Wildcard Weekend was great week for me pick wise. I went 6-0 and my Super Bowl picks are still in tact. Yes, I know I picked a rematch (KC vs TB) but I maintain this Super Bowl matchup is still possible and that these two teams will ultimately prevail in a few weeks. Now, lets hope this doesn’t bite me in the ass.
You know what didn’t bite me in the ass? Picking the Bengals to make the playoffs back in the summer and picking them to end their playoff drought last week. They were my “noise maker” picks of the season and despite being called crazy I still rolled with the Bengals all year. So far it’s worked out nicely for me. So nice in fact I am anointing myself the Queen of 3rd & 3 Podcast Predictions. Ya know, just like the media and Cowboys fans anoint them as Super Bowl Champions in July. So apparently declaring yourself King or Queen of something is allowed in the sports world.
If you can’t beat em join em. Gladly.
Divisional Weekend will be here before we know it and of all the matchups to preview I am so glad my co-hosts let me take Bengals vs Titans because this is going to be a wild matchup. Mostly because I think it’s so unbalanced that it’s bound to be an entertaining game and a tough one to pick.
When it doubt – list it out
This match up clashes – Titans are run heavy Bengals are more balanced
Titans ranks 2nd in the NFL in run defense this season
Bengal’s CANNOT abandon the run early – try to keep Titans defense honest right?
Titans are 2-3 all time in home playoff games
Titans can easily have a random bad game & fall apart
Then again the Titans can have an absolute monster of a game
Titans can be so up and down
Obviously these big moments aren’t too much for Burrow (unlike Jimmy G)
This is gonna come down to the Burrow-Chase connection isn’t it?
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor likes to be aggressive but I think needs to pick his spots in this one
Mike Vrabel always wins off the bye
Titans are 4-0 off the bye and they have won those games by an average of 20.5 pts
But are the Titans an overrated 1 seed?
Speaking of overrated – is there any team more overrated than the Cowboys? No. Argue with the wall
** takes break to re-watch the last 14 seconds of the Dallas /Niners game ** laughs uncontrollably
Cowboys fans need to realize that we all think they are obnoxious because they haven’t done anything in the last 25 years yet they act like they have – ANYWAY
Bengals are hot right now
Lets not forget the Titans are probably getting Derrick Henry back
Bengals defensive line is pretty banged up from this past weekend & I don't know how effective they will be at stopping the beast that is Derrick Henry
Then again – Henry hasn’t played since Oct. Will he be 100%?
Bengals have a high powered offense so even if Derrick Henry runs all over them that doesn’t mean the Bengals lose
I like Bengals odds if this game becomes a shootout – Titans gave up more than 245 pass yards per game and offensively I don't think the Titans can keep up in a shootout
Titans are a bottom 10 pass defense
Bengals have NEVER won a road playoff game in franchise history
I expect Burrow and Chase will get going early much like they did against the Raiders
Titans will HAVE TO keep Burrow off the field
Five Thirty Eight is giving the Titans a 66% chance to win
The Titans don’t really make mistakes
The Titans are the better coached team
The Titans should win this game
Tannehill is a game manager
Burrow is a game changer
The ending of the drought continues! CIN 27 TEN 24
Look, picking games in the post season is never easy. Unless you are picking a game like the Bucs vs Eagles. Generally, I do like to give respect for the teams in the post season (well some teams) because the post season is literally a different ball game. Wildcard Weekend went about as expected for the most part but as we all know, it just takes one mistake at the wrong (or right) time and the entire game goes haywire.
As we have all seen, the post season has brought us some amazing moments in sports history. While it seems easy to just pick the Titans because are they are the better team on paper there are some underdogs you just don't want to underestimate. And the Bengals are one of them.
I do think an upset will happen this weekend its just a matter of picking the one that’s most likely to happen. For me, I like the Bengals here to pull it off. Call me crazy. I’ve been called worse.