The Cowboys have been the NFL’s ratings saviors this season, and the fact that they’re taking on the hottest team in the National Football League in the Packers will only help draw more viewers.
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We saw dominance across the board this past weekend, with all four home teams coming out victorious.
To me, this one will be the best and most competitive game of the weekend.
Such thoughts are fueling the hopes Texans fans. I think most people know it’s solid, but it’s seventh in DVOA. Unfortunately, Sunday appears to bring a more hard obstacle, as the shift from Miami’s 29th-ranked defense in yards allowed – at home – to playing in Kansas City against a Chiefs team allowing the seventh-fewest points should lower the ceiling of the three aforementioned stars. We expect a similar output from the quarterback at minimum, regardless of the game’s eventual outcome. That tends to happen more on the coordination between quarterback and receiver than anywhere else, and with Dak Prescott being a rookie that only exacerbates the issue. Your best picks ATS for the NFL Divisional Playoffs 2017.
Seattle at Atlanta – This should be a terrific match of strength against strength: Atlanta’s offense vs. Seattle’s defense. Also during that timeframe, Seattle has struggled mightily on the road in the playoffs.
After handily topping Detroit in what was supposed to be a close contest, Seattle takes its high-powered offense and stifling defense to Atlanta to face the Falcons and their very own record-setting offense. Matt Ryan vs Russell Wilson. Roethlisberger, good as he has been at times, has thrown at least two interceptions in three of his last four games, and Kansas City led the league in both interceptions and turnover differential. Atlanta win 32-29. Honestly, the less that is said about this game the better. Get out of here, Houston.
Luckily for Kansas City, the playoff Chiefs are very different from the Week 4 Chiefs who were blown out in Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, the Seahawks have a minus-5 differential in the last seven games.
This game opened as a “pick ’em”, but shifted to the Chiefs being slight favorites, presumably because of concerns about Ben Roethlisberger’s foot injury.
The Packers bring to town Aaron Rodgers, who was the world’s greatest quarterback until a bewildering early-season slump and who has restored his status with stunning performances during the Packers’ seven-game winning streak. In the AFC we have the No. 1 seed New England Patriots against the No. 4 Houston Texans and the No. 2 Kansas City Chiefs play host to the No. 3 Pittsburgh Steelers. I think they get another quick start here, and if they do that, they’ll be able to take away Seattle’s biggest potential strength in this game: its running game. The long-suffering Chiefs faithful will have to wait another year for that increasingly elusive title. Pittsburgh wins 25-16. But it’s important to note that while Ryan has been a good regular-season quarterback, his postseason resume includes one win, far fewer than that of 2008 draft classmate Joe Flacco (10). All these teams have changed over the course as players have returned from injuries or suspensions or teams have lost players to injury or suspension. A 42-24 Week 11 loss to the Redskins dropped Green Bay to 4-6, with many in the national media calling the team flat-out awful.
The Chiefs (12-4) won’t be mistaken for a dynamic offense – they’re 20th in yards per game. And I will say this about the Texans: their defense is underrated. They have the mental edge with a victory in hand over the Pack, and they have homefield advantage.
Dallas also has more of something else than any team in the field.
Through the years, the best of these “divisional games” have been so memorable that they have been labeled.
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Anyone concerned about the rookie running back’s workload were proven wrong down the stretch, as he averaged almost seven yards per carry in his last two contests.
