NFL Divisional Round Predictions

Wild Card Record: 1-3 (Correct: Seahawks Incorrect: Bills, Patriots, Saints)
Overall: 1-3

Minnesota Vikings over San Francisco 49ers: Congrats to the Vikings for proving just about every NFL pundit and fan wrong with a ballsy road win against the Saints last weekend. As reluctant as I am to put my faith into Kirk Cousins after one pretty good performance, I think the Vikings are a tough matchup for the 49ers and have a solid chance of knocking them off on their home turf. Dalvin Cook should be able to feast against the 49ers average rush defense (17th in the league), the Vikings have enough receiving talent to expose the vulnerabilities they have at corner next to the resurgent Richard Sherman and their physical defense could cause problems for a 49ers offense that drastically fluctuates in effectiveness on a week-to-week basis.

Baltimore Ravens over Tennessee Titans: Derrick Henry almost solely dragged the Titans to an ugly Wild Card upset over the Patriots. Unless Ryan Tannehill is able to get the passing attack going against a tough Ravens secondary that is pretty similar to the group he struggled mightily against last week, the Titans are highly unlikely to make it back-to-back road victories. Even without the question marks surrounding Mark Ingram's health, the Titans don't seem equipped to stop the Ravens dynamic rushing attack and unlike the Patriots, the Ravens have a front that isn't likely to be completely overpowered by Henry.

Kansas City Chiefs over Houston Texans: On an exhilarating and exhausting Wild Card Weekend, the Texans and Bills provided fans with a back-and-forth blunderfest that finally came to a close after Deshaun Watson ripped the Bills fans hearts out by somehow evading a sack and making a ridiculous throw to backup running back Taiwan Jones that set up the game-winning field goal in overtime. This is a long way of saying that the Texans were incredibly fortunate to beat the Bills at home last weekend and I can't see a non-drastic scenario where Bill O'Brien or this depleted defense is able to outduel a Chiefs team loaded with offensive weapons and aggressive pass-rushers that have been playing their best football of the season over the past month.

Green Bay Packers over Seattle Seahawks: It's honestly hard for me to not pick the Seahawks here. Russell Wilson has the best playoff track record of any quarterback that's playing in the Divisional Round, Pete Carroll should be able to coach circles around Matt LaFluer and with the possible exception of rushing the passer, there's not a single thing that the Packers have done well on a regular basis all season long. However, health can be a huge benefit this time of year and the Packers have a clear edge in that department as about half of the Seahawks opening day roster is currently on IR, which puts Aaron Rodgers and co. in a good spot to eek out a victory over one of the league's most resilient teams.