Divisional Round Picks Against the Spread

We have made it to the Divisional Round in the NFL Playoffs. We have made it. On a personal note, I am back from Miami and I am sad. I had such an awesome weekend, generated a nice tan, and now that tan is holding on for dear life. Sad state of affairs. The other sad state of affairs involved my picks for the Wild Card Round where I went 0-3-1 and my only win was a miraculous push by the Seahawks—and the only reason that was the case is because Seattle's kicker went out with an injury so Seattle had to go for the two-point conversion each time (and they were successful). An unreal push, but overall, a very rough week for ya boy and his picks.

A few notes on last week's games before we get into this week's picks:

Pete Carroll and OC Brian Schotenheimer coached maybe the worst offensive game I have ever seen. Just truly atrocious. I was sitting with some friends watching the game and asking myself, why don't the Seahawks spread it out and let Russell Wilson go with the run-pass option on every play where he can run it himself, because those lanes were wide open. He could also pass out of that action. I know Seattle's running game was great all year, but at a certain point in a playoff game, it's time to change it up. The lanes were open the entire game for Wilson to tuck the ball and run. And when he did, as I told my friends before he actually did, he picked up big yardage, a first down, and a touchdown. No shit and then they stopped doing it. Unreal. An absolutely terrible performance by Seattle's coaching staff.

This Nick Foles thing is real. It makes no sense, but it's real. I've said it on my podcast, and I will repeat it again, if you are the Eagles, you trade Carson Wentz and you roll with Foles. As for the Bears, well, this was a stomach punch loss for the Chicago faithful. I really liked this Bears team to possibly go to the Super Bowl. Bears fans feared Cody Parky all year and he reared his ugly head in the biggest spot. Tough tough loss for the Bears.

Baltimore's prized rookie, Lamar Jackson, could not have been worse last weekend against the Chargers. Just a pitiful performance, but to think that Joe Flacco was the answer, well, I am here to tell you that right now: Joe Flacco is not the answer for anyone. Lamar will learn from this and be better off for it. And kudos to the Chargers, after losing to Baltimore a few weeks prior, the Chargers made adjustments and dominated the Ravens the second time around.

As I mentioned before, my picks were trash last week. So it's time to rebound a bit this week. Here we go... Divisional Round picks ATS:

Colts +5.5 against the Chiefs: The Chiefs are the one seed and lately we have seen chalk prevail in the NFL playoffs, but there is something about this Chiefs team that just doesn't seem right. Their defense is really bad. They have not been good as a home team in the playoffs the last few years, and let's just say, Andy Reid has some major playoff demons. I don't know if the Colts can win outright, but I think this will be a very close game.

Rams -7 against the Cowboys: I hate Dallas. They should have lost last week. Jason Garrett is a terrible coach. Now the Rams defense makes me nervous; Zeke Elliot is excellent and Dak was surprisingly good last week, but I don't like Dallas as a road team. I don't love this pick, but with a gun to my head, I like the Rams.

Patriots -4 against the Chargers: The Chargers need to travel east again and play the early game again. Now the Chargers offense can be super explosive, but the strength of the Pats team is their secondary, so it may be a tough day for Rivers. The Chargers are another team with a very spotty playoff history, so I trust the establishment in this one (even if it pains me to do so).

Eagles +8 against the Saints: I know the Saints are the favorite to win the Super Bowl, and as I mentioned before, chalk has prevailed lately in that NFL postseason. The Saints have been great at home. I get all of that, but this Nick Foles thing is just remarkable. I can't see him getting blown out. There is some magic in him and it's not like I like the Eagles (in fact I hate the Eagles). I do think the Saints win, but I see it being a very close game, and I think eight is just too big of a number.

With that, enjoy the weekend everyone, good luck to all the betters, and let's rebound from a tough week last week.