In the first game of the weekend, it is the Seattle Seahawks at the Atlanta Falcons. This game will put to rest any doubt to all, if the Falcons are for real or if they will crumble in the playoffs. Atlanta with a potent offense is facing a Seattle team with a strong defense and just enough offense to win low scoring games. The Seahawks cannot afford to get into a shoot out with the Falcons. It will come down to if Seattle can run the ball effectively , not turn the ball over and keep the Falcons offense and their many offensive weapons on the sidelines.
The second game on Saturday features the New England Patriots hosting the Houston Texans. All signs point to this being an easy and potential blowout by the Patriots. Houston with the best defense in all of football will have its hands full with QB Tom Brady and a balanced running and passing attack. There are many question marks with the Texans offense but the most notable is which Brock Osweiler will show up? Will it be the poised and confident one from last weekend or the one we saw most of this season who was erratic and made poor decisions? Another game where low scoring benefits the Texans and a high scoring game will benefit the Patriots.
On Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers travels to face the Kansas City Chiefs. Pittsburgh, which has won 7 in a row is a team right now, no one wants to face in the AFC. The offense is steam rolling teams and the defense which seemed to be reborn in week 11 has become reliable and formidable as the Steelers look to make a deep run in the playoffs. A very balanced running and passing game has Pittsburgh scoring at will. The big question mark is how badly injured is Ben Roethlisger's ankle and will it affect him against the Chiefs very stingy defense. Kansas City with the best record in all of football since 2014 will relie on its defense and an offense that can score points but if this game gets into a shoot out, the Steelers will have a huge advantage. Special teams will also play a huge role, especially if the Chiefs Tyreek Hill is allowed open space on kick offs and punt returns.
The second game on Sunday pits the Green Packers at the Dallas Cowboys. In a rematch from week 6 of this past season where the Cowboys went into Green Bay and crushed the Packers. No doubt this is a different Packers team since that game and Green Bay behind QB Aaron Rodgers have run the table and won 7 straights games. Dallas behind a time controlling offense and running game can score points but it will come down to how well rookies QB Dak Prescott and RB Ezekiel Elliott perform. Turnovers and penalties and special teams will also play an important role in this game. The Packers will relie on QB Rodgers to throw and if needed run a bit to have any chance to win this game. Green Bay would love to see a fast paced high scoring game, while the Cowboys would rather have a slower time controlled lower scoring game.
Cooper the #NFL Analyst was 189-65-2 in his picks during the season, but he was 1-3 in the Wild Card games and looks to rebound this weekend. We will record his picks and how He does throughout the NFL playoffs. twitter; @cupofjoeinthed email; cupofjoeinthed@gmail.com
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| Cooper NFL Analyst after making Divisional Games Selections |
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