NFL Divisional Weekend Game Thread

DeadlySplitter

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Saturday, January 18
HOU @ KC 4:30 ABC/ESPN
WSH @ DET 8:15 FOX

Sunday, January 19
LAR @ PHI 3pm NBC
BAL @ BUF 6:30 CBS
 

BigSoxFan

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Predictions:

KC v HOU: Refs call controversial defensive holding on Stingley Jr. on 4th and 25 to keep Chiefs drive alive allowing for game winning 54 yard FG. Chiefs 23-20.

DET vs WAS: This one figures to be fun on paper but feels like the most likely to be a blowout. Comfortable
34-17 Lions win.

PHI vs LAR: Think Philly will run all over Rams like they did earlier this year. Stafford turns the ball over a couple of times. 27-17 Eagles.

BUF vs BAL: 853 mentions of the MVP race during this one. Feels like a toss up and I’m leaning Baltimore with Allen throwing late INT.
 

trekfan55

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How long have the 4 games on division weekend been on 4 different networks? I still remember that once we got past the wildcard stage it was all FOX and CBS, and that ABC/ESPN and NBC got the extra wildcard games as they added new teams.
 

Winger 03

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Saturday, January 18
HOU @ KC 4:30 ABC/ESPN - No one is stopping KC in this game
WSH @ DET 8:15 FOX - Everyone goes for it on 4th down, Daniels keeps the magic alive with an end of game drive.

Sunday, January 19
LAR @ PHI 3pm NBC - Rams in an upset!
BAL @ BUF 6:30 CBS - MVP's-a-popping! BAL for the win.
 

Ale Xander

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Saturday, January 18
HOU @ KC 4:30 ABC/ESPN - No one is stopping KC in this game
WSH @ DET 8:15 FOX - Everyone goes for it on 4th down, Daniels keeps the magic alive with an end of game drive.

Sunday, January 19
LAR @ PHI 3pm NBC - Rams in an upset!
BAL @ BUF 6:30 CBS - MVP's-a-popping! BAL for the win.
I have faith in Will Anderson
 

Dogman

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You may well be correct that he is worthless but it's possible Collins, Dell, Metchie, and Woods are the guys going forward and there wasn't room for Johnson.

I realize Dell is injured.
 

E5 Yaz

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You may well be correct that he is worthless but it's possible Collins, Dell, Metchie, and Woods are the guys going forward and there wasn't room for Johnson.

I realize Dell is injured.
He also put up a pouting exhibition after the Texans beat the Chargers, so that might have had something to do with it
 

Cellar-Door

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You may well be correct that he is worthless but it's possible Collins, Dell, Metchie, and Woods are the guys going forward and there wasn't room for Johnson.

I realize Dell is injured.
He's been cut dumped by 3 teams in a year... that's the definition of worthless. Not saying he won't be able to play next year, but the Steelers traded him for a starting CB and a draft pick, and now he's been available for free and still cut... they got out at just the right time.
 

E5 Yaz

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He's been cut dumped by 3 teams in a year... that's the definition of worthless. Not saying he won't be able to play next year, but the Steelers traded him for a starting CB and a draft pick, and now he's been available for free and still cut... they got out at just the right time.
I think I read it elsewhere on the board this week, but Tomlin does seem to know when it's time to divest the Steelers of a problem
 
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Is it being too much of a hysterical Patriots homer that I'm offended by the league giving the Chiefs the longest time between games if they beat Houston this weekend?
 

Sandwich Pick

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dynomite

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Best sports weekend of the year imo. Adding in the Buckeyes playing for the natty on Monday night makes it all the better.
Definitely up there. Just thought about it. Divisional Playoff weekend is among the best, particularly with a good college football final on Monday. Still, if the games (like last weekend) are kind of a snooze, it feels like a letdown.

I'd say the competition includes:

- mid-March: March Madness first 2 rounds, NBA & NHL games, Red Sox spring training games for us lunatics (and World Baseball Classic some years).

- early April: Final week of the NBA regular season, first week of MLB, NCAA Final Four, The Masters.

- Memorial Day Weekend: MLB in full swing, NBA & NHL playoffs, Indy 500 on Sunday

- Late October weekends: ALCS/NLCS/WS, NFL games when most teams are still in it, NBA & NHL seasons start, college football

Holiday weekends like Thanksgiving and New Year's are harder since most of us are traveling/with family and can't purely focus on screaming at the TV.

It's a tough one. I'm probably most excited in mid-March (March Madness opening rounds are so fun, Red Sox spring training means it's about to be warm and baseball is about to start again), but from a "I'm not making plans except to watch sports" point of view, it's hard to beat late October when the Red Sox are in the playoffs and Pats are good (plus NBA/NHL starting AND it's the time of year when I can drink/eat apple and pumpkin products like spiked hot apple cider and apple cider donuts).
 
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johnmd20

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Definitely up there. Just thought about it. Divisional Playoff weekend is among the best, particularly with a good college football final on Monday. Still, if the games (like last weekend) are kind of a snooze, it feels like a letdown.

I'd say the competition includes:

- mid-March: March Madness first 2 rounds, NBA & NHL games, Red Sox spring training games for us lunatics (and World Baseball Classic some years).

- early April: Final week of the NBA regular season, first week of MLB, NCAA Final Four, The Masters.

- Memorial Day Weekend: MLB in full swing, NBA & NHL playoffs, Indy 500 on Sunday

- Late October weekends: ALCS/NLCS/WS, NFL games when most teams are still in it, NBA & NHL seasons start, college football

Holiday weekends like Thanksgiving and New Year's are harder since most of us are traveling/with family and can't purely focus on screaming at the TV.

It's a tough one. I'm probably most excited in mid-March (March Madness opening rounds are so fun, Red Sox spring training means it's about to be warm and baseball is about to start again), but from a "I'm not making plans except to watch sports" point of view, it's hard to beat late October when the Red Sox are in the playoffs and Pats are good (plus NBA/NHL starting AND it's the time of year when I can drink/eat apple and pumpkin products like spiked hot apple cider and apple cider donuts).
IMHO, this weekend isn't in the top 3 of best sports weekends.

I would put the April one, the late October one, and the first weekend of March Madness way way way ahead of 4 football games and some irrelevant NBA and NHL games. Just on volume alone, those three weekends are so much better.

My favorite weekend personally is the late October one. Full NFL, full college schedule with division games, plus the end of the baseball playoffs. Volume, and importance.
 

dynomite

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IMHO, this weekend isn't in the top 3 of best sports weekends.

I would put the April one, the late October one, and the first weekend of March Madness way way way ahead of 4 football games and some irrelevant NBA and NHL games. Just on volume alone, those three weekends are so much better.

My favorite weekend personally is the late October one. Full NFL, full college schedule with division games, plus the end of the baseball playoffs. Volume, and importance.
Yes, those are my top 3 as well I realized after looking at the options. And as I note, agreed on #1 being late October.

In terms of best sports watching, the things that stand out to me are in 2013 watching Brady pull off a miracle comeback against the Saints with a last second TD and then later that night watching the Papi GS to beat the Tigers in ALCS Game 2, or in 2018 watching clinching Game 5 of the Sox/Astros ALCS on the big TV while on another TV we watched the Pats/Chiefs Thursday Night Football 43-40 thriller.

At the same time, in terms of guaranteed sports volume, it's rare that the Sox & Pats will both be good (although both teams have hope for the future right now), whereas mid-March I'll always want to watch the opening NCAA March Madness rounds and Sox spring training.
 
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Oil Can Dan

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Yes, those are my top 3 as well I realized after looking at the options. And as I note, agreed on #1 being late October.

In terms of best sports watching, the things that stand out to me are in 2013 watching Brady pull off a miracle comeback against the Saints with a last second TD and then later that night watching the Papi GS to beat the Tigers in ALCS Game 2, or in 2018 watching clinching Game 5 of the Sox/Astros ALCS on the big TV while on another TV we watched the Pats/Chiefs Thursday Night Football 43-40 thriller.

At the same time, in terms of guaranteed sports volume, it's rare that the Sox & Pats will both be good (although both teams have hope for the future right now), whereas mid-March I'll always want to watch the opening NCAA March Madness rounds and Sox spring training.
This is going to be all Sausage in Section 17 humblebraggy but I had front row seats behind home plate for this game and we had the Pats game on the tv in the little half-wall between us and home plate and it was amazing.
 

TheGazelle

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Opened with Bills favored and got hammered. To be fair they die absolutely blow them out in the regular season
Yeah, I have a few co-workers who are Bills fans and they are terrified of this game because, for reasons that were explained to me but I didn't really grasp, Baltimore matches up really, really, really against Buffalo.
 

BusRaker

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Yeah, I have a few co-workers who are Bills fans and they are terrified of this game because, for reasons that were explained to me but I didn't really grasp, Baltimore matches up really, really, really against Buffalo.
I would say with Milano back that will definitely help with Lamar and Henry ... with the caveat that he is back to near his all-pro form. Anyways this should be a fun shootout.
 

Curt S Loew

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Opened with Bills favored and got hammered. To be fair they die absolutely blow them out in the regular season
Took me a bit to realize you didn't mean die. Of course they almost did. 35-10 in just over 3 quarters of play.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drNw6IAsK5E&t=10s
Yeah, I have a few co-workers who are Bills fans and they are terrified of this game because, for reasons that were explained to me but I didn't really grasp, Baltimore matches up really, really, really against Buffalo.
Yeah, that game probably has something to do with it.
 
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dynomite

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Yeah, I have a few co-workers who are Bills fans and they are terrified of this game because, for reasons that were explained to me but I didn't really grasp, Baltimore matches up really, really, really against Buffalo.
BAL being favored seems off to me.
I get it. I think the Ravens have (pun unintended) flown a bit under the radar this season, but we all might be missing that by many measures they're the best team in the NFL.

They're #1 in DVOA, ahead of the Lions (#1 in offensive DVOA by a wide margin, #3 in defensive DVOA). Lamar is in the middle of one of the greatest QB seasons in history: he's the first QB ever to have 4,000+ yards passing and 800+ yards rushing in one season, as well as (I believe) the first QB ever to have 40+ passing TDs and 4 or fewer INTs in a season.* (And yes, 17 games help here, but still wildly impressive)

And while there has been a lot of chatter crediting Derrick Henry for making Lamar's life easier, the fact remains that they're on the same team. In how many NFL seasons has the arguably best QB shared a backfield with the arguably best RB? Per Football Reference (looking at "approximate value" and "passer rating" leaders quickly) the '99 & '01 Rams (Celebrating What It Was) with Warner and Marshall Faulk come to mind. Steve Young and Ricky Watters in '94 are arguable (although Barry Sanders was in the league). Elway and TD in '97 come to mind, although debatable that Elway was the best QB in the NFL that year (Favre, probably?).

* PS Here's a Passer Rating perspective of greatest QB seasons ever, which I think is fairly flawed (only one Brady season? Foles and Purdy above any Brees/Marino season?) but still.

 

glennhoffmania

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I wouldn't be surprised at all if BAL wins but BUF looks like a different team than the one BAL crushed. I don't think I'd have BUF as a home dog against anyone right now.
 

Oil Can Dan

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Shawn Smith's crew is officiating the game. That's the crew that threw CJ Gardner-Johnson out of the game for being punched by a Commander. Since the beginning of last season Philly is 0-3 with Smith's crew working their games. And finally, home teams went 3-13 with his crew this season.

I'm not sayin, I'm just sayin.
 

Winger 03

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Shawn Smith's crew is officiating the game. That's the crew that threw CJ Gardner-Johnson out of the game for being punched by a Commander. Since the beginning of last season Philly is 0-3 with Smith's crew working their games. And finally, home teams went 3-13 with his crew this season.

I'm not sayin, I'm just sayin.
To be fair, the official was right there when Brown pushed the helmet off of Johnson, yet still flagged Johnson. Makes me wonder what he may have said to Brown that made the official minimize the retaliation.
 

Cellar-Door

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To be fair, the official was right there when Brown pushed the helmet off of Johnson, yet still flagged Johnson. Makes me wonder what he may have said to Brown that made the official minimize the retaliation.
considering CJGJ being who he is.... he 100% deserved it
 

Oil Can Dan

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To be fair, the official was right there when Brown pushed the helmet off of Johnson, yet still flagged Johnson. Makes me wonder what he may have said to Brown that made the official minimize the retaliation.
I have a good friend who is associated with the NFL referees and whose opinion I value deeply. He said it was a good penalty as CJ had been taunting the opponent all game.

I still just can’t believe that a ref could watch one player knock the helmet off another and not penalize that guy.
 

jk333

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Shawn Smith's crew is officiating the game. That's the crew that threw CJ Gardner-Johnson out of the game for being punched by a Commander. Since the beginning of last season Philly is 0-3 with Smith's crew working their games. And finally, home teams went 3-13 with his crew this season.

I'm not sayin, I'm just sayin.
How many of the 16 home teams were favored? I assume you have access to the data- I don’t know where to look up games by referee.
 

mauf

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Two potential weather games Sunday:

3-4 inches of snow forecasted in Philly, mostly falling during the game.

16 degrees is the forecasted game time temperature in Buffalo.
 

Ale Xander

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I may be too fairness oriented, and I know status quo gets the NFL a ton more money, but all teams should be playing on the same day, ideally Sunday. Even last week.

You can stagger the games if you want each one's ending to stand alone.

Wildcard
1:00
2:40
4:20
6:00
7:40
9:20 (assuming there's a PT host)
or

1:00
2:00
3:00

4:30
5:30
6:30


Divisional (this week)
1:00
3:00
6:30
8:20

or
1:00
3:00
5:00
8:20
 

Dollar

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I may be too fairness oriented
What do you mean by fairness? Just that one team will get an extra day of rest, or something else?

I would also hate that, but I could see a reasonable solution by playing both of the conference's games on the same day, and then having the Saturday conference play first on Conf Champ Game Sunday.
 

SemperFidelisSox

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There have been much bigger playoff upsets as far as Vegas lines go, but the Texans winning this game would need its own category as far as upsets go. Feels like they need a million things to go right today.
 

Mystic Merlin

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There have been much bigger playoff upsets as far as Vegas lines go, but the Texans winning this game would need its own category as far as upsets go. Feels like they need a million things to go right today.
I guess. But the Chiefs overperformed by like five wins against their expected record. They weren’t routinely running away from teams.
 

Seels

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the 1 seeds play a day earlier - the other teams get more rest. how is it not fair