The over is dead. The under hit in all four games of the NFL Divisional Playoff Round for the first time in who knows how long. I tried finding whatever online almanacs accounts like PFF use to find the last time this happened, but it was to no avail. Unfortunately, the over missing in all games meant that my pick for the Bengals-Bills game didn’t hit. However, the Niners who were my lock of the weekend saved the day by covering the spread.
So, the blog starts off 2-2 in it’s opening weekend. Could’ve been better, definitely could have been worse, but at least we’re at .500. Now let’s look back at the action from last night:
Game one: Bengals handily defeat Bills 27-10, under 48.5, Bengals +6 hit
After the Bills lost the the Chiefs last year in the divisional round at Arrowhead, it was seemingly unthinkable that they’d lose at home this year in the same round. That was until Joe Burrow handed them that loss last night in dominating fashion. From the jump, the Bengals had their pedal to the metal, scoring two touchdowns in each of their first two drives, and stopping the Bills on both of theirs.
After these two scores, I thought the over might hit in the first half. The Bengals pulled their weight, but JA and the Bills just couldn’t get anything going on offense. Stephon Diggs was visibly upset, even seen yelling at Allen on the sidelines:
Not a good look at all. It was also reported that Diggs stormed out of the locker room immediately following the loss, before the coaching staff even got there. It will be interesting to see what happens to this Bills squad in the offseason and what they will look like going into the 2023/24 season, but as of now it looks like some of their key players might not be around anymore.
As for the Bengals, they look like they did in last years playoffs, and with Mahomes’ ankle injury, the Chiefs might not be the “dey” that beats the Bengals. I’ll be keeping a close watch on practice reports coming from Kansas City, but I hope that Mahomes’ ankle heals well so we get another great game next Sunday night.
Game two: Dak back to his old self, throwing two picks in Cowboys 12-19 loss against the 49ers, Under 46.5, San Fran -3.5 hit
San Fran -3.5 was my lock of the weekend, and it ended up being closer than I thought it would. Purdy and the Niners weren’t as automatic as they had been since he entered the lineup, especially in the first half. They just didn’t seem to be themselves, that is until Kittle’s miraculous catch deep into the third quarter gave them the momentum to notch a score at the start of the fourth. The player to cash in the six points was none other than McCaffrey, who was having his quietest night of the season before his score.
The Cowboys had a one-hill rollercoaster of a first half. They went punt, interception, touchdown, interception. The touchdown to Schultz was their one sign of life, but it was quickly overshadowed by Maher’s blocked extra point that looked like it had a left turn signal on. Shortly after, Dak’s second pick of the night seemingly sealed their fate before the second half even began.
The Cowboys’ night was summed up with their last drive of the game. Schultz had two bonehead moves back to back: not fighting through the tackle which caused him to go out of bounds backwards, keeping the clock running, and then not getting his second foot down on a sideline catch. I thought he’d know better being a Stanford guy and all, but what followed was even worse:
Did Kellen Moore and Mike McCarthy not learn anything from the “Colts Catastrophe” against my New England Patriots in 2015? Everything about that play was hilarious. From Zeke getting wrecked trying to play center, to Turpin getting killed over the middle, the Cowboys season couldn’t have ended in a more disastrous fashion and I loved it.
Stay tuned for more posts later this week with updates on Mahomes and his ankle, predictions for the upcoming Conference Championships, and more!