Wild-card Weekend – Couch Rider Report

NFC Divisional Round: Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers Preview

The Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs will wrap up on Sunday in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Green Bay Packers will play host to their bitter rival Seattle Seahawks at 6:40 eastern time, live from Lambeau Field. Despite being in different divisions, the rivalry between these two foes is nothing short of enticing. From the “Fail Mary” to the epic NFC Title Game back in 2015. And oh yeah, can’t forget the infamous Matt Hasselbeck guarantee. To add to the excitement of this rivalry, fans get a playoff match-up between elite NFL quarterbacks. It all goes down Sunday afternoon.

Seattle-

The Seahawks qualified for this match-up after escaping a road battle with a 17-9 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card Round. Their ground game led by “Beast Mode”, Marshawn Lynch, was the difference. According to Coach Pete Carroll, Lynch will have a larger workload against the Packers. Quarterback Russell Wilson had an MVP caliber regular season and continued his surge last week against the Eagles. He completed 18 of 30 passes for 325 yards and one touchdown pass. It was actually only his fourth game of 300+ yards on the season, but it’s his lack of turnovers that have really made the difference for him this season. The Hawks went 7-1 away from Century Link Field and are no strangers to playing in the cold.

Seahawk to Watch- D.K. Metcalf

This rookie wideout quietly had a fantastic season for the Seahawks. D.K. hauled in 58 passes for 900 yards and 7-touchdowns. What did he do for an encore in his playoff debut? Just went off for 160 yards while snagging 7-passes, including one for a touchdown. If this kid can repeat his performance against a Packers defense that ranks 14th in passing yards allowed at 232.6 yards per game, then he will be the key to victory.

Green Bay-

The Packers won the NFC North for the first time since 2016. They also qualified for a bye week with a comeback win over the Lions in Week 17. When you think of the leader of this team, Aaron Rodgers comes to mind. However, he wasn’t the only one that led this team to a tie for the second-best record in the NFL at 13-3. It was the other Aaron, Aaron Jones, their elite running back that led this team while Rodgers kind of took a back seat to the running game for once. Aaron Jones finished the regular season with a beastly 16 touchdowns from the line of scrimmage while rushing for 1,084 yards. While there was a significant emphasis on the running game this season, Rodgers had a solid season himself. He threw for 4,002-yards, and 26-touchdown passes.

Packer to Watch- Brian Bulaga

Brian Bulaga cleared concussion protocol on Wednesday, and that’s great news for Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the offensive line. If he can stay healthy, that will be key to keeping Rodgers upright the entire game against a feisty Seahawks defense. While I emphasize Bulaga as the key to this game for the Packers, the rest of the offensive line needs to do the job they have all season. A great running game and a mobile Rodgers will not happen if Bulaga and company don’t do what they are supposed to.

Prediction-

Both of these teams love to play in the cold. The Seahawks are 7-1 on the road while the Packers are 7-1 at home, so something has to give. Something about this match-up in the playoffs has the feeling of epic once again. Will time off for Green Bay help them or hurt them? While Seattle is playing great football and hasn’t had a week off since Week 11. Nonetheless, Wilson versus Rodgers for a spot in the NFC Championship definitely shouldn’t disappoint. I give the slight edge to the Packers since the game is being played at the Frozen Tundra, 24-21.

Ryan Cole is a Writer for Couch Rider Report. Follow us on Facebook or twitter

Three Reasons this one team is the AFC Wild-Card

Woof Woof WOOF! All I hear is woof tickets from Baltimore Ravens’ fans and non-Ravens’ fans alike. They are all saying the same thing. “Lamar Jackson is going to the Super Bowl.” I GET IT! I’m totally on board. As one of his biggest fans, I smell you! However, it’s easier said than done. The work has to be put in. This is a very tough playoff race. No team is a pushover, but if my Ravens were to fall to anyone and represent the AFC in the dance other than the Kansas City Chiefs, I would have to say it would be the Tennessee Titans.

NO, I’m not smoking crack. No team in the AFC race is here by mistake (even the Pats). The Titans are definitely contenders. Here are three reasons why I believe they have what it takes to give any squad a scare or even upset them in the playoffs.

Ryan Tannehill

While this former Aggie underwhelmed due to injuries and so-so performances, it was not fully on him. He was part of a losing team that was appeared forever positioned to bow down to the “Brady Bunch”. The 31-year-old Veteran QB did put Jarvis Landry on the map down there, which made him the coveted receiver he is in Cleveland. This former Miami Dolphin is the NFL comeback player of the year. Coming in week seven and changing the course of the team, the Texas Native with a 70.7 completion percentage (3rd in NFL) is most certainly a force to be reckoned with. Did I mention he’s leading the league in passer rating?

A.J. Brown

This is a guy I was watching blowing it up with the NWO (Nasty Wide Outs) of Ole Miss. He D.K. Metcalf and DeMarkus Lodge helped the Rebels achieve 511.3-yards per game on average, according to sports reference.com. Going 4-games straight with a TD, A.J. is still a nasty WR. Stephon Gilmore, who just got embarrassed by DaVante Parker (8-recs, 137-yards), has another tough challenge coming up and could be taken out to the woodshed this time by a rookie.

Derrick Henry

32 Rushes, 211-yards, and three TDs?!?!? This was the stat-line last week against the Houston Texans. Granted, the Texans rested a few of their starters, but with 1540-yards and 16-TDs on your season resume, we know the performance is consistent. Sure, the Titans are facing the NFL’s top-ranked defense, but my bias against the N.E. is that they destroy middling to trash RB but have managed to struggle against a few tougher opponents. Mark Ingram (15-Carries, 115-yards), Joe Mixon (25-Carries, 136-yards), Nick Chubb (20-Carries, 131-yards) all broke the century mark against the defending Super Bowl Champs. Even Frank Gore hit them over the head for 109-yards in week 4. Should Derrick be the workhorse throughout the playoffs, he may even give Baltimore a run for their money.

I take nothing away from Dean Pees, as he has shown he is still in the top half of the league in points allowed per game. However, if the Titans want to get beyond Wild-Card Weekend, they need to pump up the points.