Overall: 3-1
Atlanta Falcons over Philadelphia Eagles: It takes a lot for a top overall seed to be home underdogs in the Divisional Round, but the harsh reality is that the Eagles just aren't the same team without Carson Wentz under center. While Philly has a talented, versatile running back committee (Jay Ajayi, LeGarette Blount, Corey Clement) and a strong defense that's excellent at putting pressure on opposing QB's and stuffing the run, Nick Foles is the type of ineffective, mistake-prone quarterback that derails championship runs. Making matters worse for the Eagles is the fact that they're facing a seasoned Falcons squad that is red-hot on offense right now and has a quick, athletic defense that is more than capable of shutting down their rushing attack (outside of a few plays, they took MVP candidate Todd Gurley out of the game last week). In other words, any chance the Eagles have of winning this game lies on Foles' shoulders and given the way he's played since Wentz went down, I have absolutely zero confidence in his ability to deliver a strong performance in a big-game setting against a formidable opponent.
New England Patriots over Tennessee Titans: The Titans made me and millions of other know-it-all football fans who expected them to get slaughtered at Arrowhead Stadium last Saturday look like the blowhard dumbasses that we all are with their improbable comeback victory over the Chiefs. Now that I've gotten that obligatory acknowledgment of my incorrect prediction out of the way, I'm going to rip on Mike Mularkey's painfully average team yet again! Whatever confidence the Titans currently have following that huge upset win is practically guaranteed to deteriorate once they step into Gillette Stadium to face the defending champion New England Patriots tomorrow night. Even if you toss aside the clear talent discrepancies at nearly every position and very real possibility of the unstoppable out-for-blood Patriots making their 1st appearance of the season following the Seth Wickersham ESPN story that detailed an alleged rift between the architects of the Patriots seemingly eternal reign of dominance, this Titans squad doesn't have the offensive firepower or pass-rushing prowess to even compete with the Brady/Belichick machine, let alone knock them off.
Pittsburgh Steelers over Jacksonville Jaguars: Everybody and their brother knows that the Jaguars slaughtered the Steelers in their regular season meeting back in early October. As much as I respect the abilities of the Jags defensive leaders (Jalen Ramsey, Calias Campbell, A.J. Bouye, Malik Jackson), the odds of Ben Roethlisberger throwing 5 INT's and this suspect run D all but eliminating Le'Veon Bell from the game again are extremely slim. The Steelers are a veteran offensive powerhouse with clear motivation to prove that October's meltdown in front of their home fans was merely a painful fluke and unless Blake Bortles and Leonard Forunette can break out of the crippling slumps they've been in over the past few weeks, this Jags offense simply won't be able to score enough points to stay in this game.
New Orleans Saints over Minnesota Vikings: With their fierce defense and surprisingly efficient, multi-faceted offense, the Vikings have emerged as a popular Super Bowl pick in recent weeks. However, experience is essential in the playoffs and even though they've played their assess off all season long, I just can't give the edge to a Case Keenum-led team in a matchup against a team with a hardened veteran quarterback in Drew Brees whose coming off yet another stellar playoff performance.
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