NFL PICKS AND SCORE PREDICTIONS

Next up: Championship Sunday! #NFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/rZFE11gwPg

— NFL (@NFL) January 18, 2021

 

Bucs vs Packers (-3)

 

This is going to be one of the best QB Conference Championship matchups the NFL has ever seen. Aaron Rodgers just faced one to the best defences in football this year and he threw for close to 300 yards, two touchdowns and a rating close to 110, while averaging over 8 yards per attempt. If he can do that to The Rams then who is going to slow him down?

 

Well, The Bucs defense might not have put up the kind of numbers the Rams did this year, but they absolutely balled out last week against the Saints. Their regular season numbers weren’t great against the pass. But when they faced Rodgers earlier this year they held him to his lowest passer rating of the year. So they seem to be able to come up big against some of the best QB’s in the league. In turn The Bucs also did a number on Davante Adams, 10 targets and only 6 catches for just over 60 yards. But can they pull that off twice?

 

Rodgers has options on his team to throw to, home field advantage, the mojo of football's Mecca, on his side, and as he was embarrassed in Tampa the one time the two teams played this year, Sunday will be time for some payback.

 

Score Prediction: Packers 27, Bucs 23

 

Bills vs KC (-3)

 

The Bills are a game away from a return to the Super Bowl and it wasn’t the Allen to Diggs show that got them there, rather it was their defence that flexed their muscles in the most dramatic way possible. The Bills didn’t just dominate Lamar Jackson through the air but shut him down on the ground. What sticks out most about their showing against Lamar’s rushing skills is the fact that their run defense was supposed to be their undoing in that game, but they switched things up, which is vital in playoff football and won the game by stonewalling what had been one of the hottest offences down the stretch.

 

Patrick Mahomes was almost unstoppable last week before getting knocked out of the game with a concussion. Clearly the question this week is Mahomes’ status to play this Sunday. KC’s offence can’t expect to be itself without him. Mahomes has been cleared to play after passing concussion protocol, but the Chiefs haven't been knocking down foes the way they had the last two seasons. Still, it seems the Chiefs have too much talent throwing, catching, and blocking, and arguably the best play-caller in the sport to suffer some letdown this close to the Super Bowl. The Chiefs just have too many weapons and ways to score for Buffalo to stop them.

 

Score Prediction: Chiefs 31, Bills 23