Last weekend I finished 3-1, as the Falcons, Bills and Panthers covered their ends ATS. Now, as we get down to the "elite" we still have some unsexy teams remaining, with the low-octane Titans squeezing out a shocking victory over the Chiefs, Blake Bortles and the Jaguars scrambling their way to an excruciating 10-3 win over the Bills, and the Eagles playing without their young, electric star quarterback Carson Wentz.
Hopefully we'll see some good football to rival the Panthers-Saints game, which was clearly the best of Wild Card weekend. Let's get into my picks...
Date, Time and Network: Saturday, January 13, at 4:30 p.m. on NBC
Lines and Movement: The Falcons have dropped from -3 to -2.5 (on some sites)
Public Percentage: 60% on the Falcons
It's been an absolutely fantastic season for head coach Doug Pederson and his Eagles. I remember when he was hired, he was almost immediately under heavy fire. Mike Lombardi, a former GM of the Browns and assistant to Bill Belichick in New England, said that Pederson "might be less qualified to coach a team than anyone I've ever seen."
Pederson was replacing Chip Kelly -- the man who chose his "system" over proven NFL skill players like LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin -- who did a horrendous job in Philly, but was still a big name with a formidable coaching track record. Pederson was a no-name to most. Many were wondering how he could possibly be an upgrade.
Well...anyone still wondering now? The Eagles dominated much of the 2017 campaign, en route to a 13-3 record and well-deserved Coach of the Year buzz for Pederson. But alas, as I've written and said many times before, football is a cruel f'n game. The Eagles clearly looked like the best all-around team in the NFL this season, until they lost surefire MVP Carson Wentz to a soul-crushing ACL tear. It just isn't fair.
And now the ball is in the hands of veteran Nick Foles, who happens to be one of the better backup quarterbacks in the game, but it goes without saying that he isn't Wentz. Throughout NFL history, and particularly in the past few seasons, the playoffs have been all about quarterback play. Can we really take Foles in a postseason game against Matt Ryan, who continues to play better in the playoffs than he does during the regular season?
I didn't have the heart to take Jared Goff over Ryan last week, so I certainly ain't takin' Foles.
** Johnny Fro's Prediction: Falcons 27, Eagles 20 **
Tennessee Titans @ New England Patriots
It's been an absolutely fantastic season for head coach Doug Pederson and his Eagles. I remember when he was hired, he was almost immediately under heavy fire. Mike Lombardi, a former GM of the Browns and assistant to Bill Belichick in New England, said that Pederson "might be less qualified to coach a team than anyone I've ever seen."
Pederson was replacing Chip Kelly -- the man who chose his "system" over proven NFL skill players like LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin -- who did a horrendous job in Philly, but was still a big name with a formidable coaching track record. Pederson was a no-name to most. Many were wondering how he could possibly be an upgrade.
Well...anyone still wondering now? The Eagles dominated much of the 2017 campaign, en route to a 13-3 record and well-deserved Coach of the Year buzz for Pederson. But alas, as I've written and said many times before, football is a cruel f'n game. The Eagles clearly looked like the best all-around team in the NFL this season, until they lost surefire MVP Carson Wentz to a soul-crushing ACL tear. It just isn't fair.
And now the ball is in the hands of veteran Nick Foles, who happens to be one of the better backup quarterbacks in the game, but it goes without saying that he isn't Wentz. Throughout NFL history, and particularly in the past few seasons, the playoffs have been all about quarterback play. Can we really take Foles in a postseason game against Matt Ryan, who continues to play better in the playoffs than he does during the regular season?
I didn't have the heart to take Jared Goff over Ryan last week, so I certainly ain't takin' Foles.
** Johnny Fro's Prediction: Falcons 27, Eagles 20 **
Date, Time and Network: Saturday, January 13, at 8:00 p.m. on CBS
Lines and Movement: The Patriots are ranging from -13 to -14
Public Percentage: 72% on the Patriots
Last weekend I wrote that there were two possible paths for the underwhelming Titans: (1) Continue playing sloppy ball and get smacked around by the far-superior Chiefs or (2) Embrace the "clean slate" idea of the postseason and shock the world with a great performance when they need it the most.
Well, I guess the reality ended up being neither.
The Titans didn't play particularly well, but KC's star TE Travis Kelce went down at exactly the right time, and Tennessee responded with some good fortune, excellent defense and good-enough quarterback play from Marcus Mariota.
So this week, against Belichick, Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and the Patriots, the Titans are in a strikingly similar, two-path situation: (1) They can continue to be a sub-par playoff team en route to a blowout loss to the higher-class Pats or (2) Their good fortune will continue, leading to a shockingly close game and perhaps even a legendary upset?
I'm sorry, but I'm sticking to my guns from last week. The Chiefs were a higher-class team, and although the Titans earned the win with outstanding team defense in the second half, they ultimately needed the Kelce injury and miraculously lucky Mariota TD to steal that game away. I'm guessing the Titans' good fortune has to end, which means Belichick and Brady will run up the score on them.
You can be damn sure that defensive coordinator Matt Patricia wants to show off on his way out the door, too.
** Johnny Fro's Prediction: Patriots 34, Titans 17 **
Last weekend I wrote that there were two possible paths for the underwhelming Titans: (1) Continue playing sloppy ball and get smacked around by the far-superior Chiefs or (2) Embrace the "clean slate" idea of the postseason and shock the world with a great performance when they need it the most.
Well, I guess the reality ended up being neither.
The Titans didn't play particularly well, but KC's star TE Travis Kelce went down at exactly the right time, and Tennessee responded with some good fortune, excellent defense and good-enough quarterback play from Marcus Mariota.
So this week, against Belichick, Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and the Patriots, the Titans are in a strikingly similar, two-path situation: (1) They can continue to be a sub-par playoff team en route to a blowout loss to the higher-class Pats or (2) Their good fortune will continue, leading to a shockingly close game and perhaps even a legendary upset?
I'm sorry, but I'm sticking to my guns from last week. The Chiefs were a higher-class team, and although the Titans earned the win with outstanding team defense in the second half, they ultimately needed the Kelce injury and miraculously lucky Mariota TD to steal that game away. I'm guessing the Titans' good fortune has to end, which means Belichick and Brady will run up the score on them.
You can be damn sure that defensive coordinator Matt Patricia wants to show off on his way out the door, too.
** Johnny Fro's Prediction: Patriots 34, Titans 17 **
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