Ok, my initial pick was Cincy vs SF. The Burrow injury killed that prediction so I’m going to keep SF and switch Cincy to Jacksonville. The obvious switch would be to Balt, but that matchup was picked a long time ago so I’ve given this some thought and I’m going with Jacksonville.
I know they’re not exactly in great form after a rough December, but there are a few reasons why I’m picking Jacksonville. First, they made the playoffs at 9-8 last season and gave KC a pretty good game @Arrowhead in the second round after beating a good Chargers team. If they win this week vs Tenny they will enter the playoffs at 10-7 riding a couple game winning streak, a little bit ahead of where they were last season.
Second, they will likely play Cleveland in the first round at home. The Browns are everyone’s Cinderella story, but they have been a completely different team on the road this season giving up almost 30ppg (second worst in NFL). These teams just played in Cleveland a couple weeks ago where TL was injured and prob should not have played - he threw 3 picks and Jack lost by 4. I think Jack can beat them at home.
Once you get down to the final 4, anything can happen and after Balt, all of the other AFC teams have warts. I think Pederson is a very good coach and I trust him to improve in his second year with the team. Shit, he won the SB his second year in Philly when few expected it to happen. Philly was projected to be a middle of the road team that season.
Some of Jack’s rough December can be blamed on key injuries, including Kirk and Lawrence who are getting healthier. Prior to those injuries, Jack was on track to possibly get a 1 or 2 seed. Kirk should be good to go by playoffs and that will be a huge lift to this team both on the field and in the locker room. Let’s see what happens…,
