Unlike the 34-27 Steelers win over the Broncos this season, I think this game will be low scoring.
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He will have to step up even more now that he is the number one receiver on the team. That extra week off definitely helped Jonathan Stewart, and his presence in the running game will be a big difference. Denver’s defense, in particular their pass rush, should be a difference maker.
The Chiefs like to press on the outside and bracket on the inside, so look for consistent double coverage against tight end Rob Gronkowski over the middle of the field. Playing for home-field advantage in the playoffs is thought of as less important than coming into January playing your best football and being healthy, similar to the National Basketball Association. Brady will make it so. Unfortunately for the Packers, they have to play the Arizona Cardinals on the road, a team that has an elite offense and defense, and just destroyed them by 30 points a few weeks ago.
The Patriots have made bettors a lot of money over the years but how has New England fared as a home favorite in the Divisional round of the National Football League playoffs? 36-year-old Carson Palmer is looking to win the first Super Bowl ring in his long career. And in 2011, No. 1 Green Bay, which was 15-1 as the Panthers are now, lost in blowout fashion (37-20) at home to the No. 4 seed Giants, the eventual Super Bowl champions.
The Packers’ defense figures to stay fast and furious with its pass rush after knocking around Redskins QB Kirk Cousins for six sacks last weekend. Look for the Panthers to try and isolate TE Greg Olsen, who caught the game-winning TD in the Week 6 meeting, against Seattle SS Kam Chancellor. You pass to score, you run to win.
Green Bay finally found some form last week in Washington after backing into the playoffs as the sixth seed. Arizona gets the comfortable win here.
11 of those 29 playoff starts have come in the Divisional Round.
I agree that concept is silly, and perhaps there is a compromise here in which the divisions continue to exist and then the playoffs are seeded 1-6 when it comes to playoff time.
The Seahawks take the field on Sunday afternoon in an NFC Divisional Round matchup on the road against the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers led the league in takeaways (39) and in turnover differential (+20). Arizona awaits its conference title game against either its closest rival (Seattle) or the team that knocked the Cardinals out of the playoffs previous year (Carolina).
Both teams are fortunate to even be in the playoffs.
But for those preferring these Cardinals, you have multiple good reasons for doing so. Count yours truly among them. Perhaps Blair Walsh’s shank was the wake-up call the Seahawks needed to carry them to another NFC championship? The Panthers have the NFL’s likely MVP in quarterback Cam Newton, who has accounted for 45 touchdowns this season. Over the second half of the season, the two combined 44 TDs and 2 INTs. One of the biggest mistakes coaches make is to assume that if something was really successful – a blitz, a certain type of run, etc. – an opponent naturally will spend a good deal of practice time getting ready for it, and therefore it won’t work anymore. But that was before they became a walking triage.
Both quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and wide receiver Antonio Brown are dealing with injuries sustained in Saturday night’s fantastic victory over Cincinnati, and Denver can thank Vontaze Burfict if either is less than 100 per cent.
Story lines: The last time the Packers were a wild-card team, in 2010, they won Super Bowl XLV. The line is mostly due to Ben Roethlisberger’s separated shoulder. His health is questionable, although it is being reported that he will play against the Chiefs on Saturday. This game will be a defensive struggle throughout, but in the end will come down to offense.
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Meanwhile, Demaryius Thomas and (former Steeler) Emmanuel Sanders combined for 242 yards and three touchdowns against a porous Steelers secondary that has gotten no better since. After a tough start, the Seahawks defense has looked like the Legion of Boom again for the last several weeks, and they will need to be at their best to shut down Cam Newton. John Elway could drop down from the executive suite, suit up and Denver should still dominate the depleted Steelers.
