Rams at Saints
Future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees is one game away from taking the New Orleans Saints back to the Super Bowl…the only impediment is the Los Angeles Rams who surprisingly and not so surprisingly walked through the Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional Round. The Rams ability to score wasn’t surprising as they’ve had a fairly prolific offense all season. What was surprising was the way they moved Dallas’ defense around with ease and seemingly fixed their inability to stop the run themselves; holding 2018 rushing champion Ezekiel Elliot to just 47 rushing yards on 20 attempts.
How much of Elliot’s containment can or should be attributed to the Rams defense or to the inability of now former Cowboys’ Offensive Coordinator Scott Linehan to adjust on the fly and not call dive plays at the strength of the Rams defense…is still up for debate. This Rams defense will have their hands full come Sunday as Brees leads a plethora of weapons onto the field Sunday afternoon. Coming off a huge performance last week against the Philadelphia Eagles, wide receiver Michael Thomas (12 catches, 171 yards, and one touchdown), is looking to have another big outing against a Rams secondary that he absolutely shredded back in Week 9 when he hauled in 12 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown.
Thomas isn’t the only threat that Los Angeles needs to be worried about. The Saints boast a pretty formidable two-headed monster at the running back position between Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram; who together amassed 1,528 yards on the ground. It’s clear the Saints can beat teams both through the air amd on the ground.
The Rams aren’t going to just roll over for New Orleans…content to have just made the NFC Championship game. The Rams come into Sunday off of two huge rushing performances last weekend by Todd Gurley (16 attempts 115 yards, one touchdown) and C.J. Anderson (23 attempts 123 yards, two touchdowns); and are looking to have a repeat of the same this week. The resurgence of Anderson has surprised many people but not the Rams. He’s provided the much needed power out of the backfield which helped their run game look almost unstoppable versus Dallas. However, the creative play calling and energetic disposition of Coach Sean McVay has truly become the trademark of the Rams. And quarterback Jared Goff has fully embraced that mindset and flourished in his third year, as he had career highs in yards (4,688), touchdowns (32), and completion percentage (64.9%) this season.
The Rams have big play potential all over the field…but their starting wide receivers are legit. Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks both had breakout years both eclipsing 80 catches on the season and eclipsing the 1,200-yard mark with 1,219 and 1,204 respectively.
302SP feels the Rams are going to come to town seeking to exact revenge for their 45-35 loss in Week 9, but the Saints who have the seventh best takeaway differential (+8) and the second best run defense in the league (80 yards/game), as well as an assist with an insane amount of crowd noise will be just a little too much for them to handle.
302SP Prediction: Saints 31 Rams 27
Patriots at Chiefs
The AFC championship matchup has all the makings of an instant classic. On one end you have the seasoned veteran with an impeccable track record in the playoffs against the young gun, Patrick Mahomes, who has taken the league by storm and is considered by many as the 2018-19 league MVP.
Although the duo of Brady and Belichick have been here numerous times before and are yet again knocking on the door of another Super Bowl appearance, they find themselves in unfamiliar territory as 3-point underdogs. The situation is further compounded by the fact that Brady led Patriots have not been very good on the road in the playoffs during his tenure, compiling a record of 3-4 as the away team. This time around they will have to face the Chiefs #1 offense…in Arrowhead stadium. By many including players, one of the hardest places to play as the visiting opponent. But don’t expect this veteran team to back down in any way. Last week Brady showed once again he’s up to the task of fighting off “father time” as he lit up a very good Chargers team for 343 yards and one touchdown while completing 77.27% of his passes while having a 106.5 passer rating.
The Chiefs come into this game surging and looking to avenge a 43 to 40 loss to the Patriots at Gillette stadium. Patrick Mahomes has made some jaw dropping and downright amazing plays throughout the season, passing for 50 touchdowns along the way. And when many thought the loss of Kareem Hunt at running back would hinder the Chiefs, it has not hurt this offense one bit because they have playmakers at every position, including but not limited to, tight end Travis Kelce, who will look to continue being “Mr. Reliable” for Mahomes and catch just about everything thrown his way. Last week proved no different as Kelce caught seven out of ten passes (70%), for 108 yards.
We expect a high scoring affair, but we believe that the young Chiefs will have a solid game plan and spread the ball around, taking Andy Reid to his second Super Bowl as a head coach.
302SP Prediction: Chiefs 37, Patriots 30
302 Sports Perspective 