By Brandon Murdock
Starting with Saturday's slate of games:
Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens 4:30 P.M.
This is my upset pick of the week. Nothing is scarier for a top seed (Ravens) than a young and fired-up football team in January. That is exactly what the Texans are as they are coming off a 45-14 victory over the Cleveland Browns in the wild-card round. CJ Stroud answered any questions in that game, and mix that in with the Ravens missing their top corner for tomorrow, Marlon Humphrey, and the uncertainty of tight end Mark Andrews, the Ravens could be in trouble. MVP front-runner Lamar Jackson will have to be on top of his game, which has eluded him so far in his career during the playoffs. All in all, the Texans go into Baltimore and shock the Ravens.
Green Bay Packers vs. San Francisco 49ers 8:15 P.M.
The Packers shocked the world last week with their impressive performance in Jerry's World. However, I think the fairy tale ends in Santa Clara as the 49ers, who in my opinion are the best team in football, have too much talent and will overwhelm Jordan Love and the Packers. Love was fantastic last week (16/21 272 yards and three touchdowns) and I think his play could carry over in this one, but Brock Purdy may put up even better stats with the receiving core he has around him. The 49ers will win this one-handedly.
Now the Sunday games:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Detroit Lions 3:00 P.M.
Both teams are coming off emotional wins for different reasons. If you’re the Bucs, they just beat the defending NFC champs and are proving to the world that they belong. The Lions are coming off their first win in 32 years and beat the best QB in their franchise history, Matt Stafford. I have a tough time seeing the Buccaneers going into Detroit and keeping up with the high-powered offense that the Lions possess. Baker Mayfield has played well throughout the season, but I see him being a bit of a turnover machine on Sunday and the Lions will capitalize. Detroit's dream season rolls on to the NFC title game with a date with the 49ers.
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Buffalo Bills 6:30 P.M.
Both teams are coming off historically cold games in the wild-card round, Sunday's game is not supposed to be any better from a cold perspective as the Bills are already requesting for fans to help shovel out the stadium. These teams know each other very well as they have played each other three times in the Pat Mahomes-Josh Allen era, splitting three-a-piece. However, Allen has never beaten Mahomes in the playoffs, (0-2) but for the first time in the rivalry, the playoff game will be held in Western New York. Mahomes is also making the first playoff start of his career on the road in this one. Rashee Rice has been stepping up and we know what Travis Kelce can do. The Bills on the other hand are dealing with loads of injuries on the defensive side. Also, although Allen has been playing very well over the past six weeks, I think he finally breaks and reverts to turning over the ball. All in all, I think the Chiefs go into Buffalo to take this one and return to the AFC title game.
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