Here are my picks for the Championship Round of the 2018-19 NFL Playoffs.
NFC Championship Game
(2) Los Angeles Rams vs (1) New Orleans Saints- 3:00, FOX: These two teams met earlier in the season in the same venue in a high scoring affair. The Rams are coming off an impressive Divisional Round home win over the Dallas Cowboys led by their rushing attack duo of Todd Gurley and CJ Anderson. The Saints are coming off a Divisional Round home win over the Philadelphia Eagles in which not only they trailed 14-0 in, but could have lost the game if Alshon Jeffery didn't let the ball slip from his hands that led to the game sealing interception. The Saints offense showed signs of it's self in the second half of last weekends game and they suffered a big injury with the loss of defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, so expect the Rams running backs to have success again. The Rams defense as a whole is healthy with Aqib Talib back in the secondary, meanwhile Michael Thomas is a beast and seems to catch everything that comes his way. That said, Drew Brees and Sean Payton are undefeated at the Superdome in playoff games and I do expect the Saints to find away to win.
Prediction: New Orleans 27, LA Rams 23.
AFC Championship Game
(2) New England Patriots vs (1) Kansas City Chiefs- 6:30, CBS: These two teams also met in the regular season and it was a classic of a game in which the Patriots won in their home building. The Patriots are coming off an impressive Divisional Round home win over the Los Angeles Chargers in which the final score didn't replicate how dominant the Pats were. The Chiefs are coming off an impressive Divisional Round home win of their own too except over the Indianapolis Colts. The Patriots for the first time in a long time looked like the dominant team that many expected them to be this season against a quality playoff opponent, but we shall see how this translate against the MVP favorite in Patrick Mahomes that their defense has to face. The Chiefs defense surprisingly played very well against an offense in the Colts that was playing well heading into that game. My fear is that the Colts poor offensive showing has more to do with their inexperience in cold weather rather than the Chiefs defense playing lights out. That said, I do expect a shootout and I like the Chiefs led by Mahomes and that high powered offense in their home building despite Andy Reid's reputation as a "can't win the big game" coach.
Prediction: Kansas City 34, New England 27.
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