I’ve always been a big fan of the show, Survivor. My main reason, when asked, is that the drama almost always sorts itself out. The contestants decide the winner between themselves. No outside influence. No phone-in votes. Just, those who survived to this point get to crown a champion.
It’s no different in the National Football League, and it’s probably why I love the sport as much as I do. There are no long series – at the risk of sounding disingenuous, I love these, too – or committees to determine the combatants. It’s settled on the field. If the Tennessee Titans want recognition as one of the league’s top teams, they can earn it. Indeed, it involves going to New England and Baltimore in back-to-back weeks and winning both games. But, if the Titans want their due, they can have it.
There’s another similarity between the National Football League and Survivor. As the final vote is approaching, the last few contestants will usually have a dedicated moment to reflect on the combatants who have since been eliminated. It’s a time to recognize how difficult it was for the finalist to reach this point. And a moment to stop and listen to the lack of sounds. The absence of the frenzy.
Maybe the San Francisco 49ers or Kansas City Chiefs won’t go through a list of the teams from the West divisions and weep for their losses. I’m sure the Green Bay Packers won’t circle back to find Aaron Rodgers’ agent left on the side of the road. But, the four teams that remain will have the opportunity to breathe. Both now and if they win on Sunday.
We will do the same.
The frenzy has ended. No more digging through sixteen matchups on a given week or looking ahead to see possible storylines. There are three games left in the entire season. Each one will have its own spotlight. With that, we take a deep dive into the AFC and NFC Championship Games.
Below are predictions for each game against the spread. Spreads have been taken from various websites and are subject to change. The spread in parenthesis denotes the selected team. An asterisk denotes a confidence pick.
*Confidence Picks – 2019 Season: 57-42-3 (Last Week: 1-0)
(2018 Season: 63-48-4) (2017 Season: 53-48-4) (2016 Season: 53-67-3) (2015 Season: 69-45-2) (2014 Season: 61-46-2) (5-Year Total: 299-254-15)
All Picks Against Spread – 2019 Season: 141-116-7 (Last Week: 3-1)
(2018 Season: 137-118-12) (2017 Season: 137-119-11) (2016 Season: 123-136-8) (2015 Season: 143-117-7) (2014 Season: 149-114-4) (5-Year Total: 689-604-42)
Tennessee Titans at Kansas City Chiefs
The National Football League is fluid. As such, I like to look at teams over a two-week span to see where they are, where they started, and where we thought they’d be. It’s along the same lines as the always-popular, “We expected this to happen.”
I was probably the most optimistic in the industry regarding the Tennessee Titans and still, I can honestly admit that I would have been surprised to learn, in September, that the team would eventually play in the AFC Championship Game. That wasn’t “expected to happen,” even by me.
In the case of the Kansas City Chiefs, it was expected. But, not exactly.