's what Drew Brees had to say about Nick Foles when asked what he sees in the Eagles quarterback. pic.twitter.com/1jAQPdyQGc
— NOLA.com Saints News (@SaintsNOW) January 11, 2019
This week Sean Payton dragged a Vince Lombardi Trophy and a quarter of a million dollars into the Saints locker room and told his team that if they want it, all they have to do is win three games. The only thing that should be more motivating to an NFL player is a negative pregnancy test. Saints 27, Eagles 24
Last week
Straight up: 2-2
Against the spread: 3-1
Season
Straight up: 155-103-2
Against the spread: 128-132
