Sak Sports Blog

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 2019 NFL Playoffs feel fresh and exciting. Yes, the New England Patriots have a first round bye, and the NFC field has some familiar faces. But overall, the playoff field feels like a breathe of fresh air with the Mitch Trubisky and the Chicago Bears, the new-look Baltimore Ravens with Lamar Jackson running the show, and the MVP-hopeful, high octane Patrick Mahommes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Above all, there's a feeling that any of the twelve teams could honestly make a run. Some are more likely than others, and as always, the top seeds have the easiest path to Super Bowl 53. The first round of the playoffs features four matchups that could go either way. The winners will face the daunting tasks of visiting Kansas City, New England, New Orleans, and Los Angeles: some of the toughest venues to win at during the regular season. #6 Indianapolis Colts at #3 Houston Texans Time: Saturday, 4:35 PM ET Line: Houston Texans (-2) The Indianapolis Colts have been su...

This week's picks theme is Eyes on the Playoffs. At the rough halfway point in the 2018-19 NFL season, the playoff standings are beginning to take shape. The Rams, Chiefs, and Patriots lead the pack, and after that, there's plenty of intrigue. Can the Redskins maintain the NFC East with the Eagles and Cowboys on their backs? Can the Chargers challenge for the AFC's best seed? And in a loaded potential NFC Wildcard playoff race, the Packers, Panthers, Falcons, Seahawks, and Bears/Vikings could all be competing for just two spots. Week 9 Recap Through Week 8, I held a 59-45-2 record picking games. I was unable to publish my Week 9 picks, so you'll have to take my word for who I went with. Overall, it was a pretty strong week, where I went 8-5 to improve to 67-50-2. Correct Picks 49ers over Raiders Bears over Bills  Chiefs over Browns Vikings over Lions Falcons over Redskins Panthers over Buccaneers Texans over Broncos Patriots over Packers Inc...

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 ...

The 2018-2019 NFL season is underway, and through one week we've seen the usual contenders, some hot rookies, some disappointing team performances, and an incredible primetime comeback from Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. Before looking to Week 2, let's see how I made out in Week 1: I still need to get my NFL record predictions out, but I work all day 😥For tonight’s game though, I’m locking in my pick of #Eagles over #Falcons . — Sak Sports Blog (@SakSports) September 6, 2018 While I didn't predict a score here, the Eagles ultimately won this Thursday night slugfest 18-12 behind two touchdowns from Jay Ajayi. 1-0 #Ravens 24 #Bills 9 Buffalo struggles in the season opener while Joe Flacco and company start off a productive year — Sak Sports Blog (@SakSports) September 9, 2018 The Ravens won and the Bills offense definitely struggled. I correctly predicted no Buffalo touchdowns, but they only mustered three points in an abysmal quarterback ...

It's been 13 days since the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles clinched their respective conference championships, and the clock is ticking down to Super Bowl LII in Minnesota. Now that we've had two weeks to anticipate the matchup, who will take home the Lombardi trophy on Sunday night? Game Information Time: 6:30 PM ET / 3:30 PM PT TV: NBC Location: U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota Line: Patriots by 4.5 (Current) Patriots by 6.0 (Opening) Patriots Super Bowl Record: 5-4 Eagles Super Bowl Record: 0-2 How They Got Here Courtesy of USA Today Both the Patriots and Eagles finished the season with identical 13-3 records, leading their conference, earning the #1 seed and advancing to the Super Bowl. But it was hardly the same path for both teams. New England stumbled out of the gate, dropping a rare home opener and starting 2-2 on the season. Questions of a Super Bowl hangover were raised, and with Julian Edelman out for the y...