That was unfortunate.
It’s one thing to miss on some picks, but it’s another level of frustration when not a single game went in our direction. But even that wasn’t the “unfortunate” part of last weekend.
The playoff games we just watched were bad. Objectively lacking fun and drama. In continuing with the theme that “I was wrong last week,” I even filled the introduction with how excited I was to watch the Divisional Round because the matchups were so great. Other than the gorgeous visuals of the snow in Buffalo — and make no mistake about it, I am always romantic about a football game in the snow — there was simply nothing worth watching.
I will remain optimistic that we have a different experience on Sunday and, with a trip to the Super Bowl at-stake, I would like to think that we have competitive games in both Conference Championships. The opening spreads seem to suggest as much, and it is almost to the point where the number is rendered meaningless. All that matters is winning the game and advancing to the Super Bowl.
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. Spread is listed as advertised number and odds at either DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook, Caesars Sportsbook, or SugarHouse Sportsbook. All efforts were made to provide picks at -110 or better, with some stretching to a -125 if no reasonable advertised spread was found.
*Confidence Picks – 2022 Season: 54-54-5 (Last Week: 0-2)
(2021 Season: 55-50) (2020 Season: 53-42-3) (2019 Season: 57-43-3) (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) (8-Year Total: 464-389-21)
All Picks Against Spread – 2022 Season: 141-131-9 (Last Week: 0-4)
(2021 Season: 158-126-2) (2020 Season: 132-128-7) (2019 Season: 142-118-7) (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) (8-Year Total: 1121-976-58)
San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles
Something has to give. It’s as simple as that. For months, I have written about both the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles regressing individually, and the two teams will now meet in the NFC Championship Game to force one of them to lose.
The obvious question to ask is, “Which one?” But the trickier problem is where to start. Do we look at the teams’ overall rankings, where both sit in the top-eight — most are actually in the top-four — for every key category we follow? Or do we compare the quarterbacks to the defenses they will face or second-half stretch of both teams?
None of the above.