Week 11 od the 2019 NFL season began with a literal bang as the AFC North rivalry game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns ended with a brawl that featured Browns’ defensive end, Myles Garrett swinging Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph’s head–and connecting.
Naturally, since it was a Thursday Night Football game, the only thing all of the sports shows could talk about the following days was the fight and how brutal and unprofessional it was. In the end, a total of 33 players received some type of fine and three were suspended. Maurkice Pouncey was suspended for three games, Larry Ogunjobi received a one-game ban but Garrett was suspended indefinitely for his role in everything.
However, the ban has officially been lifted and Garrett is back on Cleveland’s active roster.
Myles Garrett has been reinstated by the NFL and rejoins our active roster
The 2019 season was not at all what the Browns expected it would be. 2020 brings a new coach (Kevin Stefanski) and a chance to redeem themselves for a lost season. Getting Garrett back, and for the entire season, will be a big boost for them as they try to right their wrongs from last year.
Well, we are finally here. The last Sunday of the 2019 NFL season is upon us and either the Kansas City Chiefs or the San Francisco 49ers are going to be crowned champions at the end of the night. As we wait for Super Bowl LIV to kickoff (6:30 PM EST on Fox), the natural thing to do would be our normal Primetime Preview, where we give you all the background and intel on each team playing and then use that information to provide a prediction of the night’s outcome.
However, this isn’t just another primetime game, and it isn’t just another playoff matchup. This is the Super Bowl!
For that, we’re going to do something a little different in this space but before we get too deep in the weeds, here’s a look back at the last time these two teams faced off on the football field. In Week 3 of 2018, Patrick Mahomes was just beginning to put together the best statistical debut season of any quarterback in NFL history. Meanwhile, Jimmy Garoppolo was looking to prove to naysayers that he had what it took to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.
The game ended with the Chiefs winning 38-27 and Garoppolo was forced to exit early with what would be diagnosed as a torn ACL.
For this Super Bowl edition of SneakerReporter’s Primetime Preview, we’re going to dig deeper than just narratives. We’ve done some digging, crunched some numbers and below we will reveal the three most important matchups of the night. The “winner” of these will likely go a long way towards determining who ends the night with the Lombardi trophy and who doesn’t.
The reason for the change-up is that with a week off between the championship round and the Super Bowl, the normal information that you get from a Primetime Preview has been talked about at length by nearly every sports media outlet by now. Instead of giving you more of the stuff you’ve theoretically heard on a loop since the matchup was set, let’s bring something different. Something that you can keep track of as you’re watching the game.
MATCHUP 1: 49ers Pass Rush vs. Andy Reid Playcalling
When the media talks about the 49ers one of the first things that they mention is their defense and more specifically, their pass rush. While they have singular talent along their line–including Defensive Rookie of the Year Nick Bosa–the strength of their attack has been their depth along the line. This season, 12 different players have recorded at least one sack for San Francisco and of those 12, eight are defensive linemen. Arik Armstead led the team with 10 and Bosa slightly trailed with nine.
As a whole, the pass rush ranked first on third downs, plays in opponent’s territory, and early in games. Being first in those categories naturally paints the picture of a team that is dominant on that side of the ball. If the offense can’t convert third downs that results in punts and field goals rather than touchdowns. If the opponents don’t have success when the ball is on their end it becomes harder to score. If you can dictate the momentum of a game early it allows your offense to build a lead and leaves the other team with an uphill battle the remainder of the game.
However, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for Robert Salah’s group. One area to watch tonight will be the red zone. Obviously, this is somewhere everyone watches regardless because it’s where the scoring usually occurs. Tonight, it will be spotlighted even more because the Niners defense was not great in that part of the field. Among all red zone defenses, they ranked 27th against the pass, had the third-worst sack rate, and were dead last against 11 (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR) personnel.
But, the cause for concern doesn’t end there. San Francisco’s pass rush is a tale of two play types. On plays without play-action, they had the number one sack rate in the NFL. Compare that to plays with play-action and the ranking drops all the way down to 22nd.
Knowing this information, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid–with an extra week to prepare–will have some tricks up his sleeve tonight. Reid will be tasked with figuring out the right calls to make against a very talented defense that has some clear weaknesses. With a quarterback like Mahomes, he doesn’t need to pitch a perfect game but if they can exploit this known issue then it will give them a leg up in this game.
We’ve heard a lot about how the 49ers will likely keep a lot of their defenders in coverage and let their front four try and keep Mahomes corralled. It is a tactic that the team used for most of the year and is a big reason why they are even in the Super Bowl this season. However, their strength does have its flaws. The Niners pass rush is bad on early downs, in the red zone, and late in games. Look for Reid to try and attack this team through the air early in often. Partially due to playing in the NFC West, San Francisco didn’t face many teams that looked to throw the ball 35-plus times a game. Mahomes would love nothing more than to drop back 40-50 times and test the speed of his receivers against Richard Sherman and the rest of the San Francisco secondary.
MATCHUP #2: 49ers Aerial Attack vs. Chiefs Secondary
San Francisco’s defense is getting a lot of the love–their defense versus Kansas City offense is being billed as a strength-on-strength matchup–but the offense shouldn’t be overlooked. Kyle Shanahan has proved time-and-time again that he has the smarts to hang with just about anyone offensively. Let’s not forget he was the one who beautifully orchestrated a gameplan to put the Atlanta Falcons up 28-3 against the New England Patriots (he probably wants us to forget how that game ended though).
The more accurate strength-on-strength matchup between these two teams will occur between Garoppolo and the Chiefs secondary. Kansas City was the best Cover 3 team in the NFL, they held opponents to 7.1 yards per pass attempt and only allowed a 44 percent success rate when running the coverage. On the other side of the ball, San Francisco has the best quarterback against Cover 3 defenses on early downs. With Garoppolo receiving the snaps, the 49ers averaged 11.4 yards per attempt and had a 65 percent success rate.
Over the last four years, no team has had a higher rate of 20-plus yard pass plays than the (insert drumroll here…) Niners. Shanahan is bringing the most explosive offense in the NFL with him to Miami, yet the way they get those big gains is different than most teams. Rather than letting Garoppolo drop back and air it out all over the field, the Niners rely more on their playmakers gaining additional yardage after the catch.
San Francisco attempts 65 percent (most in the NFL) of their passes between the numbers–think slants, drags, screens, etc.–and their quick-passing game allows for the ball to be out of Garoppolo’s hands before the opponents can get pressure in the pocket. Due to their propensity to play Cover 3, the Chiefs were the third-best team on passes outside of the numbers. When facing throws between the numbers though, they ranked 20th on all downs and it dropped even lower to 30th on early downs.
Look for Shanahan and Garoppolo to attack this area of the field often, which could result in big nights for George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, and Emmanuel Sanders if things are clicking for the Niners.
MATCHUP #3: 49ers Motion Offense vs. Chiefs D-Line
Two weeks ago, Raheem Mostert became a household name because he absolutely carved up the Green Bay Packers finishing with a Niners playoff record 220 yards on the ground to which he added four touchdowns. Going into that game, many expected San Francisco to try and use the run game to gain an advantage against Green Bay. One, the run defense had been an area of weakness for the Packers all season and two, it kept Aaron Rodgers on the sideline more than he was on the field.
The Chiefs have not been great against the run the last two seasons. It would seem like a logical conclusion that the 49ers might try to ground-and-pound their way to victory once again. It becomes even more logical when you find out that Kansas City ranks dead last against runs with pre-snap motion; it is their single biggest issue as a defense. Add on top of that the fact that they are the fifth-worst against runs from 21 (2 RBs, 1 TE, 2 WRs) personnel and allowed 5.5 yards per carry (#27) on these plays.
This season, Andy Reid’s team rarely faced teams that used 21 personnel. That won’t be the case tonight.
San Francisco had the fourth-best run success from 21 personnel (shout out to Kyle Juszczyk) and uses 21 personnel more than any other team in the league. Another staple of their run game, pre-snap motion. The Niners are the team that uses pre-snap motion before runs the most. Watch the above video of Mostert’s breakout performance one more time, only three of the plays on the tape do not feature some sort of movement or motion from someone in a San Francisco uniform prior to the ball being snapped.
Last week, with Chris Jones back on the field, Kansas City showed that they had what it takes to slow down Derrick Henry who had steamrolled the Titans to the AFC championship game on the back of some of the most impressive running back play in NFL history. However, the way Shanahan uses the run is a totally different scenario for this group. They will need to be even better than last week if they want to be able to keep the Niners out of the end zone when it matters most.
Last night, the NFL held its annual award ceremony to announce the winners of all the season’s biggest awards. Your favorite players made the trip down to Miami to attend the event and bring home some hardware. Surprisingly, only one player from either team playing in today’s Super Bowl brought home a trophy–I think they would each be much happier with the Super Bowl trophy, however. Here’s a rundown of each of the winners from yesterday.
Coach of the Year: John Harbaugh (Baltimore Ravens)
Since being plucked from the Philadelphia Eagles staff (where he had served as a special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach) in 2008, John Harbaugh has been everything and more a franchise could ask for in a head coach. Just the third coach in the history of the Baltimore Ravens, Harbaugh has already led the team to three AFC Championship games and won Super Bowl XLVII in 2012, which made Joe Flacco elite.
This year, the team finished with its best record in his 12 years calling the shots a 14-2. It was the first time in franchise history that the team had earned the number one overall seed in the AFC playoffs. To get there, Harbaugh and his staff reworked their entire offensive playbook in order to accentuate the talents of their starting quarterback, Lamar Jackson. This led to them breaking the record for most rushing yards by a team in a single season, a record that had stood for nearly 50 years.
Though the team was unable to make it past the divisional round, there’s plenty of reason for optimism in Baltimore. Jackson is only 23 years old, Harbaugh doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon, they kept offensive coordinator Greg Roman (who won Assistant Coach of the Year at this event), and their defense is still getting better. This season might have felt like it was destined to end with the Ravens in the Super Bowl but in reality, this may have just been the start to a new dynasty in the AFC.
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Kyler Murray (Arizona Cardinals)
Kyler Murray entered the NFL with a lot of expectations. Once the Arizona Cardinals made the choice to hire Kliff Kingsbury as their head coach, the Oklahoma (and Texas Tech) quarterback became pigeonholed as the player likely to be taken with the first overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Despite not having the prototypical size of an NFL signal-caller (Murray is listed at 5’10” and 207 pounds) he proved to be worth the pick in his first season.
The Cardinals revamped their entire offense and brought the Air Raid to pro football. It had mixed results but by the end of the season, Murray had proven to the football world that he belonged and that he could captain this offense that once seemed sophomoric–pun intended–to success against the best players in the world.
Murray looks the part of the modern NFL quarterback because of his ability to break down a defense with the throw or with his legs. He finished the year with 3,721 passing yards, 544 rushing yards, and 24 total touchdowns. We’ve seen Russell Wilson, Patrick Mahomes, and Lamar Jackson (more on him later) take the league by storm in no short time thanks to their skills as dual-threat quarterbacks. Arizona looks like it has the next one and for that, he was awarded Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Nick Bosa (San Francisco 49ers)
Another year, another Bosa bringing home the Defensive Rookie of the Year award. After Joey won Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2016, his younger brother Nick Bosa pulled off the same feat last night. They become the first set of brothers to ever win the award. Like his brother, Nick made an immediate impact when he got to the NFL. The San Francisco 49ers took him with the second overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft and there’s a case to be made that the team might not be playing in tonight’s game if not for this rookie.
Bosa started in 14 games this year and managed to rack up nine sacks, 47 tackles, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble, and one interception as part of the best defensive line in all of the NFL this year. His ability to win off the edge with any combination of speed, power, or finesse makes him a very tough person to be blocked one-on-one. Yet, with the Niners having multiple players on the field who need to be double-teamed at the same time it makes it harder to give the appropriate attention to Bosa on every play.
As the only player in this post who is still playing, he will have a chance to show anyone who doubts that he should have won this award just why he received it. If he and the rest of San Francisco’s front seven can figure out a way to slow down Patrick Mahomes than by the end of the night the 49ers could be your new Super Bowl champions.
Comeback Player of the Year: Ryan Tannehill (Tennessee Titans)
We all know how the voting for Comeback Player of the Year usually goes. A star player suffers an injury that keeps them out for the remainder of the season and then the following year they return and have a good year, which results in them being awarded this prize. However, that storyline isn’t the case for the person who won the award this year. Ryan Tannehill didn’t suffer an injury in fact, after being the starting quarterback for the Miami Dolphins in 2018, he was traded to the Tennessee Titans in the offseason where he would serve as Marcus Mariota’s backup.
This lasted until Week 7. At 2-4, the team needed to make some type of change to get a boost and it turns out that inserting Tannehill was exactly what they needed. He would go on to help them secure the last spot in the playoffs and then orchestrate back-to-back upset victories over the New England Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens. They even held a 17-7 lead over the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game.
Tannehill going from castoff to leading his underdog team to a remarkable playoff run is the personification of the word “comeback”. Any other player winning the award this year would have been a disservice to it. Oddly enough, Tannehill now enters free agency and could be in line for a very big pay raise thanks to the work he did this season for the Titans.
Defensive Player of the Year: Stephon Gilmore (New England Patriots)
Stephon Gilmore just completed his third season as a member of the New England Patriots and he capped it off by becoming the first cornerback since Charles Woodson to win Defensive Player of the Year. For most of the year, we heard about how historically dominant the Patriots defense was and a big reason for their success was the play of Gilmore. He single-handedly shut down an opposing receiver–often the opponent’s best one–allowing for the rest of the defense to turn their focus to other players.
Not since Darrelle Revis has Bill Belichick had this type of singular talent at corner and just like Revis, Belichick stole him away from an in-division rival. Gilmore started his career with the Buffalo Bills before signing a big-money contract (rarely given out in New England) to switch sides in 2017.
This season, it felt like quarterbacks were better off throwing the ball out of bounds than at Gilmore. He recorded a career-high six interceptions and tied his career-high–set last year–for passes defended with 20. Both of those totals were tops in the entire league. He also had two pick-sixes (the only two of his career) and 53 tackles. In a passing league, Gilmore has proven to be the rare cornerback who isn’t scheme-dependent. Whatever Belichick and the coaching staff draw up for him to do he will, and he usually does it at a very high success level.
Offensive Player of the Year: Michael Thomas (New Orleans Saints)
His social media handles do a great job of explaining why Michael Thomas won this award, “cantguardmike”. It seemed like no matter who lined up across from him or what coverage and scheme a defense ran, there was no one on the field at any point in time who could guard Thomas. The chemistry and rapport that he has developed with Drew Brees since entering the league in 2016 is truly a sight to behold.
This season, things clicked better than they ever have. He shattered Marvin Harrison’s single-season receptions record, finishing with 149 and also lead the league in receiving yards this year totaling 1,725. For three out of his four years in the league, he has caught nine touchdown passes with last season being his third. The 6’3″ Thomas is just too crafty and too good of a route runner for opposing defensive backs. He also will likely have a size, strength or speed advantage against whoever is defending him on any given snap.
While the New Orleans Saints season ended earlier than expected (again) their prolific offense has been a thing of beauty to watch in recent years. As long as Brees decides to keep playing, there’s a chance that Thomas–or Brees, or Alvin Kamara–are taking home this award again at the end of next season. For now, defensive coordinators in the NFC are going to be spending a lot of time this offseason trying to figure out how to guard Mike.
Most Valuable Player: Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens)
And now to the award that everyone was waiting for–and also the award that had seemingly been wrapped up just a little over halfway through the season. Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens was named MVP of the 2019 NFL season. In his first season as a full-time starter, Jackson made opposing defenses look silly week-after-week. He became only the second-ever unanimous MVP in NFL history (Tom Brady in 2010 being the other).
Prior to this year, the last time we saw him on the field was in the playoffs against the Los Angeles Chargers where he didn’t complete a pass for multiple quarters. This year, he put to bed a lot of questions about his ability to play quarterback in the NFL. He threw for 3,127 yards and a league-leading 36 touchdowns (compared to just six interceptions). His completion percentage surged up to 66.1 percent from 58.2 percent a season ago. He did all of this while more than doubling the number of attempts and completions he threw as a rookie.
His legs and scrambles made him must-see television on every snap. He set the record for rushing yards in a season by a quarterback with 1,206 yards and scored seven touchdowns too. However, the year ended once again with a disappointing playoff performance. Jackson did become the first quarterback to pass for 300-plus yards and run for 100-plus yards in a single playoff game but two interceptions, drops, and inaccurate throws ultimately led to Baltimore getting upset. If he makes another leap as he did between his rookie year and this season then he might be taking home this award again next season.
In a conference with Tom Brady, Lamar Jackson, and Deshaun Watson it is Ryan Tannehill–who wasn’t even the team’s starter until Week 7–is one of the two quarterbacks with a chance to make it to the Super Bowl. Now, the Tennesee Titans run (pun intended) through the playoffs has much more to do with what Derrick Henry has done but in Tannehill, the team has a steady hand who can manage the game well enough to keep them ahead of the numbers. Despite only throwing for 73 yards in the Wild Card round, he made the two biggest throws of the night, on the team’s first touchdown pass to Anthony Firkser and finding Firkser again in the fourth quarter on a huge third-down conversion.
As long as Tannehill doesn’t turn the ball over, the team is perfectly fine with giving Henry 30-plus carries and letting him and the offensive line outmuscle their opponents for 60 minutes. Mike Vrabel has put his DNA all over this franchise and the results have been shocking to many.
Henry’s evolution into a wrecking ball on wheels has been the charge leading this team. He’s combined for 377 yards on 64 carries in Tennessee’s two previous wins. Even though he runs upright, defenders still struggle to bring him down. Attack too high and you’ll get met with a stiff arm to the head. Attack too low and he can get off the ground and hurdle over you. Attack from a poor angle and watch the mountainous man speed past for extra yardage. It feels like he gets stronger as the game goes on.
This game is a rematch from the regular season and even in Week 10, Henry put on a masterful performance amassing 188 yards and scoring two touchdowns. Kansas City’s run defense has not been a strength–last year they were gutted on the ground by the New England Patriots in Arrowhead when they lost the AFC championship game. If they can figure out a way to at least contain Henry and force Tannehill to make the necessary throws to beat them then this should be their game to win.
Another way to neutralize the Titans run-first approach: get an early lead. Much like what Tennesee did to Baltimore a week ago, if the Chiefs are able to go up by two or three scores early, it makes it difficult for the Titans to rely on the run so much as it will take away too much game time for them to get back in the game. Andy Reid knows this and he’s got the exact amount of firepower offensively to make this gameplan work.
First things first, Patrick Mahomes is a fire-starter. As proven in their Divisional Round comeback win against the Houston Texans. The Chiefs scored 28 points in the second quarter alone–the second time all year they have scored that many points in a single quarter–and their explosive offense is something Tennesee is going to try and slow down. However, with speedsters in Tyreek Hill and Mecole Hardman, the Chiefs try to stretch opponents vertically and then take advantage of the holes left to be exploited elsewhere on the field.
This game will be an example of an immovable force (Titans) meeting an unstoppable object (Chiefs), whichever team is able to play their brand of football will be taking their talents to South Beach at the end of the day.
PREDICTION: CHIEFS 35 , Titans 20
6:40 PM EST
On the other side of the bracket, we also get a game that was played during the regular season. Yet, this meeting was not nearly as close as the one from the AFC side as the San Francisco 49ers thoroughly embarrassed the Green Bay Packers on primetime television to the tune of 37-8. As the score indicates, Green Bay could get absolutely nothing going in that game. Aaron Rodgers barely threw over 100 yards on 20 completions, Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams combined for 83 yards on 24 carries, and Williams and Davante Adams were the only players to have over 10 yards receiving. Thanks to their defensive front (4.5 sacks) and George Kittle (six receptions for 129 yards and a touchdown) San Francisco won this game easily in Week 12.
Now they meet again as the two remaining teams in their conference and each is just as hungry to get their franchise back into the Super Bowl. The Packers haven’t been there since 2010 and the 49ers haven’t gone since 2012. Each hopes to begin this new decade of football history with a chance to be proclaimed the best team in the NFL.
For the majority of the regular season, San Francisco held that honor. They were the last unbeaten team during the year and their defense was one of the stingiest in the league. With Jimmy Garoppolo back after suffering a torn ACL last season and the team’s commitment to the ground game, the Niners began the year looking pretty close to unstoppable. When they brought in Garoppolo from New England, it was for moments like these. A win today would cement his status among the game’s best.
Their defense was able to create pressure thanks to a rotating crew of down linemen and the addition of second overall pick Nick Bosa made them even stronger in the front seven. A few injuries slowed them down towards the end of the season but entering today’s game all the big names have been able to return to the field of play and this group is looking to capitalize on that.
Meanwhile, Rodgers is hoping to do enough to remind the football world at large that he still is one of the best players at his position. After making his first Super Bowl in his third season as a starter, the expectations were that Rodgers would be in many more in the future, yet the team has fallen short in multiple NFC championship games in recent years. He will take his team on the road today in hopes of making it back for the first time since 2010.
Things are a bit different this time around, the team has paired him with a steady run game as Aaron Jones has had a season worthy of being selected to the Pro Bowl. Jones can hurt opponents on the ground and as a receiver. Establishing the run will take the pressure off of Rodgers and also force the vaunted 49ers pass rush to play a bit more hesitantly.
Even still, last week’s win over the Seattle Seahawks was orchestrated by Rodgers and his ability to find Davante Adams during the game’s biggest moments.
If the Packers defense can force Garoppolo and San Francisco into some turnovers they have the ability to take full advantage of it offensively. Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith will look to bring pressure from the edge like they’ve been most of the season and Jaire Alexander will look to serve as a lockdown corner. While we as fans love to see points scored and quarterbacks sling it across the field, this game will be determined by the two defenses.
The final head coach opening has been filled as NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport has reported that the team has chosen Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator, Kevin Stefanski as their next head coach:
Sources: The #Browns are planning to hire #Vikings OC Kevin Stefanski as their new head coach. Runner-up last year, winner this year.
As noted by Rapoport, Stefanski finished second to Freddie Kitchens in the team’s search a season ago but he now gets his chance to prove that he should have been the choice all along.
CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora reports that Stefanski had long been Paul DePodesta’s choice and with him having more say in the search this time around he made sure to get his guy:
A year ago the Browns owners – the Haslams – along with then GM John Dorsey chose Freddie Kitchens over Kevin Stefanski. A year later chief strategy office Paul DePodesta gets his guy after losing Browns head coach vote.
For Stefanski, not getting the job last season may turn out to be a blessing in disguise as the team he walks into now has a lot more talent than what he would’ve had if he got the job last season.
His first order of business will be to create an offense that is able to get the most out of Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, Odell Beckham Jr., and Jarvis Landry, which should be relatively easy but Kitchens was unable to do it.
Stefanski has been with the Vikings since 2006 working as an assistant to the head coach (2006–2008), assistant quarterbacks coach(2009-2013), tight ends coach (2014-2015), running backs coach (2016), quarterbacks coach (2017-2018), and interim offensive coordinator in (2018) before taking over full-time this past season.
The day begins with a matchup of a pair of quarterbacks who were taken just two picks after each other in the 2017 NFL Draft as Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans head into Arrowhead Stadium to face Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
We already saw this exact matchup happen before in the regular season when the Texans pulled off a surprising 31-24 road win over the Chiefs in Week 6. Though neither QB had a signature day in that game—Watson was 30/42 for 280 yards, three total touchdowns, and two interceptions and Mahomes went 19/35 for 273 yards, three passing touchdowns, and one interception—it was a fun back-and-forth game between the two teams.
However, today’s game isn’t just one of 16, the stakes are higher and it is now ”win or go home” for these franchises.
For Kansas City, they are looking to make amends for losing at home in the AFC Championship game in last year’s playoffs. The Chiefs finished 12-4 and thanks to a Week 17 upset was able to get a bye to the divisional round. After running through the league like a buzzsaw a season ago, they really weren’t considered the best team in the NFL at any point this season.
They have a chance to change that though. With the Tennessee Titans pulling off another upset road victory yesterday, the winner of this game is guaranteed a home game with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. Houston’s defense has been inconsistent all year and Mahomes has been waiting for a shot at postseason redemption. If they can jump out to a big lead early look for them to keep their foot on the pedal and really make a statement.
For the Texans, they are trying to show that they are a different team now. Bill O’Brien made a rash of moves before the season began as the team’s de facto general manager in hopes of seeing his team make that jump into contender status.
Their first playoff game looked like it would be more of the same old song as they fell behind 16-0 but they were able to storm back and advance. Could this be the season that things start to change for Houston?
We’ll find out today. Watson is likely to have a full array of weapons with DeAndre Hopkins, Will Fuller V, and Kenny Stills all on track to play. The team has also experienced a renaissance at running back with the dual threat of Carlos Hyde and Duke Johnson fortifying the ground game.
Offensively, the talent is there for this team to hang around with the high-powered unit on the other side of the field. Where the test will come is how their defense responds. J.J. Watt will look to harass Mahomes in the pocket but they’ll need their secondary to be able to corral and contain the sheer speed of Kansas City’s wide receivers. Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman, Sammy Watkins, Demarcus Robinson, and even Travis Kelce is fast for his size and position.
Keeping those guys in front and making sure they are brought down on Iraq contact will be a big part of this game.
PREDICTION: CHIEFS 41 , Texans 27
6:40 PM EST
Seattle Seahawks vs. Green Bay Packers
The second game of the day also gives us a great QB matchup as Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers will get to go at it at the frozen tundra that is Lambeau Field. The weather in Wisconsin calls for a high of 22 degrees at kickoff and there was already some snow in the area yesterday. The divisional round nightcap will give us some good old fashion football weather for sure.
First-year head coach Matt LaFleur has helped lead his team to an impressive 13-3 record and it’s been thanks to the team’s ability to be a much more balanced offense. Rodgers is still as dynamic as a passer as we have in this league but the development of Aaron Jones and the team’s willingness to play a run-first style has brought them to this point.
Jones is no one-trick pony, he’s helped out in the passing game too and with Davante Adams seemingly being the only member of the receiving corps that Rodgers is in-sync with, having a threat out of the backfield like Jones has been crucial at times.
The Packers made noise early in the year as their defense stepped up while the offense worked out its kinks. Yet, as the season wore on more questions than answers arose from that group. They are going to need their edge rushers Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith to make a big impact on this game. Green Bay doesn’t normally spend big money on non-Packers in free agency but they did just that to bring both Smiths into the fold the last offseason. Keeping Wilson from extending plays where Green Bay has good coverage will be vital.
They’ll also need an answer for D.K. Metcalf as the rookie’s size is a problem for a secondary that is relatively small. Wilson has confidence that Metcalf will come down with any 50/50 ball so expect a few of those to be up for grabs during this game.
Seattle meanwhile will hope Jadeveon Clowney is back to full-strength and can get pressure on Rodgers to force him off his spots or throw the ball before he is ready. Rodgers is crafty as a runner and the Seahawks have to be prepared for him to make a play when nothing looks open. It will be interesting to see if the team opts to load the box or not. Forcing Rodgers to throw doesn’t sound like the best idea on paper but if the run game isn’t producing it could alter LaFleur’s offensive gameplan and playcalling early.
Both of these teams are looking to recapture the good times from the previous decade when they were the clear top teams in a weaker NFC. Now in 2020, their quarterbacks have gone from young studs to grizzled veterans in what feels like the blink of an eye.
Whichever can keep their group a step ahead of the other will have a shot at making it back to the Super Bowl for the first time in years. A trip to San Francisco first is the only thing that would remain in their path.
