Enough of the small talk. It’s playoff time. Let’s get into it.

Saturday Games

No. 5 Las Vegas Raiders (10-7) at No. 4 Cincinnati Bengals (10-7) (4:30 p.m. EST)

Joe Shiesty and the boys are welcoming Derek Carr to his first ever playoff appearance. Carr and Burrow both had great seasons. Both quarterbacks finished in the top 10 in passing yards, Carr finishing fifth with 4,804 and Burrow finishing sixth with 4,611. They both threw the same amount of interceptions (14) but Burrow threw 11 more touchdowns (34). Both teams have very underrated defenses. The Bengals unit is headlined by Trey Hendrickson (14 sacks) and the fifth best run defense in the league. The Raiders are led by stout linebacker Denzel Perryman (sixth in the league in tackles) and edge rusher Maxx Crosby (fifth in the league in quarterback hits). There are two main keys to this game for me for each team.

In order for the Bengals to win their first playoff game since 1990 they will need to establish Joe Mixon’s presence and take that Raiders pass rush out of the game. Mixon is coming off a career year (1,205 yards and 13 touchdowns) and his success will help develop the play-action and big shots to Higgins or Chase. And protecting Joe Burrow is always the Bengals #1 priority, and eliminating the threat of Crosby and Yannick Ngakoue (10 sacks) will help with that.

In order for the Raiders to win their first playoff game since they went to the Super Bowl in 2002, they’ll need to eliminate the “big play” and feed Darren Waller. The Bengals have thrived this year off the “big play” and making Burrow & Co. beat them with mostly check downs. And Darren Waller is a top 3 tight end in the NFL and he’s virtually unstoppable. The Raiders offense succeeds off of Darren Waller and him only having four catches in his last two games is simply not good enough. He needs to see a lot of the ball if they want to have a chance.

However… It’s Joe Shiesty season.

Final Score: Bengals 33, Raiders 20

No. 6 New England Patriots (10-7) at No. 3 Buffalo Bills (11-6) (8 p.m. EST)

We meet again. The Patriots will be traveling to the frozen tundra known as Buffalo, New York to play the Bills for a third time this season. Of course we all remember the “two completion” game, but then the Bills came to Foxborough and handled business. This one right here is a big game for both teams. For the Patriots, it’ll show if they are really ready for the big stage with Mac Jones at the helm and for the Bills it will determine if last year’s AFC Championship run was real or not.

For the Patriots keys to success, I say the same thing every time we play the Bills. If we keep Josh Allen in the pocket and win the turnover battle, we will win the game. Josh Allen absolutely torched us last game getting return man Isaiah McKenzie his career high in receiving yards (125). If we pound the rock with Stevenson and Harris, while taking care of the ball, I have no doubt that we can walk out of Buffalo with a victory.

For the Bills to win, they need to pressure the hell out of Mac Jones and use Josh Allen in the run game. The Patriots always have trouble with containing Allen’s athleticism and his running threat will open the lane for Stefon Diggs or Emmanuel Sanders to have big games.

Got some BAD news for Buffalo:

Bill Belichick is in the danger zone. pic.twitter.com/CYdLTJPE1N

— Michael Hurley (@michaelFhurley) January 12, 2022

Danger Zone. A low of 1 degree Fahrenheit. I love it. LFG boys.

Final Score: Patriots 23, Bills 20

Sunday Games

No. 7 Philadelphia Eagles (9-8) at No. 2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (13-4) (1 p.m. EST)

The greatest quarterback of all time is back in the playoffs once again. The last time he played the Eagles in the playoffs was the 41-33 loss in Super Bowl LII. The Eagles have somehow crawled their way into the playoffs under first year head coach Nick Sirianni. And honestly, I’m impressed.

For the Eagles to pull off the massive upset they’ll need to do one thing. SACK TOM BRADY. In three of the four Buccaneers losses this year, Brady was sacked at least 3 times. He was never sacked more than two times in the 14 other games of the season. And this is a very hard task to do, since Brady is known for his rapid release and getting the ball out with short routes quickly.

For the Buccaneers to win they’ll need to establish the run with Leonard Fournette and slow down the Eagles rushing attack. The Bucs do have the third best rush defense in the league, and they’ll need it to slow down Jalen Hurts & Co. With Fournette coming back this week, Brady will be relying on him to open up the play-action game.

The loss of Chris Godwin was a big one, but Brady hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. I think the Buccaneers take this game, but don’t be surprised if the Eagles make it close.

Final Score: Buccaneers 30, Eagles 17

No. 6 San Francisco 49ers (10-7) at No. 3 Dallas Cowboys (12-5) (4:30 p.m. EST)

Both these teams missed out on the postseason last year due to massive injuries at several positions. Yet, here they are. The 49ers, after starting 6-6, finished the season on a 4-1 run with the only loss coming to the #1 seed Tennessee Titans. The Cowboys on the other hand, have also finished their season strong, winning five of their last six games (including two 50+ point games).

Everything is pointing towards Dallas in this game. Dak Prescott is having an incredible year, Ezekiel Elliott had a great year & Micah Parsons has exceeded expectation and then some. But, my gut feeling is telling me to take the 49ers for some reason. And that reason is simply two words.

Deebo Samuel.

Final Score: 49ers 28, Cowboys 24

No. 7 Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7-1) at No. 2 Kansas City Chiefs (12-5) (8:15 p.m. EST)

Ben Roethlisberger said it himself.

"We don’t have a chance, so let’s just go in and have fun."

—Ben Roethlisberger on the Steelers' playoff game vs. the Chiefs

(via @steelers) pic.twitter.com/ajZJkG0PSk

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 12, 2022

Chiefs win incoming. If the Steelers win, I’ll just have to look at them as a team of destiny.

Final Score: Chiefs 38, Steelers 16

Monday Game

No. 5 Arizona Cardinals (11-6) at No. 4 Los Angeles Rams (12-5) (8:15 p.m. EST)

The Arizona Cardinals are a weird team. They started the season with an incredible 7-0 and finished the year 4-6. However, we have to look at the positives with this team. The last time they played the Rams in LA they won comfortably with a score of 37-20. In that game the Cardinals forced two turnovers while not turning the ball themselves. Kyler Murray threw for 268 yards to go along with two touchdowns and the duo of Chase Edmunds and James Conner combined for 170 yards on the ground with two touchdowns. It’s very simple. To beat this Rams team you need to force Matthew Stafford to succumb to his Detroit Lions habits and turnover the ball while taking care of the rock yourself. The Cardinals need to run the ball against this stout run defense (ranked 6th) , but attack their 22nd ranked passing defense. Although the Rams have added some talent since that week 4 matchup (Odell Beckham Jr & Von Miller), the Cardinals are looking to get back former DPOY J.J. Watt. Even though the Cardinals will be without their star wideout DeAndre Hopkins I still have a gut feeling that they will pull this off. If there was any time for some Kyler Murray magic, the time is now.

Final Score: Cardinals 24, Rams 20

We have only one job left to do. And that is now enjoy the beautiful thing that is playoff football. Let the football Gods please be in the New England Patriots favor. And as a NFL community, let us all get together and pray for the fans of the Indianapolis Colts. Because if I lost my playoff chances to the 2-14 Jacksonville Jaguars, I’d be distraught for months. Amen. This is YSN, until next time, signing out.