2020 NFL Season

[moneygamelover]

Meanwhile the Browns set an NFL record for points in the 1st 1/4 of a playoff game with 28. The bad snap on the Steelers 1st play from scrimmage set the tone for the game and the Browns eventually built a 28-0 led. The Steelers closed the gap a bit but shot themselves in the foot by not going for it on 4th and 1 when the 4th 1/4 began. It's the first win of a playoff game for the Browns since the 1994 Browns beat the Patriots 20-13 in the Wild Card round. The Bills also getting off the snide leaves the Bengals to still have the longest drought having not won a playoff game since the 1990 season.

Quick picks for next week:

Packers over Rams.
Bills over Ravens.
Chiefs over Browns.
Buccaneers over Saints.

[Ccook]

Lines for the divisional rounds:

Saturday
Green Bay 7 over Rams (4:30 PM ET, Fox)
Buffalo 2.5 over Baltimore (8:15 PM ET, NBC)

Sunday
Kansas City 10 over Cleveland (3 PM ET, CBS)
New Orleans 3 over Tampa Bay (6:40 PM ET, Fox)

[SeaBreeze341]

Lines for the divisional rounds:

Saturday
Green Bay 7 over Rams (4:30 PM ET, Fox)
Buffalo 2.5 over Baltimore (8:15 PM ET, NBC)

Sunday
Kansas City 10 over Cleveland (3 PM ET, CBS)
New Orleans 3 over Tampa Bay (6:40 PM ET, Fox)

Chiefs -10?!  That is way too much.  Unless that should've read Chiefs -3 and then Saints -10.  The defending champion stuff is a little overrated.  The best QB may be on the field but he's not this year's best QB.

I know those aren't your lines, Ccook.  That's what Vegas has.  It's surprising to me, but when Vegas puts it out there, it's more spot on than not.

Packers -7 is accurate, whereas Bills -2.5 is on point though someone could've said Ravens -2.5 and that would be fair enough.

Speaking of Baltimore, hats off to them for finally getting payback on the Titans.  Mainly hats off to Lamar Jackson for finally getting his first playoff win.  Obviously he would like to obtain more than that, but at this point in his career, not having one is a problem, was a problem, and no longer is a problem.


Early picks for next weekend has me going opposite moneygamelover save for Green Bay.  To be clear, it's Packers, Ravens, Browns, and Saints.  The New Orleans/Tampa game is the toughest of the four to figure out.  Maybe I'll flip to the Bucs; I usually don't change my picks, but I don't usually pick this early either

[Ccook]

Cribbed the lines from the CBS Sports app. And yep, they have the Chiefs giving 10. O/U is 56.

[SeaBreeze341]

Sounds good, thank you.  The O/U isn’t easy to figure out.  On one hand, there could be a lot of points scored.  OTOH, maybe not given the fact that both teams, especially Cleveland, can make this game fly by real fast.  The Browns could have the ball for 9 minutes, score a TD, then 4 minutes in the same quarter before settling for a field goal.  But then the remaining two minutes is more than enough time to see Kansas City add 14 points themselves.

It’s more probable than not that the Chiefs will be playing the winner of the Buffalo/Baltimore game one week from Sunday (01/24/2020), but IMO, taking Cleveland and the points now looks great this morning than later on in the week.  In no way, shape, or form am I comparing the Steelers offense to the Chiefs offense.  Even the 2015-2016 Steelers offense pales in comparison to what Kansas City has.  However, Pittsburgh’s defense is better than the Chiefs defense (save for this past game), and the Browns are slated to get several people back, including their play caller, who is their HC.  If they can do what they did short handed without a normal week, they can do it again.  Whether they will or not will be made official on Sunday.

Maybe KC covers, at which point, I'd be wrong with my guess, but I would be surprised if it’s a complete blowout (not shocked though)

[Ccook]

Philly shows HC Doug Pederson the door.

[SeaBreeze341]

Doug Peterson had to go, but he is the victim of misfortune.  He went from winning a Super Bowl, to winning a playoff game the next year, to winning the division the year after that, and then to this year.  When you lose a locker room, there's nothing you can do about it.  However, several of those Eagles players need to get tossed out in addition to Peterson

[Ccook]

Meanwhile, former Falcons HC Dan Quinn is now the defensive coordinator for Dallas.

[Superballer]

Doug Peterson had to go, but he is the victim of misfortune.  He went from winning a Super Bowl, to winning a playoff game the next year, to winning the division the year after that, and then to this year.  When you lose a locker room, there's nothing you can do about it.  However, several of those Eagles players need to get tossed out in addition to Peterson

 

I concede it was necessary at this point, although not without a heavy heart and frustration given it seems every other world champion's allowed a decent period of dominance by fate.  Let us not forget the overarching shadow of too many injuries--which are of course beyond anyone's control--over the last 3 years that came into play.  As for roster changes, you won't have to worry about that with the team currently standing at well over next year's salary cap, so there will be people moving on.  Either way, best wishes to Jeffrey Lurie in hopefully finding the right replacement. 

[SeaBreeze341]

A couple of coaching vacancies taken care of over the past 24 hours, including the top story in Jacksonville as well as the spot for the New York Jets.  New York is going back to having a defensive minded coach so the fact that they might no longer have the rights to the top prospect might be the best thing for both parties

[JayC]

The Atlanta Falcons have filled their coaching vacancy as well, hiring Arthur Smith: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/30718750/arthur-smith-reaches-deal-become-atlanta-falcons-new-head-coach

[therealcu2010]

[bigblue999]

The Buffalo Bills are in the AFC title game for the first time since 1993.

[Ccook]

And meanwhile, Green Bay takes care of business against the Rams.

[Ccook]

Chiefs will host Buffalo next week. That line of 10 was a mite rich, wasn't it? And so was the O/U.