The Shenoa Report
January 20, 2019
Conference Championship Sunday
If you
live in the North East you are under a thick blanket of snow. Chances are you
aren’t going anywhere today, which is good. After you shovel you can sit on the couch and
watch football for the rest of the day!
The NFC
East is officially out of the playoffs and this makes me happy. I went 4-0 on
my picks last week and my overall pick record is better than all of the hosts
on Inside the NFL! This has been my best season for predictions in all the
years that I have done this blog. It makes me think I’m learning more about
football every year. Either that, or I am becoming a little less biased.
With
all that being said we still have two more weeks of predictions to go and I
could tank them all.
Let’s
recap Divisional Weekend.
Colts @
Chiefs 13-31
The
Colts playoff run came to a halt when they faced the Chiefs defense. Surprising
sentence being that the Chiefs defense had been almost non-existent all season.
It’s safe to say that Chiefs annihilated Indy. The Chiefs got out to a
big lead early in the game and the Colts never really found their rhythm. The
Chiefs didn’t seem to miss Kareem Hunt much as their new running back Damien
Williams ran all over the Colts for 129 yards and a touchdown. Tyreek Hill
continued to be a force with 72 receiving yards and a touchdown run and Patrick
Mahomes seemed to feel quite at home in the snow and cold. The Chiefs defense
was amazing in that the Colts first four possessions were three and outs. The
Chiefs will stay at home and play the Patriots for a chance at the Super Bowl.
Cowboys
@ Rams 22-30
The
Rams backup RB, CJ Anderson, had two touchdowns while their starting RB, Todd
Gurley, had one of his own, as they ran all over the Cowboys defense. This was
a close game but I’m glad that the Rams came out on top. When I was young I
thought the Rams helmets looked like a bumblebee so I was rooting for the
bumblebees during this game. Head coach Sean McVay, 32, made history, as he is
the youngest head coach to make it this far into the playoffs. The Rams will
travel to New Orleans to play the Saints in the Conference Championship Sunday.
Chargers
@ Patriots 28-41
If
you’re not a Patriots fan this game was dreadful to watch. I think that the
Chargers just forgot how to play football. They looked terrible. Their defense
could not stop the run at all as Sony Michel ran for 129 yards and had three
touchdowns. It was pathetic. The Patriots will be heading to Arrowhead to take
on the Chiefs Sunday.
Eagles
@ Saints 14-20
This
game was a little too close for comfort. The Eagles jumped out to a big lead in
the first quarter and I really thought that the Saints weren’t going to
recover. Had I known that the Eagles wouldn’t score again after the first
quarter it would have put my mind at ease. The Saints didn’t score until the
second quarter but scored in every quarter after. Drew Brees threw two
touchdowns and Marcus Lattimore intercepted Nick Foles twice giving the Saints
the win. Lattimore’s last interception ended an Eagles comeback drive and sent
them to the off season. The Saints will play the Rams at home on Sunday to
decide who goes to the Super Bowl.
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sunday,
January 20th
Rams
[13-3] @ Saints [13-3] (3:05pm FOX)
Last
week I picked all home teams and it worked out in my favor so I was considering
doing it again this week. This will not be the first time these two teams faced
off this season. This will be a rematch of week 9 when the Rams beat the Saints
45-35. A lot has changed since that game. The Rams picked up CJ Anderson, who
has really helped the offense confuse the defense, especially when Todd Gurley
is also on the field. The Saints barely made it this far, and had it not been
for an interception late in the game last week the Rams very well could be
playing the Eagles. It is extremely difficult to win when you are the visitor
in New Orleans but the Rams have already done that this season. There is a 14
year difference between Drew Brees and Jared Goff. Do I go with young and agile
or old and experienced? This is a tough pick. I think I’m going to have to pick
the Rams to win this game.
Patriots
[11-5] @ Chiefs[12-4] (6:40pm CBS)
There
are 18 years between Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady. This is the biggest age gap
in NFL history between quarterbacks in a playoff game. The Patriots played
lights out against the Chargers last week but have lost 5 on the road this
season. The Pats are out of their comfort zone and the Chiefs have only lost
one at home all season and that was against the Pats in week 6, 43-40. Things
have changed since week 6. The Patriots no longer have Josh Gordon and the
Chiefs waved Kareem Hunt. Kansas City is also supposed to have a stronger
defense this time around. The Patriots haven’t won a postseason game on the
road since 2006. There was an arctic blast predicted that would affect the game
but the lows for Sunday will only be 19. With all that being said I think I’m
going to have to pick the Chiefs to win at home. I’ll be rooting for them too.
Thanks
for the edit Eric!
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