Divisional Round Game Picks (Saturday)

VIKINGS @ 49ers (-7)

Spread Pick: 49ers

Straight Pick: 49ers

I *love* Kirk Cousins. He might get crap for some terrible throws late in games when he's trying to get his team back into it, but generally speaking, I think he's worth every penny to the Vikings - they wouldn't even be sniffing anywhere near this game without him. He's smart, he's accurate, he's tough as nails, and it really does warm my heart to see him finally get that playoff monkey off his back last week down in New Orleans. Lord knows he needed that.

However...I do think that Cousins' impressive 2019 run will come to an end here today at the hands of the 49ers defensive line. If there is one thing that Kirk isn't great at, it's avoiding pressure, and he is likely to see a metric shit ton of it today when Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead, and DeForest Buckner are all breathing down his neck. I have a sneaking suspicion that this game will play out exactly like the Packer game a few weeks back, and that Minnesota's offense will stall on drive after drive because of the offensive line being overwhelmed at the line of scrimmage.

It will be ugly, it will be frustrating, and it will be hard to watch, but worst of all it will probably all be blamed on Cousins again anyway...

The Vikings are a great team, but the 49ers are a buzzsaw. Unfortunately for Minnesota, I just don't see a way for them to overcome their talent deficiencies in the trenches. 

49ers 27 - Vikings 13

TITANS @ RAVENS (-9.5)

Spread Pick: RAVENS

Straight Pick: RAVENS

Saturday will be a day of blowouts, in my opinion. Not because both the Vikings and Titans are bad, but because just like Minnesota in the NFC, Tennessee is about to run into the biggest buzzsaw the AFC has to offer. The Ravens are arguably the most balanced team in the entire NFL, with arguably the most dangerous offensive weapon in the NFL leading the charge, and one of the gutsiest and smartest head coaches in the NFL steering the ship. There is not a single weakness within this entire organization - not ONE - and if the Titans were to pull off this upset, it might be considered one of the greatest David vs Goliath stories in league history (and that's only a *slight* exaggeration).

But all that being said...no...I don't expect the Titans to pull this upset off. Their bread and butter this season has been getting Derrick Henry to the edges on outside zone and toss plays, where he's averaged a staggering 6.4 yards per carry, has 37 broken tackles, 800 yards, and seven touchdowns. Out of all of the different kinds of runs Tennessee uses, that one scheme is by far their most effective, but Baltimore's defense just so happens to *also* be very good at stopping those very same runs to the edges. 

In 2019, the Ravens only allowed a combined 288 yards on outside zone and toss plays, 3.7 yards per carry, just two touchdowns, and had only eight broken tackles on those kinds of runs all season long. They were excellent at rallying and tackling out in space, and even against a big, imposing back like Henry, I don't see that trend stopping any time soon. I think we see the Titans fall behind early in this one while their run game flounders around, and once the Ravens get a double digit lead they'll just lean on their own run game and grind Tennessee into dust. This one could get very ugly, very quickly.

Ravens 31 - Titans 17