The Chalk Holds for The NFC in the Division Round

Unlike the Wild Card weekend for the NFC, where we saw both the five and six seeds win on the road, the Divisional Round had both home teams come out on top for victories. Let’s look at how these games played out.

Minnesota’s Magic Runs Out, Niners Dominate

While Kirk Cousins rose above the criticism and stunned the NFL with an overtime win over the New Orleans Saints in the first round, the magic had run out in the next. The San Francisco 49ers defended their home turf in a convincing 27-10 victory. Throughout the season, San Francisco has relied on its defense to make big plays and dominate the line of scrimmage and this continued against the talented Vikings offense, especially against the run. Dalvin Cook, who has been one of the league’s top runners all year, was held to 9 carries for 18 yards. As a team, Minnesota only had 21 yards on the ground. The passing game was not much better. Besides a long touchdown early, Kirk Cousins and his receivers did next to nothing, as they totaled 172 yards in the air. Their leading receiver in catches was Dalvin Cook, who only had 8 yards to show for it. While not good stats, the 49ers deserve all the credit for the defensive performance they put up. The stout defense with big names like Richard Sherman, Arik Armstead, and Nick Bosa showed up in a big way, putting pressure on Kirk Cousins from start to finish. On the day Cousins was sacked 6 times, Bosa having two of those sacks. If the Niners defense keeps this up, it is going to be extremely tough to get any sort of rhythm against them.

As for the offensive side of the ball, San Francisco continues their impressive rushing attack featuring Raheem Mostert, Matt Breida, and Tevin Coleman. As a team, they rushed 47 times for 186 yards and two touchdowns. Coleman led the way with 22 attempts for 105 yards and scored both touchdowns. While the rushing attack was consistent again, the passing attack was extremely lackluster and is going to be a huge question mark going into the NFC Championship game. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo finished the day 11/19 for 131 yards and 1 TD and 1 INT. While not awful, Jimmy G did nothing more than manage this game and when he did throw the ball most of his attempts were off target. If Jimmy G puts in a performance like this, the rushing attack must dominate the way it did against Minnesota.

Green Bay Holds Off Seattle, Adams Goes Off

Going into Sunday night, many people believed the Packers had the edge over the Seahawks, especially without Seattle’s running game being healthy. Early on, it looked like Green Bay was poised to pull away in blowout fashion. At two points in this game, Green Bay had stretched the lead to 21-3 and 28-10, but Seattle never went away. Hall of Fame quarterback Russell Wilson willed his team back in this game, throwing for 277 yards and leading the team in rushing with 64 yards. After a 1-yard touchdown by Marshawn Lynch cut it to 28-23, Seattle looked poised to take the lead, especially after holding Green Bay to a punt on their next drive.  With five minutes left, Seattle got the ball back, but Green Bay’s defense stood tall. Wilson was sacked by Preston Smith on third down and Seattle was forced to punt. With 2:32 left on the clock, Green Bay was looking to end the game with the ball and not give Seattle another chance. Even after a third-down conversion on a 32-yard catch by Davante Adams, Seattle still had hope. On third and nine with two minutes left, Rodgers completed a pass to Jimmy Graham as he just barely got the first down. Barely meaning an inch at most. After review, the ruling stood as called, and Green Bay will now be moving on to the NFC Championship game.

This game was a very clean played game. There were no turnovers and only 10 penalties in total. For Green Bay, it took a full team effort to win this game, but the standout performance was wide receiver, Davante Adams. The young wide receiver finished the game with 8 catches for 160 yards and 2 touchdowns. Aaron Rodgers did not do much, but he did what he needed to do to win this game, going 16/27, throwing for 243 yards and 2 TD. As for the running game, yards were hard to come by, but Aaron Jones was still able to find the endzone twice in the victory. Blake Martinez and Jaire Alexander led the team with 7 tackles each. The Smith duo continued to dominate as they both collected two sacks. Kenny Clark chipped in one as well. As for Seattle, the rushing attack was like the Packers. Yards were few and far to come by, but Marshawn Lynch was still able to find the endzone twice. As for the air attack, Tyler Lockett led the way with 9 catches for 136 yards and a touchdown. DK Metcalf chipped in 59 yards, and Jacob Hollister totaled 47. As for the defensive side of the ball, Seattle was only able to sack Rodgers twice. One from Shaquem Griffin, and the other from K.J. Wright and Jadeveon Clowney. 

Green Bay will travel to Santa Clara to take on a very defensively dominant San Francisco 49ers team, who will look to get after Aaron Rodgers. In 2019, both teams failed to post winning records. Now, one of these teams will have the opportunity to play in the Super Bowl.

-By: Richie Dordas

Writer

Divisional Round Preview: NFC

Minnesota Vikings vs San Francisco 49ers

This matchup was one of the most surprising for people. Even with all the bad luck, the Saints have faced the last few postseasons, this one looked the most promising. They had a solid run defense and an offense that was one of the most dangerous as any in the league. Yet, as the saying goes any given Sunday someone can win or lose. This happened to be the week that Kirk Cousins vindicated himself. He rode himself of some of his past demons when it comes to playing in the primetime games. Now that he has won, this becomes a very difficult matchup for both teams. If you looked at the records the teams seem different. Although if you watch both teams play, they have won the same way. Both have top-notch running games. The Vikings have Dalvin Cook and the ground game, while the 49ers have the three-headed backfields that many teams haven’t been able to figure out yet. Both teams possess a quarterback that been are solid in the regular season but are mysteries in the postseason. Cousins has been tested a few times with bad results until last week while Garoppolo is untested in the postseason as a starter. This matchup is the most important because I have a feeling this game will come down to which team gets the ball last in a close one-score game. The other thing that is highly similar in this matchup though is the defenses. Both are top ten units; the only slight difference is one closer to the top three in terms of overall defense while one is closer to the lower end of the top ten. The Vikings have been playing better defense of late and keeping their team in many games down the stretch. While the 49ers defense has been more up and down of late. They had a shootout with the saints just a few weeks ago and loss to the Falcons because they couldn’t make the stops needed. On the flip side, they did make the key stops against other teams to seal different wins and keep the team in the game. In all, this game will come down to be a one-score game with the win landing the quarterbacks hands. Due to both being relative mysteries I will pick the Vikings in the end only because as a team they have more postseason experience and you can’t knock have experience in difficult situations like this. 

Minnesota 24 – San Francisco 20

Seattle Seahawks vs Green Bay Packers

This is a rematch I personally wanted to see again because every time they have played recently, it has been an instant classic duel of heavyweight teams. In corner wearing the green and yellow trunks you have Aaron Rodgers and in the other corner wearing the blue and green trunks you have Russell Wilson. Both quarterbacks have been playing at a high level for the last eight years and have willed their teams to wins both in the regular season and the postseason. Since Russell Wilson has entered the league the two quarterbacks have both won over 70 games. Which is in the top ten over that time frame. Now this year, in particular, has been a bit different. The Packers are in a philosophy change becoming more of a running based team with an aerial attack to complement it rather than the other way around. While also having a defense that can stop the run, cover all over the field and cause havoc for the quarterback. The Seahawks have been in constant flux for years since the end of the Legion of Boom. Luckily, they still Pete Carroll at the helm so the team is still a running first team with Russell Wilson doing his magic to complement. Unfortunately, the defense still isn’t what it used to be. They have issues stopping the run and getting after the passer. The still playmakers at all the levels and get turnovers but are vulnerable overall as a group. This team also has one major flaw, the injuries late in the season. Its first, second and third-string RB’s are done for the season. Also, they are without starting left tackle Duane Brown. This matchup can be either a competitive one or a blowout for the Packers. All this being said, I’m going with the Packers for the win this round. 

Seattle 20 – Green Bay 31

-By: Darren Braxton

Writer/Interviewer

Eagles Week 16 Preview: Win or Go Home

Sunday, December 22 at Lincoln Financial Field, Cowboys 2.5-point favorites

The Eagles are tied for first place in the NFC East and a win on Sunday could keep them there alone.

Injury Report:

OUT

Philadelphia: T Lane Johnson (ankle)

Dallas: LB Leighton Vander Esch (neck)

QUESTIONABLE:

Philadelphia: WR Nelson Agholor (knee), DE Derek Barnett (ankle), RB Jordan Howard (shoulder), CB Avonte Maddox (ankle)

Dallas: CB CJ Goodwin (thumb), WR Devin Smith (knee), LB Joe Thomas (knee)

Unfortunately for Philadelphia, stalwart right tackle Lane Johnson will not return for the biggest game of the season. While Demarcus Lawrence hasn’t been as dominant as we’ve become accustomed to seeing over the past two seasons, he still poses an issue for Halapoulivaati Vaitai. Nelson Agholor remains on the injury report with this nagging knee injury that we don’t know much about. I wouldn’t expect to suit up. He’s been bad this season, but when Greg Ward is your best wide receiver, you take what you can get. It was a surprise to see Avonte Maddox wind up on the injury report. The cornerback position has been weak over the past few weeks, losing a starter won’t help. Maybe this is the first week where we see a heavy dose of 2018 late-season hero Cre’Von “strap” LeBlanc. Derek Barnett practiced this week, so there’s a chance he returns to his starting spot on the defensive line. Jordan Howard still isn’t cleared for contact, here’s to Miles Sanders having a repeat of last week’s breakout performance. For Dallas, the only major contributor injured is LB Leighton Vander Esch who’s been out for a solid month now. Sean Lee will remain in his spot. There was also some buzz around Dak Prescott’s shoulder injury, but he isn’t listed under a game status meaning he’ll be full-go.

Analysis:

Here’s the deal. If the Eagles lose this game, their season is over and they also lowered their draft position with consecutive wins in the previous two weeks. If the Eagles win, they’re a win against New York or a Dallas loss away from a postseason berth. In short, this game basically serves as the NFC East championship.

After being heavily scrutinized for their inability to defeat decent or better teams, the Dallas Cowboys responded by burying the Los Angeles Rams (and their playoff hopes) last week. After a performance like that, the general confidence of the team should be high coming into Week 16’s crucial matchup. On the other hand, the Eagles snuck past Dwayne Haskins and the Washington Redskins in a game that was much closer than the final score indicates. The porous secondary failed to show up again, allowing Haskins to have the best game of his career. His 121.3 passer rating was a full 35.1 percentage points higher than his previous best. Prescott has gotten the best of the Eagles in these last couple of matchups and that won’t change if the secondary continues to play the way it has. In order for Philadelphia to stand a chance against their bitter rivals, the defense needs to return to the form it showed in back-to-back matchups against two powerhouses in Seattle and New England. Do I trust their ability to do that? Ask Eli Manning.

Prescott and Cooper are enough trouble on their own, but maybe even more dangerous than those two is their running back, Ezekiel Elliott. While Elliott is posting the lowest yards per game average of his young career, he’s still on the doorstep of 1,200 yards this season. Elliott has also been known to get the best of the Eagles in their matchups, averaging a whopping 175 yards from scrimmage in the last three games. The Eagles must slow him down in this game or else they can kiss the division goodbye. Adrian Peterson looked spry last week against Philadelphia (19 touches, 91 yards), so recent history isn’t encouraging. 

The Eagles offense is going to struggle, let that be made clear. At the end of the day, no matter how much will you have or however much prepared you may be, there is only so much a team can lose before falling apart. The Eagles had one wide receiver with a catch last week, and no other receivers will be returning to help out. Zach Ertz will be the focus of the Cowboys 7th-ranked defense in terms of yards per game allowed, and receiving options fall off dramatically after the star tight end. It would help to see Miles Sanders post a repeat performance because the run game is essential to winning the time of possession battle. Doug Pederson and the staff are going to have to think of creative ways to move the ball because it can’t be expected that Philadelphia can emerge in a defensive slugfest. 

In conclusion, Dallas should be ashamed if they find a way to lose this football game. The Eagles are as shorthanded as it gets and their secondary just isn’t good in any way. Even if the Eagles defense can channel their inner Week 12 and slow down the Cowboys offense, the offensive side of the ball is a major concern against any half-decent defensive unit. I hate betting against the Eagles, but I just cannot see a way where this team can come out on top outside of a ridiculous meltdown by the Cowboys. As Max Kellerman said, if Dallas finds a way to lose this game, Jason Garrett shouldn’t even be allowed to take the team plane home.

Still holding out hope, though.

Prediction: Eagles 20, Cowboys 30

-By: Micah Jimoh

Writer/Interviewer