Sunday
Detroit Lions (-6.5) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 48.5 or above
For most of the past 50 years, this matchup has been more of a toilet bowl than a road to the Super Bowl. When I said earlier that all the fraud teams are gone, the Bucks may be part of that group, but they were playing an Eagles team that completely fell apart long before the plane landed at TPA, so give me a break. There's a part of me that believes I've earned it.
For me, the biggest story throughout these playoffs is that the Lions are going to make their first Super Bowl appearance. Detroit legend Eminem explained it all beautifully in his NBC introduction last Sunday.
The first step was for Matthew Stafford and the Rams to survive, and although the second half was dicey, the Lions survived. I think they can now play comfortably against the Bucks, who won 20-6 in Tampa on October 15th. Detroit scored one point in each quarter, and the final margin of victory was more than twice that margin.
Jared Goff threw for 353 yards in that game, and we're hoping for more flair this time around. There's a long way to go from 26 total points to this point, but if the Bucks are going to improve, it's going to be on offense — where Rashard White, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin have had recent success.
Lions, 31 wins, 20 losses.
Buffalo Bills (-2.5) vs. Kansas City Chiefs. 45.5 or above
The NFL saves the best for last. The Bills will eventually have the Chiefs visit Orchard Park, but it will likely be several more feet of snow before Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift arrive.
Mahomes appeared in 12 home playoff games and three Super Bowls. Yes, the Chiefs lost 31-9 in Super Bowl LV at the Bucs' home stadium, but tickets were distributed throughout the league. Sunday will be almost exclusively Bills fans.
The last five meetings have been at Arrowhead Stadium, where the Chiefs have won two playoff games and the Bills have won the last three regular season games there. The Bills respect the Chiefs, but I don't think they fear him.
Do you want to bet on the NFL?
Of all the quarterbacks left, Josh Allen is like the guy who can conjure up a touchdown from any part of the field using his will, his wheels, his arms, and whatever else he needs. I can see it. And he seems to have deeper weapons than Mahomes — Stefon Diggs, James Cook, Dalton Kincaid, and Dawson Knox outclass Kelce, Isaiah Pacheco, and Lachie Rice, in my opinion. ing.
I'm not crazy about betting money against the Chiefs. After the Andy Reid mustache-freezing situation they endured last week, they won't be fazed by any situation. Steve Spagnuolo probably has the best defense ever in Kansas City, and just one turnover by Allen could change the outcome.
Additionally, I believe it's time for the Bills to get to the Super Bowl with Allen in his sixth year of a great career.
Bills, 28-23
last week: 7-5 (2-4 sides, 5-1 over/under)
This week's lock: Lions (Rocks 5-13-1, including playoffs).
