3:05 PM EST
In a conference with Tom Brady, Lamar Jackson, and Deshaun Watson it is Ryan Tannehill–who wasn’t even the team’s starter until Week 7–is one of the two quarterbacks with a chance to make it to the Super Bowl. Now, the Tennesee Titans run (pun intended) through the playoffs has much more to do with what Derrick Henry has done but in Tannehill, the team has a steady hand who can manage the game well enough to keep them ahead of the numbers. Despite only throwing for 73 yards in the Wild Card round, he made the two biggest throws of the night, on the team’s first touchdown pass to Anthony Firkser and finding Firkser again in the fourth quarter on a huge third-down conversion.
As long as Tannehill doesn’t turn the ball over, the team is perfectly fine with giving Henry 30-plus carries and letting him and the offensive line outmuscle their opponents for 60 minutes. Mike Vrabel has put his DNA all over this franchise and the results have been shocking to many.
Henry’s evolution into a wrecking ball on wheels has been the charge leading this team. He’s combined for 377 yards on 64 carries in Tennessee’s two previous wins. Even though he runs upright, defenders still struggle to bring him down. Attack too high and you’ll get met with a stiff arm to the head. Attack too low and he can get off the ground and hurdle over you. Attack from a poor angle and watch the mountainous man speed past for extra yardage. It feels like he gets stronger as the game goes on.
This game is a rematch from the regular season and even in Week 10, Henry put on a masterful performance amassing 188 yards and scoring two touchdowns. Kansas City’s run defense has not been a strength–last year they were gutted on the ground by the New England Patriots in Arrowhead when they lost the AFC championship game. If they can figure out a way to at least contain Henry and force Tannehill to make the necessary throws to beat them then this should be their game to win.
Another way to neutralize the Titans run-first approach: get an early lead. Much like what Tennesee did to Baltimore a week ago, if the Chiefs are able to go up by two or three scores early, it makes it difficult for the Titans to rely on the run so much as it will take away too much game time for them to get back in the game. Andy Reid knows this and he’s got the exact amount of firepower offensively to make this gameplan work.
First things first, Patrick Mahomes is a fire-starter. As proven in their Divisional Round comeback win against the Houston Texans. The Chiefs scored 28 points in the second quarter alone–the second time all year they have scored that many points in a single quarter–and their explosive offense is something Tennesee is going to try and slow down. However, with speedsters in Tyreek Hill and Mecole Hardman, the Chiefs try to stretch opponents vertically and then take advantage of the holes left to be exploited elsewhere on the field.
This game will be an example of an immovable force (Titans) meeting an unstoppable object (Chiefs), whichever team is able to play their brand of football will be taking their talents to South Beach at the end of the day.
PREDICTION: CHIEFS 35 , Titans 20
6:40 PM EST
On the other side of the bracket, we also get a game that was played during the regular season. Yet, this meeting was not nearly as close as the one from the AFC side as the San Francisco 49ers thoroughly embarrassed the Green Bay Packers on primetime television to the tune of 37-8. As the score indicates, Green Bay could get absolutely nothing going in that game. Aaron Rodgers barely threw over 100 yards on 20 completions, Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams combined for 83 yards on 24 carries, and Williams and Davante Adams were the only players to have over 10 yards receiving. Thanks to their defensive front (4.5 sacks) and George Kittle (six receptions for 129 yards and a touchdown) San Francisco won this game easily in Week 12.
Now they meet again as the two remaining teams in their conference and each is just as hungry to get their franchise back into the Super Bowl. The Packers haven’t been there since 2010 and the 49ers haven’t gone since 2012. Each hopes to begin this new decade of football history with a chance to be proclaimed the best team in the NFL.
For the majority of the regular season, San Francisco held that honor. They were the last unbeaten team during the year and their defense was one of the stingiest in the league. With Jimmy Garoppolo back after suffering a torn ACL last season and the team’s commitment to the ground game, the Niners began the year looking pretty close to unstoppable. When they brought in Garoppolo from New England, it was for moments like these. A win today would cement his status among the game’s best.
Their defense was able to create pressure thanks to a rotating crew of down linemen and the addition of second overall pick Nick Bosa made them even stronger in the front seven. A few injuries slowed them down towards the end of the season but entering today’s game all the big names have been able to return to the field of play and this group is looking to capitalize on that.
Meanwhile, Rodgers is hoping to do enough to remind the football world at large that he still is one of the best players at his position. After making his first Super Bowl in his third season as a starter, the expectations were that Rodgers would be in many more in the future, yet the team has fallen short in multiple NFC championship games in recent years. He will take his team on the road today in hopes of making it back for the first time since 2010.
Things are a bit different this time around, the team has paired him with a steady run game as Aaron Jones has had a season worthy of being selected to the Pro Bowl. Jones can hurt opponents on the ground and as a receiver. Establishing the run will take the pressure off of Rodgers and also force the vaunted 49ers pass rush to play a bit more hesitantly.
Even still, last week’s win over the Seattle Seahawks was orchestrated by Rodgers and his ability to find Davante Adams during the game’s biggest moments.
If the Packers defense can force Garoppolo and San Francisco into some turnovers they have the ability to take full advantage of it offensively. Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith will look to bring pressure from the edge like they’ve been most of the season and Jaire Alexander will look to serve as a lockdown corner. While we as fans love to see points scored and quarterbacks sling it across the field, this game will be determined by the two defenses.
PREDICTION: PACKERS 24 , 49ers 21
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