NFL Divisional Games

Somewhat less excited for football this week, after the Bears went down in flames. Was it shocking? No, not really. As a Bears fan you come to expect this kind of thing. Cody Parkey has been terrible all year. After Chicago failed to convert a two-pointer midway through the fourth quarter, everything after seemed inevitable. Of course Nick Foles generated a go-ahead touchdown drive. Of course Mitchell Trubisky got the Bears within field-goal range. Of course Matt Nagy mismanaged his timeouts and couldn’t get Parkey within 40. And of course Parkey hit the upright, although hitting the crossbar as well was a bit of a shock. The Bears in theory should be good again next season, with Green Bay and Minnesota facing way more questions and Detroit as always a laughingstock. Trubisky with another year under his belt should be more reliable, and the defense is pretty young and doesn’t stand to lose anybody important. The only hangup is that they were very healthy this season; Khalil Mack and Trubisky got nicked up for a couple games apiece, and Kyle Long missed some time, but injury luck is something that rarely repeats itself in the NFL. Losing their defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who’s off to coach the Broncos, is a bit of a hit as well. The Bears haven’t had a sustained streak of competitiveness since the early 90’s, so they’ve got a lot to prove.

On to the divisional round! I’m hardly the first person to point it out, but “divisional round” is a stupid name. The “wild card” round features a wild card team in every game, but “divisional” in this case is meaningless. With only one home team winning last week, three wild card teams will play this week as well. No one is playing anyone from within their division. Oh well.

COLTS (+5) at Chiefs
I felt most confident about my Indianapolis pick last week, so why not ride them? This is not a good matchup for the Chiefs. Their run defense is very, very bad. The Colts should be able to get the ball and keep it, and their defense just needs to to contribute a turnover or two to spring the upset or at least cover the five points. Patrick Mahomes is probably going to be NFL MVP and he deserves it, but I am still one of those annoying old-fashioned guys who doesn’t trust a young quarterback in the playoffs until I’ve seen him do it once before. Go ahead and prove me wrong, Patrick.

RAMS (-7) vs. Cowboys
I still can’t believe this crummy Dallas team won and the Bears lost. That’s the NFL for you. Seattle called a really strange game in their loss last week, not putting the game into Russell Wilson’s hands until it was too late. Seems like the Rams should make short work of the Cowboys’ shaky quarterback and overmatched coach, but what the hell do I know. They’ll probably go to the Super Bowl. Or not. The Rams are really good and unlike Kansas City they can play some defense.

PATRIOTS (-4) vs. Chargers
The always well-covered Patriots had a down season by their standards, so they’re only playing a home playoff game after a bye like they do every single year. I never believe the Patriots aren’t going to win it all until after they’ve lost. That’s just how Brady and Belichick roll. The Chargers are probably a better team than New England this season, but they really got the short of the end of the stick when it comes to playoff travel. They were in Baltimore last week, flew back to San Diego, and now they’re in Foxborough. It’s not even fair. Wouldn’t it be so Patriots if things go like I’m predicting and they end up playing Indy at home in the AFC championship game? I will never pick against them until Brady is retired.

SAINTS (-8) vs. Eagles
Eight points is a lot! Makes you pause. But c’mon, the Eagles are average at best and got a series of lucky breaks to even be here. New Orleans is cash money at home. Also, these two teams played each other earlier this season and the Saints won 48–7. 41 is more than 8! A lot more! This game should not be close unless something goes terribly wrong. And I’m not just saying that because of lingering Bears fan resentment. The football world deserves another Saints-Rams shootout.

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