Richard Witt has the following predictions for the rest of the weekend's NFL Divisional Round games:
Lions (-6.5) vs. Buccaneers. 48.5 or above
Give the Lions credit for considerable value in their Ford Field home, which is unfamiliar to many of their competitors.
It's a dome, so the weather advantages are immense, but don't underestimate the hunger for the playoffs, which has been building for 30 years.
Their fans would be attending a divisional round playoff game for the first time since 1991, and it was credited as a key factor in their early success.
The Lions do have some advantage in starting QB Jared Goff, but there are some questions about how long Goff can maintain his strong form.
Tampa Bay, which leads the NFC South with a 9-8 record this season (for the third consecutive year), is in his second season under coach Todd Bowles, and although Baker Mayfield is not Tom Brady, , proved that they can win.
Since losing to the Lions in October, the Bucks have been solid, including an impressive performance against the mighty Eagles in the Wild Card round on Monday night.
But the Lions, who are 12-5 in the NFC North, definitely have legitimate offensive talent, are clearly developing, enjoy multiple benefits from a strong schedule, and are facing better opponents. We offer more experience by competing with.
I'm reluctant to play Detroit in this situation, given their diverse talent, especially on offense, and their emotional wealth.
Chiefs (+2.5) vs. BILLS; 45.5+
We have to emphasize that we continue to like the Chiefs, as market makers add relatively little value to the stock exchange audience.
We get Patrick Mahomes, who is durable and hard to beat, for a bargain.
Mahomes' only trip to Buffalo was in 2020, when he threw for 225 yards and two touchdowns in a 26-17 win.
The Bills haven't beaten the Chiefs in the playoffs since 1993.
In frequent intervals, Mahomes is as good or better than any other quarterback in the league at producing consistently good amounts of valuable yards.
Nevertheless, for Mahomes and the Chiefs, this was the worst season of his career in many aspects.
Do you want to bet on the NFL?
Both teams finished the regular season leading their respective AFC divisions with 11 wins and six losses.
We think highly of both Chiefs coach Andy Reid and Bills' Sean McDermott, both of whom have multi-year tenures in their positions, with Reid starting in 2013 and McDermott in 2017. It's from the year.
We're not relying on this game to be decided by a coaching disagreement.
Josh Allen is 0-2 against the Chiefs in the postseason, but here we are, showing that we are finishing January with a lot of motivation again against better competition in the AFC.
Allen and the Bills have been pretty sloppy throughout most of this season, but looking back at their history, Mahomes has playoff numbers and we respect that fact.
Win points with the Chiefs while hoping Mahomes gets a high rating again.
Saturday: Ravens (W), 49ers (L)
last week: 2-4
season: 106-119-9.
