Final Four Set For Championship Weekend!

  Super Bowl is easily the biggest game of the year. However, one could argue that better football is played two weeks prior to Super Bowl, in the championship round. Four teams battle it out for a chance to compete in the big game on Super Sunday. The conference championship weekend has witnessed one of the greatest games in NFL history. The 1994 matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys was a memorable game in which, Steve Young and the 49ers finally broke through against the powerful Cowboys of the 90s. Then we have the 1998 NFC championship game between the Minnesota Vikings with their high offense against the Atlanta Falcons, who were the big underdogs in that matchup. Vikings were supposed to dominate the Falcons and cruise to the Super Bowl game. That didn't happen but something else happened. Gary Anderson, one of the best kickers in the league, missed a very important kick late in the game to seal the deal. Falcons took advantage of it, came right back by tying the game, and ended up winning it in overtime. In the 2006 AFC championship game, we saw Peyton Manning led Indianapolis Colts beating the mighty New England Patriots after most of the game was thoroughly dominated by the Patriots. For most of the game, it seemed like that the Patriots were going to win the game easily, as they took a 21-6 lead going into halftime. Couple reasons why everyone thought that the Pats were going to win the AFC title game was because, they had beaten the Colts in the playoffs couple times in the five seasons prior to the 2006 season, and they were all shocked with how the Pats defense, held the Colts to only two field goals going into halftime. Then Peyton Manning just took over the game and amazed the whole world. We have seen many shockers and change of powers in the championship games. Are we going to see an end of a dynasty this year? Are we going to see the Vikings win convincingly and get themselves ready to become the first team ever to host a Super Bowl game? Or we are just going to see the same results with teams hosting the game, win at their home-turfs just like we have seen for the past four seasons from 2013-2016?

  This Sunday for the championship round, AFC title game is scheduled at 3:05 PM ET and the NFC title game is scheduled at 6:40 PM ET. Since the AFC title game between, New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars is going to be the first game played on Sunday, I will start off with my thoughts on the two remaining AFC teams. This game is going to be entertaining. Most of us were looking for a rematch of last year's AFC title game, between the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers, and I can't blame any football fan for wanting that game. Tom Brady and the Patriots have always had the Steelers number, as Brady is 11-2 overall against the Steelers. Two of Brady's eleven wins include, last year's AFC championship game in which, the Pats won 36-17, and this years most highly anticipated regular season game in week 15. The week 15 matchup between the two AFC's powerhouses at Heinz Field, was for the number one seed. Steelers had a better record coming into the game with 11-2, and the Pats were 10-3 at the time. A lot of non-patriot football fans wanted the Steelers to win and take back AFC from the Pats. That didn't exactly happen. Tom Brady and the Patriots ended up beating the Steelers by scoring a touchdown and a two-point conversion in their final offensive possession of the game, and by stopping the Steelers from scoring in their final offensive possession of the game. Some fans are still unhappy with how the game ended, as they think the Steelers were robbed. Those of you who are still salty about that call from the refs and after it was confirmed by the leagues' headquarters in New York, I am requesting you humbly to move on and admit that call was right. If you can read and understand the rules, then you know that the refs got that call absolutely right! After that play, Steelers offense had two more chances to get into the end-zone to take the lead. They failed to do so, as Big Ben's fake spike-pass was intercepted. Pats won again by making more plays than the Steelers, down the stretch. Small little details could have a huge outcome in the game. So that lost was a crusher to the Steelers, as it pushed them down to number two seed, and helped the Pats get the number one seed. It didn't seal the number one seed for the Pats. They still needed to win their remaining two games, or just win as many as the Steelers do before the season ends. Pats easily won their last two games of the season and clinched the number one seed.

  Since the Patriots didn't finish second and the Steelers did, Steelers had to play the number three seed, if the three seed won their matchup in the wild-card round. The number three seed going into the playoffs were the Jacksonville Jaguars, the team that gave the Pittsburgh Steelers their worst lost of the regular season. The Jags handed a 30-9 beat down to the Steelers in a week five matchup at Heinz-Field. Most of us didn't see a beat down like that coming for the Steelers anytime during the year from a team, that wasn't the New England Patriots. With that win, Jaguars put themselves in the AFC map and proved us all, that they weren't the same team from the past seasons. However, that result of that game wasn't just a good thing for the Jaguars only. The result of that matchup turned out to be a blessing for the Steelers, as it helped them get right back on track by winning their next eight games in a row. Steelers winning streak had almost everyone believe that they were the best team in the AFC and they would certainly beat the Jags, if they meet again during the season, but this time in the playoffs. Lord behold, the two team were scheduled to meet on Sunday, January 14th of 2018. The last second defeat which the Pittsburgh Steelers suffered at the hands of the Patriots, took place because the Steelers didn't pay attention to small details late in the game. Everyone in the football world would think, that the Steelers would take a different approach in the game and would start paying attention to the smallest details in the game. Week leading up to their playoff matchup against the Jags, the Steelers started looking ahead! They thought they would beat the Jaguars at home easily, and then they will square off against the Patriots in the championship game, just like they did last year. One of the Steelers player, safety Mike Mitchell gave his thoughts to Sports Illustrated on playing the Pats for the AFC title game. He said, "We can play them in hell, we can play them in Haiti, we can play them in New England. ... We're gonna win." All this talk gave more fuel to the Jags to play and beat the Steelers in the divisional round. Boy, did Jags beat them. Final score would indicate that the Jags, escaped against the Steelers with a three point win, but those who say the game, they would say Jaguars wanted that game more than the Steelers. They started off hot, took a 28-7 lead with 2:33 left in the second quarter. At that point, the Jags had built a big lead and lowered their intensity a bit. Lowering their intensity allowed the Steelers to get back into the game. However, there is no denying the way Jaguars took a twenty-one point lead late in the first half of the game, made it seem like that the game was just over. The game turned out to be very entertaining, but Jags were able to hold off the Steelers and win the game.

 

  What the Jags pulled off at Heinz Field, in the divisional round was amazing. But, they are not going to repeat such a performance in Foxborough this Sunday. The Patriots are not the Pittsburgh Steelers. Patriots listen, read, and follow the smallest details in the game. Their defense might not be the best defense in the league, but they are pretty decent. Pats defense allow a lot of yards in a game, but they don't give that many points, as they finished 5th in scoring defense. Yes, Steelers finished only two spots down the Pats in scoring defense, but Patriots coaching staff had the team finish top five in scoring without as a good of a personnel as the Steelers. Also, the Pats defense were without their leader, Dont'a Hightower for most of the year. The Patriots didn't play the Jaguars in the regular season this year, but all the experts and the NFL people know that they are studying the Jags offense and defense. In the game, the Patriots will do their best to take away the Jaguars' star running back Leonard Fournette and will put the game in the hands of quarterback, Blake Bortles to win it. There are going to be times when Blake Bortles will make couple big plays in the game. However, there are going to be times when he will make one or two of those throws, that would result into turnovers and Pats offense will get short-field to work with it. Tom Brady has struggled against great defenses in the playoffs, especially in the AFC championship game, but most of his struggles came on road or on neutral sites (which is away from home, so a game on a neutral site is also considered a road game). Another point which is a concern for the Patriots in this game is, that they are going up against a team led by Tom Coughlin, the man who beat Brady-Belichick led Patriots team in the Super Bowl, twice. Coughlin isn't the head coach of the Jaguars but he is there in Jacksonville, put the team together, and will be guiding the coaches and players what to do against the Patriots' offense and defense. But then again, he is playing against the Patriots in Foxborough for the championship game, which means, the stadium will be really loud, when the Jags offense will be on the field. Another factor, that Coughlin's Jaguars will be dealing with in this game, is a healthy Rob Gronkowski. This tight end is the most dominant force in the game of football. Maybe the most dominant ever! Remember, the second time Coughlin's New York Giants beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl was when Gronk wasn't fully healthy and was in his second year in the league. So now Gronk is healthy, more experienced, and has a great chemistry with Tom Brady. Jags can put their best cover man or two men on Gronk, but it will open up space for Brandin Cooks, Danny Amendola, Chris Hogan, and the running backs coming off the backfield. Jaguars have a great defense, which is a very good recipe to beat a Tom Brady led Patriots team, and they have a great overall team. But, they are going against a very good offense, with too many weapons, a well-coached defense, a special team that is very opportunistic, and a team that is led by the greatest of all time, Tom Brady. Yes, he has lost to good defenses before, but he has beaten great defenses too. Plus, he has been to this stage several times before and he has seen almost every single defense in the game of football. Also those of you who are saying that Blake Bortles is just as good (or bad) as Eli was in his fourth season, you are wrong. The two quarterbacks have thrown almost the same number of picks in their first four seasons in the NFL but remember, the league from 2003-07 wasn't as offensive friendly as it has been from 2014 to today. To be as bad as Bortles is in today's football, is not going to win you a football game against the Patriots. The game will be tough and competitive, but Brady and the Pats will come on top late in third quarter and will hold onto their lead in the fourth quarter. I predict the Pats winning somewhere around the score 27-20.

 

When a team pulls off a miracle in a do or die situation and wins the game, the confidence of that team goes all the way up. The game between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints was easily the best game of the year. It was better than the Titans and Chiefs game from the wildcard round. It was better than the Steelers and Patriots game at Heinz Field in week 15. It was better than the Steelers and Jags game from the divisional round. You could also say, that it was better than the Falcons and Patriots game, from last year's Super Bowl. Why? Because Super Bowl 51 had two sequels. The first one was dominated by the Falcons, then in the second one, Patriots offense stormed back in the game and tied it at 28, after trailing 28-3 midway into the third quarter. The game ended with Patriots winning it in overtime. For the game between the Vikings and the Saints last weekend, it did start off the same way as Patriots and Falcons Super Bowl game. Vikings took a seventeen point lead in the first half and completely dominated it. The game seemed over at halftime. Drew Brees, the quarterback of the Saints, threw two picks and had a passer rating of less than forty. Brees turning the ball over, failing to complete the passes that he normally does, run game of Ingram and Kamara going nowhere, defense of the Vikings playing at a high level like they did all of the regular season, and home crowd getting louder and louder as game went on, who wouldn't think that the game was over? Drew Brees didn't think the game was over! In the second half, he started playing like a first-ballot hall of famer, that he will be one day for sure, or you could say he played like a true superhero. His passer rating went up, completion percentage went up, didn't make any throws that got intercepted, and did everything to win the game. In the fourth quarter, the two teams played really hard and made all the necessary plays to win the game. Lead between the two teams changed at least four times, late in the fourth quarter. So late in the game, Drew Brees and the offense got the ball, trailing 21-23, with a minute and twenty-nine seconds left. That's a lot of time for Drew Brees to lead his offense down the field goal range, then have his kicker come onto the field, and hit the game winning kick to advance to the next round of the playoffs. Well he did all that, but the Saints left twenty-five seconds on the clock. It isn't a lot of time for a quarterback like Case Keenum and an offense which isn't as explosive as the Steelers, Patriots, or the Saints. However, they still have a chance and all they needed was to get at least 35 to 40 yards to get into field goal range. A team could get 35 to 40 yards with two to three good throws and then have enough time for attempting a field goal. Vikings just didn't have twenty-five seconds to get to field goal range, they also had one timeout remaining. Other than the false start on the first play of the drive, the Vikings executed their final drive perfectly to get into the field goal territory. But they didn't get a field goal. They got more! Case Keenum on the fourth play of the drive, made a perfect throw to get into the field goal. Fortunately for the Vikings, the Saints rookie safety, Marcus Williams had a missed tackle on the receiver Stephon Diggs, who took it 61 yards for the game winning touchdown. Can't ask for a more fun way to win the game. It was really a miracle for the Minnesota Vikings. Wish I was in Minneapolis to witness that game live. I predicted the Saints to win against the Vikings and then in the NFC Championship game, against the winner of the Falcons and the Eagles before heading to the Super Bowl to represent NFC. Well, if the game was played for 59 minutes and 35 seconds instead of sixty minutes, my prediction would have been good for the divisional round. That's why coaches emphasize so much to their players, to play hard for all sixty minutes. Don't go easy for even one second in the game.

 
  A week ago, I picked the Saints to beat the Vikings and the Falcons to beat the Eagles. Both of my picks went wrong, as the Vikings defeated the Saints with a walk-off touchdown and the Eagles beat the Falcons with a less minute defensive stop in the end-zone. Now this weekend, for the NFC crown, the Vikings and the Eagles will square off against one another at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Vikings are favored to win the game as they should be since, they are the better team with a better coach. Not saying Doug Pederson isn't a good coach, but he's not on Mike Zimmer's level yet. Mike Zimmer is one of those coaches who has no-nonsense approach in the game. He wants his players to be disciplined and be fully locked in the game they play or they are about to play. In terms of roster and how the players play on the field, Vikings are better than the Eagles in most aspects of the game. The Eagles have a good defense, so does the Vikings. Eagles have a great combination of running backs with Legarrette Blount, Jay Ajayi, and Corey Clement. We could say they are better than what the Vikings have to offer at that position, but Latavius Murray and Jerick Mckinnon could move the ball and help out Case Keenum on play-action. Eagles definitely have playmakers for the passing attack with Alshon Jeffery, Torrey Smith, Nelson Aghlor, and Zach Ertz, but then the Vikings on the other side, have explosive playmakers of their own. Stephon Diggs, Adam Thielen, and Kyle Rudolph can flat-out ball and beat coverages of the opposing defense. The big boys up front for the Eagles offensive line are really good. It's sad that Jason Peters has been out for a while. If he was playing in this game, the Vikings defense would have a hard time to pressure the Eagles quarterback and slow down their run game. The Vikings offensive line might not be great, but its pretty decent. According to some experts they have a top-five offensive line and according to the most, they have a top-ten offensive line. So whose going to win the game? I said the Vikings are a better team with a better coach so I'm going with them. That's not the only reason why I believe they are going to win. The Eagles will be playing against the best defense in the game without their starting quarterback. Granted they were without their starting quarterback last week in their win against the Falcons, but the Falcons had a mediocre defense all season long. The Vikings' defense finished the season number one in scoring and total yards allowed. Remember how I mentioned that the Patriots' defense don't allow too many points to their opponents but do allow them to move the ball a whole lot? The Vikings' defense don't allow their opponents to score and even move the ball. They could really make it a hard day for one of the best quarterbacks in the game. Imagine what they are going to do to Nick Foles? Yes Foles does have experience and has played a lot of games, but he isn't as good as he was couple years ago, when he was the premier starting quarterback of the Eagles in Chip Kelly's offense. The game could get really ugly for Foles. He will turn the ball over and might miss more open receivers than he did against the Falcons. On the other hand, Case Keenum might not play as well as he has played all season long, but he doesn't need to play that good. All he needs to do is protect the ball and make good decisions with it. Keenum should be aware of how good his defense is and should rely on them to set the tone for the game. I don't expect this game to be a high-scoring game. It could still be entertaining. There are going to be a whole lot of sacks, hard-tackles, great flashy plays on special teams, and one or two big plays on offense, which would be enough to decide the game. I believe the Vikings will win this game 14-9. If you like points and high-flying offenses, I suggest you to don't watch this game with such expectations.

  Only two games to be played this weekend. Then one more will be played, three weeks from now. Fans of football are sad that the season went by so quick. On the other end, we are all excited for the matchups this weekend, though I would have preferred the Falcons instead of the Eagles, to take on the Vikings for the NFC championship. Still, Vikings and Eagles is going to be fun and the matchup between Patriots and Jaguars will be one of the greatest AFC championship games of the modern era. Expect anything this Sunday. All of the four teams are playing for a shot to play in the Super Bowl and win it!