Dwelling staff in Caps:
TITANS (-3.5) over Bengals
Many veteran NFL followers rave concerning the degree of competitors and the sheer amount of gridiron expertise on show on this, the divisional spherical — although the annual shock issue tends to be appreciable, provided that the week off granted to these having fun with the highest seeds is a combined blessing. The return of top-drawer operating again Derrick Henry lends an additional marked expertise benefit to the homestanding Titans, and there’s scant debate concerning the id of the more than likely winner.
The marketplace, nevertheless, confirms that this matchup might not essentially generate the cut-and-dried outcome anticipated by some. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, the previous LSU signal-caller, has matched all affordable expectations creating earlier than the eyes of even essentially the most hypercritical members of the NFL’s subtle witnesses. Now, with primarily the majority of two full seasons of improvement in his muscle mass and reminiscence financial institution, Burrow has already given each affordable expectation that he has additional important upside to be explored.
The stress utilized to this case now rests squarely on the shoulders of Titans QB Ryan Tannehill. We’ve lengthy been followers of Tannehill’s broad talents, going again to his collegiate days — however we’ve sometimes seen Tannehill ship extra satisfying performances when he has been solid within the underdog position. Sooooo … this figures to be shut.
Titans, 33-28.
PACKERS (-5.5) over 49ers
Right here’s a aggressive scenario which possible must be dealt with otherwise than the Titans-Bengals instance. 49ers area chief Jimmy Garoppolo has crushed Aaron Rodgers in two of their three conferences — however beneath the possible circumstances Saturday, am compelled to present a big nod to the franchise primarily based in Wisconsin.
In a clear-cut attain for the Saturday-night NFL postseason viewers, the league went all-out for the spectacle of playoff motion contested in excessive, testing situations, with kickoff temps within the teenagers, then trending decrease as the sport develops. Particularly blessed with what has lengthy been a superior supporting solid, Rodgers and associates have confirmed their high quality and price, often reaching deep into the postseason construction. Rodgers has managed to seize however a single Tremendous Bowl, however his frequent forays into late January have been indeniable.
The bodily info can't be construed as something resembling a bonus for Garoppolo, who continues to build up nagging accidents which make for accumulating ranges of vulnerability for the visiting facet. That doesn't essentially make victory for the visiting facet not possible to realize, however the divisional spherical has by no means been designed to make issues simpler for these groups not sleeping in their very own beds, and this looms no completely different. It’s powerful to battle the weather and win, and we received’t stick our necks out, right here.
Packers, 27-14.
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