NFL Divisional Round weekend thread

[Cosmo]

SATURDAY
L.A. Rams at Green Bay (-6.5), 4:35/1:35, FOX
Baltimore at Buffalo (-3), 8:15/5:15, NBC

SUNDAY
Cleveland at Kansas City (-10), 3:05/12:05, CBS
Tampa Bay at New Orleans (-3), 6:40/3:40, FOX

Seems a little too obvious and convenient to me that both No. 1 seeds are going to win easily. Of the two underdogs, Cleveland probably has a better shot because the Browns have weapons and can score a bit with Kansas City. Chiefs have not been great lately, but I think they coasted to the finish line and will wake up for this one. Curious about their running back situation. Is CEH still out?

Baltimore-Buffalo is the most interesting of the four games to me, with Tampa-Saints a close second. Drew Brees really looks bad throwing the ball right now and getting into a shootout with Brady seems like a bad choice. Only path I see for the Rams winning at Lambeau is if they use a recipe similar to last week -- run the ball, score a defensive touchdown and get Rodgers on the round several times. A one-handed Jared Goff inspires no confidence, and who knows how healthy Wolford is.

 

[BTExpress]

Green Bay Saturday temperatures about as decent as you could expect: 32/18

Sunday would have been worse: 24/16

 

[poindexter]

Good Morning Football is really a good show.
That and the TNT NBA show are the only talking head shows I can stomach.

 

[Songbird]

L.A. Rams at Green Bay (-6.5), 4:35/1:35, FOX
Baltimore at Buffalo (-3), 8:15/5:15, NBC

SUNDAY
Cleveland at Kansas City (-10), 3:05/12:05, CBS
Tampa Bay at New Orleans (-3), 6:40/3:40, FOX

Rams, Ravens, Chiefs (by a lot), Bucs.

 

[MileHigh]

Officials announced. Sarah Thomas gets her third consecutive divisional round playoff assignment, Bucs-Saints.

Torbert, Cheffers, Martin, and Hochuli are Divisional Playoff referees | Football Zebras

Also, the officials for the Super Bowl will be working this weekend, but not necessarily all together on the same crew.

 

[BTExpress]

Indoor team or Florida team goes to Green Bay. Well, maybe the AFC title game will be compelling.

 

[MileHigh]

Would love to see a Browns-Bills AFC title game. Which would be in Buffalo and is the late game (6:30 EST).

 

[Batman]

Would love to see a Browns-Bills AFC title game. Which would be in Buffalo and is the late game (6:30 EST).

If we get Browns-Bills, maybe they can convince Don Beebe to come back and recreate one of his iconic moments:

 

[UPChip]

As far as Saturday is concerned, I'm not unusually worried about the Rams. Both of their top two QBs are going to be carrying injuries, which will not be enjoyable in winter conditions. The Packers defense has not covered itself in glory this season, but I just don't know how the Rams are going to be able to score enough points to win this one.

The whole Aaron Donald/Jalen Ramsey thing is scary, but at least it's strength against strength. Probably going to be a big Aaron Jones game with a lot of dump-offs to Tonyan. Will need Valdes-Scantling, Lazard and St. Brown et al. to make a few plays since I'm assuming Adams and Ramsey will probably go toe-to-toe. Packers 24-10.

 

[MileHigh]

There's almost always a game in which the road team wins, but that was when there were two byes per conference and not one.

 

[micropolitan guy]

As a Bills fan, not happy to be playing the Ravens right now. At this minute, I think they are the best team in the NFL.

The Bills and Browns have a rivalry dating back to the AAFC.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

Ravens did indeed look good after a very shaky start against the Titans. If Jackson has cleared his head of the "can't win in the playoffs" ghosts, they could be tough to beat by anyone.

 

[outofplace]

SATURDAY
L.A. Rams at Green Bay (-6.5), 4:35/1:35, FOX
Baltimore at Buffalo (-3), 8:15/5:15, NBC

SUNDAY
Cleveland at Kansas City (-10), 3:05/12:05, CBS
Tampa Bay at New Orleans (-3), 6:40/3:40, FOX

Seems a little too obvious and convenient to me that both No. 1 seeds are going to win easily. Of the two underdogs, Cleveland probably has a better shot because the Browns have weapons and can score a bit with Kansas City. Chiefs have not been great lately, but I think they coasted to the finish line and will wake up for this one. Curious about their running back situation. Is CEH still out?

Baltimore-Buffalo is the most interesting of the four games to me, with Tampa-Saints a close second. Drew Brees really looks bad throwing the ball right now and getting into a shootout with Brady seems like a bad choice. Only path I see for the Rams winning at Lambeau is if they use a recipe similar to last week -- run the ball, score a defensive touchdown and get Rodgers on the round several times. A one-handed Jared Goff inspires no confidence, and who knows how healthy Wolford is.

My understanding was that Edwards-Helaire is on track to play this week, but we will probably hear more about that today or tomorrow. Even if they get Denzel Ward back, the Browns' defense is terrible. I know they got four interceptions Sunday, but those were just awful throws by Roethlisberger. Sitting back in a deep zone all day and hoping the other team screws up isn't going to cut it against the Chiefs. I think the Browns will score enough to make it entertaining, but not enough to win. In the end, I simply trust Mahomes a lot more than I trust Mayfield.

 

[outofplace]

As a Bills fan, not happy to be playing the Ravens right now. At this minute, I think they are the best team in the NFL.

The Bills and Browns have a rivalry dating back to the AAFC.

I think the Ravens match up well with the Bills. They have good enough corners to challenge Diggs and Brown on the outside. They have a front four that can pressure Allen and athletic linebackers that can help to contain him. Then again, all of that theoretically should help them against Mahomes, and he owns them.

I would rather attack the Bills with a strong running game than that secondary. They have safeties who can come up and defend the options and designed runs by Jackson, so the real trick is if he can make Buffalo pay for that with passes down the field. That doesn't mean chucking it 30 times, but he has to do it enough to keep the Bills honest.

 

[maumann]

The final eight include:

The Cleveland Rams, Cleveland Browns I and Cleveland Browns II.
Original AAFL franchises the Colts and Ravens, who have both played in Baltimore.
The Rams, who now have played in Cleveland, Los Angeles (twice) and St. Louis.
Original AFL franchises the Bills and Chiefs (formerly the Texans).
Expansion franchises the Saints, Bucs and Browns.
Original APFA franchise the Packers, who have nine NFL championships from before the Super Bowl existed.

 

[outofplace]

The Browns really need to get some guys back. Cornerback Robert Jackson, who has been filling in for Denzel Ward, just went on IR with a hamstring injury.

 

[da man]

The final eight include:

The Cleveland Rams, Cleveland Browns I and Cleveland Browns II.
Original AAFL franchises the Colts and Ravens, who have both played in Baltimore.
The Rams, who now have played in Cleveland, Los Angeles (twice) and St. Louis.
Original AFL franchises the Bills and Chiefs (formerly the Texans).
Expansion franchises the Saints, Bucs and Browns.
Original APFA franchise the Packers, who have nine NFL championships from before the Super Bowl existed.

Pretty sure the Packers were not one of the original APFA teams. I think they joined in its second year.

 

[da man]

The final eight include:

The Cleveland Rams, Cleveland Browns I and Cleveland Browns II.
Original AAFL franchises the Colts and Ravens, who have both played in Baltimore.
The Rams, who now have played in Cleveland, Los Angeles (twice) and St. Louis.
Original AFL franchises the Bills and Chiefs (formerly the Texans).
Expansion franchises the Saints, Bucs and Browns.
Original APFA franchise the Packers, who have nine NFL championships from before the Super Bowl existed.

Also, are the current Colts the same franchise as the AAFC Colts? I thought that team folded and a new one was created from the remains of the original Dallas Texans.

That stuff all gets murky and confusing.

 

[outofplace]

Also, are the current Colts the same franchise as the AAFC Colts? I thought that team folded and a new one was created from the remains of the original Dallas Texans.

That stuff all gets murky and confusing.

You are correct. The AAFC Colts did play in the NFL for one season, 1950, before folding. The league awarded Baltimore an expansion franchise, also named the Colts, in 1953. That is the team that moved to Indianapolis.

Indianapolis Colts Team History | Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site

 

[Junkie]

Minus COVID changes, which could come at any minute, and in waves, the Browns have everybody healthy on offense who isn't out for the year (OBJ). They hung 40+ on the Steelers, whose defense, even depleted, is far better than the Chiefs'. They at least have a chance, though I wouldn't expect them to win, and it should at least be entertaining. As should most of the AFC playoffs, since all four have pretty loaded offenses and underwhelming defenses. Baltimore's D might by the best of the bunch, but statistically the Ravens aren't a juggernaut. The AFC certainly promises to be more fun to watch the next two weekends of the two conferences.