Intro – The Divisional Round of the playoffs is always one of my favorite weekends of the year. It separates the men from the boys, especially after the “first-round bouncers” are out of the mix. This weekend was honestly really great in terms of matchups, however, performance wise I felt was lacking. A lot of underwhelming performances from teams we once thought of as “juggernauts”. So without further ado, let’s jump right into the matchups from this weekend!

Jags vs Chiefs – Arguably the best game in terms of offense performance, this game was close up until the end. Unfortunately, the Chiefs prevailed and America’s team lost (not the Cowboys), however, the final score was not representative of how the jags played. Trevor and friends had many opportunities to capitalize on the swiss cheese of a defense that will likely cost the Chiefs the AFC Championship. Jamaal Agnew may as well have been playing for the other team with a somehow fumbled catch right into the breadbasket of one of the Chief’s defensive backs. This along with many other dropped opportunities (Christian Kirk) cost the Jags a historic run in the playoffs only a year after the disaster that was Urban Meyer last year. I do think the score would have been run up a bit more if Mahomes didn’t go down early in the game, however an impressive performance nonetheless from the Chiefs. After a performance like that Mahomes is gonna have to sleep with both eyes open to make sure Chris Collinsworth doesn’t break into his house to ask him on a date.

Giants vs Eagles – I don’t have much to say about this game. I think the early 4 and out set the tone for the game way too early. I expected the Giants to lose, but not by this much. The Eagles are good and never were frauds, especially with a healthy team. I’m very excited about their matchup next week with the 49ers. Jalen Hurts is the man, AJ Brown is cringe, and Miles Sanders is short. Let’s roll Brock. 

Bengals vs Bills –  Realistically, who’s beating this team? I always thought that the Bills were a mediocre team at best, but this game really showed how little depth they actually have. A one-dimensional playbook will not win you playoff games. I love the inclusion of the designed runs for Josh Allen, but when you have absolutely 0 run game, it’s hard to win. Devin Singletary will never be the answer, all 5’ 7” of him at least. I still can’t believe how many times Diggs was open and not thrown too. I completely understand the necessity of spreading the ball between multiple receivers, but when you have one of the most clowned backs of all time one on one with a top 5 receiver in the league you absolutely have to take more shots with him downfield. Eventually, Josh will put one on the money, and boom, you’re right back in the game. The Versatility of the Bengals’ offense, paired with a Joe Mixon legacy game won them the snow brawl. A very impressive win and I hope the Bengals are able to run it back in the Superbowl, and maybe even bring it home this time.

Cowboys vs 49ers – Just checking to see if y’all still dem boyz. Hot take, but this game was kind of a snooze fest. It was a phenomenal effort by both teams’ defenses, but you can only hold off George Kittle for so long. I can’t decide if I would rather forget the disaster of a final drive the Cowboys put together, the final play of the game that featured Zeke at the center, or Tony Pollard’s ankle getting folded like a lawn chair. The biggest takeaway for the Cowboys after this game is to please god trade Dak. He is an NFL talent that can start on 20 other teams in the league once his turnover problem is fixed, but with a team of this talent, you have to make this move. You won’t have the best pass – rush in the league for much longer and Ceedee Lamb is going to leave if the Cowboy’s turmoil continues. Trade Dak for Lamar, and you win 5 superbowls. I don’t think the world is ready for a 49ers Bengals superbowl but at this point, I’m not sure who is going to stop that from happening. Stopping the Giant’s mediocre offense is one thing, but stopping the infinity gauntlet that is the 49ers is a completely different task. If Nick Sirianni can stop this team then I will finally agree that he deserves coach of the year. One of the biggest takeaways for the 49ers is the way Brock Purdy looked. The expected mistakes that were supposed to be made against the two-headed monster that is Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs never happened. I can see this kid being really good if the 49ers take a chance on him next year. He extends the plays for much longer than they were intended to be. He may not capitalize on this extension every time like Mahomes, but he has also started 7 NFL games. I really like the kid and believe that he can be a starter next year with time. Goodluck to anyone who stands between this team and that Lombardi trophy!

Conclusion and Final Predictions – The matchups next week are as follows:

49ers vs Eagles in the NFC Championship

Bengals vs Chiefs in the AFC Championship

My final predictions are that the 49ers will go into Philly and stomp the eagles by a win of at least 10 points. I also think the Bengals will beat the Chiefs in arrowhead for the second time in a row, but will come down to the leg of Evan McPherson once again. However, an injury update ruling Mahomes would absolutely change my final prediction on this game.