Sak Sports Blog

Championship Sunday gave us two wild overtime games with the winners set to meet in two weeks at Super Bowl 53 in Atlanta. On Sunday night, the Los Angeles Rams opened as slight one point favorites, which would have had Tom Brady and the New England Patriots play the underdog role once again. The line quickly shifted to a pick 'em game. This feels like the most accurate reflection of the game's odds. While the Rams finished with a better regular season schedule, Brady and the Patriots are playing in their third straight Super Bowl and it would be tough to call them true underdogs. As Monday progressed, bettors started shifting the line in favor of the Patriots, likely to reflect early bets. Many bettors probably saw taking an underdog Patriots team as an easy bet. The line could go even deeper in New England's favor, or perhaps balance out closer to a pick 'em. Realistically, the line won't favor either team by more than 1 or 2 points, making it essentia...

The NFC Championship game came down to the wire, needing an overtime period to break the 23-23 tie. Despite the Saints striking first and never giving up the lead in regulation, the Rams won in overtime in a game filled with drama and a comeback sparked by a questionable pass interference non-call on Los Angeles. 23-year-old Jared Goff becomes the youngest quarterback to advance to the Super Bowl, over 40-year-old veteran Drew Brees and the Saints. The Rams advance to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2001 and await the winner of the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots. The Saints defense dominated the first quarter, holding the Rams without a first down. A fake punt pass yielded Los Angeles their first first down of the day in the second quarter. But in the final three frames, Goff was able to find his receivers to complete long drives and put points on the board. With under 6 minutes left, the Saints defense denied C.J. Anderson at the goal line and the Rams ti...

With no road upsets in the divisional round of the playoffs, we have a stacked final four teams remaining to play for the Super Bowl. The #1 and #2 seed from the AFC and NFC will square off Sunday with a Super Bowl berth on the line. Both games tell a similar tale: an established team with a veteran quarterback taking on a high flying offensive team led by a young signal-caller. Tom Brady has been to the AFC Championship just a few times (this will be his 13th). Patrick Mahommes is capping off his first season as an NFL starter. Drew Brees plays in his 3rd NFC title game, with an even 1-1 record so far. Jared Goff has taken the Rams further in each of his three seasons (two full seasons.) All four offenses can light up the scoreboard, which should be a treat for fans on Sunday. The Kansas City Chiefs led the league in scoring (35.3 PPG) with the Los Angeles Rams right on their tail (32.9 PPG). The New Orleans Saints could've been in the 34-35 PPG game range, but a couple l...

The second round of the NFL playoffs told a different tale than Wildcard Weekend. After home teams went 1-3 in the playoffs opening weekend, they won, often in impressive fashion, going 4-0 in the Divisional Round. Four home teams, four favorites, four high-scoring offenses. The Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, Los Angeles Rams, and New Orleans Saints all held 6-2, 7-1, or 8-0 home records in the regular season, and they carried the home-field advantage into the playoffs. In my personal picks, I went 3-1, incorrectly predicting the LA Rams would slip up and allow the Dallas Cowboys to advance. The most exciting and close game was between the Eagles and Saints, with New Orleans winning by a score and Nick Foles nearly pulling off a game-winning drive. My Playoff Week 2 Picks #Chiefs over #Colts ✅ #Cowboys over #Rams ❌ #Patriots over #Chargers ✅ #Saints over #Eagles ✅ Last week’s record: 3-1 Playoff record: 6-2 — Sak Sports Blog (@SakSports) January 14, ...

With eight teams remaining, there's a calculated amount of Super Bowl matchups remaining. Sixteen possibilities exist, and almost every one would be a breathe of fresh air for the NFL. Except for, of course, a rematch of last year's Super Bowl. Three other rematches of Super Bowl's since 2000 exist, and the New England Patriots are implicated in three of these four matchups. If Tom Brady wins two home games and advances to the Super Bowl, it would be the outcome closest to the norm. But with four close games expected in the NFL's Divisional Round, any matchup could become reality with some upsets along the way. For my picks in those four games you can read my preview and predictions. The top five potential Super Bowl 53 possibilities weighs the potential excitement for the big game coupled with the likelihood of the matchup occuring. 5. New England Patriots Vs. Philadelphia Eagles We haven't had a Super Bowl rematch in back-to-back seasons since 199...

In the Wildcard Round, I went with the road team, and consequently, underdog, in each of the four matchups. The bold strategy paid off, as three road teams pulled out victories. The only blemish on my 3-1 record was the Dallas Cowboys win over the Seattle Seahawks. Road wins will be tougher to come by in the second round of the NFL postseason. The four home teams are a combined 28-4, with the New England Patriots leading the pack at 8-0. The opposing road teams have road records at or above .500: except the Dallas Cowboys, the only team switching from home to road since last week. Without further ado let's dive in to this week's picks: #6 Indianapolis Colts (11-6) at #1 Kansas City Chiefs (12-4) Time: Saturday, 4:35 PM ET Line: Kansas City Chiefs (-5.5) Two quarterbacks expected to be faces of the league for years to come square off with an AFC Championship appearance on the line. Andrew Luck is looking to make his comeback season even sweeter, while Patri...

The NFL regular season is nearing it's halfway point. The Rams and Chiefs are pacing the league and continuing to excite week in and week out. The Patriots, Chargers, Panthers, Saints and Vikings have also formed winning habits through Week 7. Besides that? Most teams are vulnerable enough to be beaten by anyone on any given Sunday. I'm on a hot streak making picks after a slow start to the season. Week 5 brought me a 9-6 record, Week 6 was my strongest with 11 wins and 4 losses, and in Week 7 I stayed positive with a (9-4 before MNF) The highlights of Week 8 include the London game between the Eagles and Jaguars, the Rams getting a potential test from the Packers, and an NFC playoff rematch between the Saints and Vikings. Thursday Night Miami Dolphins (4-3) at Houston Texans (4-3) Before DeShaun Watson tore his ACL last October, he was taking the league by storm. The Texans got off to a rocky 0-3 start, but are now one of the hottest teams in the league with...

The standings are beginning to take shape, and bring us some pivotal matchups in Week 6. The NFC East is muddled, and all four teams could be in play with a win this week. The Falcons are fighting for their lives in the NFC South, while the Panthers are fighting for a share of first. And New England looks to establish AFC dominance, but can the Chiefs beat the conference's de facto favorite to improve to 6-0? Week 5 was my strongest of the season so far, going 9-6. The tally brings my total record to 39-37-2, above the .500 mark for the first time. This week does bring a few difficult games but I'm confident in another winning week. (Header photo courtesy of NBC Sports) Thursday Night Philadelphia Eagles (2-3) at New York Giants (1-4) New York has been pretty bad about half this season, and in the other half, the offense has shown signs of aptitude. The loss to the Carolina Panthers was a heartbreaker that sent the Giants to 1-4: but no one in the NFC East has ...

Week 4 games, while still early, will tell us a lot about which teams have serious playoff aspirations. Specifically, the outcomes of Rams-Vikings, Steelers-Ravens, and Dolphins-Patriots will tell us a lot about the potential playoff picture. In Week 3, my rough early season continued as I went 7-9. I had some good picks, including the Seahawks, Bears, Chiefs, and Ravens, but stumbled on some picks, incorrectly predicting the Texans over Giants, Jets over Browns, and Raiders over Dolphins. I'll try to fare better in Week 4, and there's definitely a few toss-ups that are even more confusing as we don't know who these teams really  are yet. Specifically, Vikings-Rams, Buccaneers-Bears, Steelers-Ravens, and Lions-Cowboys will tell us a lot about the true identity of those teams involved. You can read all my Week 3 picks here if you'd like. And without further ado, onward to Week 4! Thursday Night Minnesota Vikings (1-1-1) at Los Angeles Rams (3-0) In the...