NFL Divisional Round Preview

Head coaching changes galore! The Cleveland Browns have dumped Mike Pettine for Bengals OC Hue Jackson and the departure of Johnny Manziel is now imminent. Jackson went 8-8 in one year as the head coach in Oakland and will likely turn that whole Browns roster upside down but, that still likely won't result in wins because it is still Cleveland and these are still the Browns. In Miami, Dan Campbell's interim experience was alright but not too different from the Joe Philbin era. As a result, Campbell is gone and in steps Bears OC Adam Gase, who slightly redeemed Jay Cutler this season and should be a huge get for players like Ryan Tannehill, Lamar Miller (if he stays), Jay Ajayi and Devante Parker. The Giants forced Tom Coughlin's resignation and promoted OC Ben McAdoo to head coach in a move that will only help them maintain some consistency on offense. Lastly, the 49ers hired Chip Kelly and with that mixture of poor ownership, a unique GM and a head coach with mixed reviews, San Francisco is set up for a wild couple of seasons now that Jim Tomsula has shaved off his mustache, rendering him useless. Tampa Bay promoted OC Dirk Koetter (yawn) and Philly hired former QB/Chiefs OC Doug Pederson (They really miss Andy Reid). One opening remains in Tennessee and Josh McDaniels is likely the favorite to replace Mike Mularkey to wrap up the coaching carousel for 2016.

On to the second round!...

Chiefs 23 - Patriots 20

Denny Medley, USA TODAY Sports
Much of this result is dependent on the health of Linebacker Justin Houston.

 I realize that I'm cheating by both picking the Patriots to make the Super Bowl in the preseason and taking Kansas City this weekend but, a ton of things have changed since August and even with Jeremy Maclin listed as a game-time decision, this is still a very similar Chiefs team to the one that dismantled the Patriots early last season (they didn't even have Maclin) and the Patriots are way more dinged up than KC even with the week of rest (Edelman's not 100%, Amendola hasn't been 100% in years, Blount is out, Gronk just had his knee looked at, etc.). With all of that said though, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are still at the tops of their games and this match-up does not take place at Arrowhead so, like nearly every game this weekend, I could totally see this game going either way. Kansas City just feels like a team bound to lose in the Super Bowl after last week's humiliation of Houston.

Packers 27 - Cardinals 23

Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Why will James Jones be wearing a hoodie indoors in Arizona?

No matter what happens between Green Bay and Arizona, I feel pretty confident in stating that the final score will not be 38-8. After tanking the week 17 game versus Minnesota, the Packers looked like The Packers in their 35-18 win over Washington and though that could have been fluky, it's still blatantly obvious that this offense is in much better hands with Mike McCarthy calling plays instead of Tom Clements. Arizona has not changed at all since their 30-point victory over the Packers even though they suffered a 30-point loss to the Seahawks in a meaningless week 17 game. On pretty much every level, Arizona is the superior team right now. This game feels like a trap (Kansas City-Houston did too and look how that turned out) and between Arizona and Carolina, something has to break up the perfect 1 versus 2 conference championship. Screw it, I'll stick with my preseason Super Bowl pick and reluctantly take the Packers.

Seahawks 19 - Panthers 17

Otto Greule Jr./Getty Images
Cam Newton is a totally different beast than Teddy Bridgewater

In a match-up that is always close, Carolina and Seattle are two of the more entertaining teams in the league and have begun a sort of rivalry against each other. In the battle of two MVP candidates, it's basically a draw at every single position besides Running Back where the injured-yet-active Marshawn Lynch has a clear advantage over Jonathan Stewart despite the long absence this year. All the way back in week five, Carolina won this game 27-23 back when Tight Ends were Seattle's kryptonite. While these teams have not been altered drastically since October, Carolina did just lose veteran Cornerback Charles "Peanut" Tillman to a Torn ACL. This game is such a toss-up (despite the fluke lucky win by Seattle in the wildcard round) that it might come down to a freak injury or which player is least ready for the spotlight (Cortland Finnegan). 

Steelers 20 - Broncos 13

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
With Antonio Brown injured, Martavis Bryant needs to step up in a major way.

I'm just calling all of the upsets and hoping that one will happen but, this game is going to be a toss-up as one of the worst second round games ever televised. Just take a look at the inactives and weep to yourself accordingly as we all know no matter what, everybody is watching this game come late-afternoon Sunday. Fitzgerald Toussaint and Jordan Todman did a surprisingly respectable job against Cincy's defense in last week's 18-16 upset but, now Antonio Brown (the best receiver in the NFL) is OUT and Ben Roethlisberger's arm is one awkward hit away from falling off. It would seem like a totally bold prediction to take Pittsburgh minus half their offense and with a weak defense but, Denver's defense has not quite lived up to their early-season hype and Gary Kubiak made the idiotic decision to throw zombie Peyton Manning back out there and this pick is more of a confidence-in-Peyton-blowing-it pick. The winner of this game is not going to the Super Bowl. Good lord, I hope not.

Enjoy the divisional round and don't blame me for correctly predicting your team's elimination!