The first weekend of the NFL playoffs was just about everything I’d hoped it would be.
Yes, there were a few atrocious picks — such as Eagles over Buccaneers, Cowboys over Packers and, in the Lock of the Week, Browns over Texans.
I’m keeping the Lock going into the divisional round for the benefit of those who want to bet against it, seeing that it’s now 5-13-1 against the spread for the season. I hope I’ve helped some people win money, even this way.
But beyond that, the wild-card round was good, especially for New York football fans who got to enjoy the demise of the Dolphins, the crumbling of the Cowboys and the eradication of the Eagles.
This column finished at 7-5, including 5-1 on Over/Unders, to sit atop The Post standings (I’d like to thank my father for giving me a last name that breaks all ties — the tiebreaker being alphabetical order that predates my arrival in the standings 30 years ago).
So now we move on to the what I always consider the best weekend of the season, the divisional round. There are still four games left — two days of wall-to-wall football — and the fraud teams are now all gone. We are left with the serious Super Bowl contenders, other quality teams who can make a run if everything goes right, and a few super-fun upstarts who have earned their way here.
This is the game that has the most intriguing quarterback matchup, at least south of Patrick Mahomes vs. Josh Allen. C.J. Stroud has been a revelation in his rookie year after being the No. 2 pick in the draft from thee Ohio State University. Lamar Jackson has all but been anointed regular-season MVP.
Stroud had an excellent game against the Browns, throwing for 274 yards and three touchdowns, and didn’t really even need the help of pick-sixes of Joe Flacco. Stroud’s career started with a game in Baltimore. It was won 25-9 by the Ravens, but Stroud had 242 passing yards to Jackson’s 169, and the Texans out-gained the Ravens by 3 yards. There’s the foundation for backing Houston as a big underdog here.
But here are a few reasons why I’m laying the points here. 1. The Texans play many of their games indoors or in near-perfect conditions. It will be in the low 20s in the Inner Harbor with winds close to 20 mph. The Baltimore crowd will be louder and meaner than Stroud remembers from September.
- The Ravens have won 10 of Jackson’s past 11 games — including blowouts of the Lions (38-6), Dolphins (56-19) and 49ers (33-19, which doesn’t quite tell the story).
And 3. The Texans lost 30-6 to the Jets. Yes, Stroud got battered and left with a concussion, but the fact remains, the Texans’ defense gave up 30 points — in a half — to the Jets!
Ravens, 30-17.
Hopefully the Packers didn’t waste too much energy basking in the adulation of fans of 30 other teams for knocking out the Cowboys so decisively. After giving the large spread in the first game, I’m taking it in the Saturday nightcap.
I faded the Packers last week because I wasn’t overly impressed with the end of their season. They finished 6-2, but that stretch included a three-point win over Carolina and a loss to the Giants.
Apparently I was focusing on the wrong games and should have been looking at their Thanksgiving Day win at Detroit and a victory over Kansas City at Lambeau Field the following week. And those were achieved without the incredible Aaron Jones, who’s now on a streak of 127-120-111-118 yards rushing.
Jordan Love is an eye-pleasing quarterback, standing tall and moving fluidly as he effortlessly throws darts to the likes of Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson and other lesser-regarded receivers who get open. I’m on the Under, though, because I don’t believe the 49ers’ defense will let Love’s completed passes turn into jailbreaks the way the Cowboys did.
The 49ers did enjoy some blowout wins, but the ones against the Cowboys, Jaguars and Eagles don’t hold quite the same luster they once did. San Francisco probably finds a way, but this will be a struggle.
49ers, 27-21.