SneakerReporter NFL Sunday Divisional Round: Scores and Predictions
FeaturedCincinnati Bengals Vs Buffalo Bills
The Cincinnati Bengals will be taking on the Buffalo Bills on Sunday for the divisional round and a shot at punching their way into the AFC Championship Game.
This game will be huge as this was the game at the end of the season that wasn’t played due to the tragic events surrounding the health of Damar Hamlin who’s recovered tremendously. There will be a lot of emotion on the field from both sides and this will be a huge matchup filled with explosive offenses. The Buffalo Bills who are led by Josh Allen will be looking to take the Bengals out of the game quickly. Josh Allen is probably the best dual-threat quarterback in the NFL and he can make you pay with his arm and his legs. Allen has been at the top of his game as of late but stumbled last week against the Dolphins. Allen will look to bounce back and he has his weapons Diggs/Davis ready to help him in this game as both will need to play a huge part in this one. The Bills don’t want to be obvious with play calling as they will need to sprinkle in some Devin Singletary in the game to keep the Bengals defense honest. The Bills defense will have their hands full trying to slow down Burrow, Chase, and Mixon but they are up to the challenge as they have one of the best defenses in the NFL coming into this one. The Bills defense took a blow from Miami and will try to bounce back this week.
The Bengals come into this game fresh off an impressive win against the Ravens where it legit came down to the last play. The Bengals will need to keep the ball in Joe Burrow’s hand with clock management. If the Bengals offense can set the tone in this game it could be a great day for the Bengals. If the Bengals are going to be successful it will have to do with the running game with Joe Mixon as the Cincy has the advantage in the backfield. Joe Mixon will need to use his legs and hands to keep this team going so it opens up the field for Chase/Higgins/Boyd to operate. Joe Burrow will need to take care of the ball and limit his turnovers as the Bills defense will try to bait him into making a mistake in this one. The Bengals defense has been impressive all season and Jessie Bates has a lot to do with that. Bates will need to keep their eyes glued to Allen’s every move as he will be the one trying to quarterback that Bengals defense.
Both teams were in dogfights last weekend and this one should be another dogfight as both teams want to make it to the Super Bowl or the season is a bust. The Bengals tasted the Super Bowl last year but this year they will try to win it and the Bills are trying to get to that point as well.
Score Prediction: Bengals Win (31-28)
Dallas Cowboys Vs San Francisco 49ers
This will be a rematch from last season’s playoffs as the Dallas Cowboys feel like they beat themselves by not clocking the ball in time. This year they will be looking to get revenge after eliminating Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last weekend. The 49ers on the other hand took care of business as they beat the Seattle Seahawks with ease.
The Dallas Cowboys will need to be able to play their style of football tonight. If Dak Prescott can limit his turnovers the Cowboys should be right in this game where they need to be. As of late Prescott has had interception issues but he will be able to redeem himself with a win against the 49ers. Dak has one of the best combo running backs with Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard. The Cowboys have won all season with Dak and the running game so they will need to keep that energy up. Look for the Cowboys to try to establish the run against this dominant 49ers defense. The Cowboys line will be the true judge of this game because if Nick Bosa gets to Dak it could be a long day. One of the good things is that Dak gets the ball out quickly so he has reliable hands in Ceedee Lamb, Gallup, and Hilton now. If the Cowboys can make it tough on that 49er secondary then this could be the game of the day. The Cowboys defense is led by Micah Parsons and he will be trying to get to Brock Purdy all day long. If the Cowboys defense can make the rookie make a mistake in this game it could go in the favor of the Cowboys. The Cowboys will be trying to slow down Deebo/McCaffrey and that’s not a small task at all.
The 49ers are playing with Brock Purdy who has been lights out in this season including playoffs. The good thing about Purdy is the fact that he’s got some true weapons around him to make his situation a lot easier. If Purdy can get the ball out to CMC/Deebo/Kittle it could be a long day for the Cowboys defense if he catches them in space. This will be a true test for this team and the 49ers have already been battle-tested this season, especially with injuries. The 49ers have the players to get it done on both ends of the field so it’s going to come down to who wants it more and who has the better trio. The defense for the 49ers will be trying to get to Dak as they want to make it tough on him. The 49ers run defense is at the top of the rankings so it could be tough to run on this team.
This will be one of the best games this weekend and we should be in for a true battle for a chance to head to the NFC Championship game.
Score Prediction: Cowboys Win (24-17)