Atlanta at Philadelphia
Saturday 4:35 pm on NBC
My heart is all in behind the Eagles. My head is not quite as confident. Losing Carson Wentz during the season has left Eagles’ fans wondering if we are looking at one and done. To be honest the Falcons are one of the teams I worried about facing even before the Eagles lost their starting QB. That being said I think the Eagles can and will win on Saturday. Having the bye should help the Eagles’ d-line which will be key as it was all season. The Falcons are a good team but they seem to have played below expectations most of the season. Last week the Rams got in their own way, helping the Falcons to the win. Which Falcons team is the real 2017-18 team? We know a backup quarterback is often a step down from the starter but how good are the rest of the Eagles? I think this comes down to the Eagles’ defense making a stop when needed as they have a few times this season.
Eagles 21 Falcons 17
Tennessee at New England
Saturday 8:15 pm on CBS
The Titans feature one of the young potentially great quarterbacks in the league. Last week Mariota proved he can overcome a slow start and do some amazing things with the football, even throw touchdowns to himself. Of course the veteran quarterback on the other sideline is no slouch and is able to control a game, making opponents look like they should have stayed home. But these two will not be the only ones on the field. I think overall the Titans bring the better defense. On offense these teams are equal except for Gronkowski. Normally defense wins playoff games but in this case I think the Patriots’ passing game (including Cooks) will be too much for the Titans to overcome.
Patriots 45 Titans 28
Jacksonville at Pittsburgh
Sunday 1:05 pm on CBS
Last week the Jaguars played two different quarterbacks: bad Bortles in the first half and good Bortles in the second. Good Bortles did more with his legs than with his arm, leading to the only touchdown in the game. The defense won the game against the Bills, holding them to a field goal and keeping the Jaguars in the game while the offense struggled in the first half. That defense should play well again this weekend but they will not hold the Steelers to a field goal. The Jaguars will need offense and I do not see them generating much more than they did last week. This time around their offensive struggles will hang their defense out to dry. Watch for the Steelers to wear down the defense, scoring points in the second half for the win.
Steelers 35 Jaguars 10
New Orleans at Minnesota
Sunday 4:40 pm on Fox
It’s tough to score on the Viking defense which only allowed an average of 15 points per game, holding the Saints to 19 points back in week one. But when I look at their week to week performances and which teams were able to score against the Vikings, I suspect the Saints will put up points this week. Both of these teams are very different than they were back in week one, with the Saints bringing a complete team up north to Minnesota. This has the makings of a playoff classic but in the end I think the Saints’ balanced attack will win out over the Vikings’ stingy defense.
Saints 27 Vikings 24
I am looking forward to another great weekend of football which should leave us with a couple of exciting matchups for the conference championships. What are your thoughts?
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