Baily's Sports & Stuff

After going 3 of 4 last week (thanks, Chicago), I'm feeling pretty confident about my picks for the upcoming weekend. The Wild Card round saw three of the four road teams emerge victorious, and I wouldn't be surprised if we saw somewhat similar results this week. Nonetheless, I expect one of the most exciting football weekends in recent memory. Colts at Chiefs The top-seeded Chiefs got somewhat unlucky with this matchup. The Colts are playing strong defense, Andrew Luck has done so much with not a whole lot of talent around him, and, most importantly, they are winning up front. Guard Quenton Nelson is winning them football games, and Marlon Mack's 148-yard rushing performance was outstanding against a strong Houston defense. But for whatever reason, I just don't see Andy Reid blowing this one. The Colts are a strong team, and they're playing phenomenally as of late, but they haven't seen an offense like the Chiefs. A team like the Bears, with the best defe...

If you were cheering for a blue and white team that started with the letter "C", you probably are going to sleep satisfied with today's games. The Killer C's, the Colts and Cowboys, both played hard-nosed, smashmouth football to pick up victories over the Texans and Seahawks. Colts 21, Texans 7 Indianapolis completely dominated Houston from the get-go. T.Y. Hilton had 63 receiving yards on the opening drive before Andrew Luck, playing in his first playoff game in four years, found Eric Ebron for a touchdown. The Colts marched down the field all day long, with Marlon Mack's 148 yards highlighting a stellar offensive effort. The score, a modest 21-7, doesn't highlight how dominant Indianapolis was on offense. Luck threw an interception on a deflected screen pass, but otherwise, the Colts controlled the clock and the game. That interception flipped the momentum and gave Houston a shot down 14-0. But the Colts got the ball right back, scored on a touchdown p...

As I said in my Wild Card post , this is the first time in a while that we have such a level playing field in the postseason. The New Orleans Saints are probably the Super Bowl favorite, but it wouldn't be crazy to see any one of the 36 possible Super Bowl matchups. Here's the current playoff field: AFC: 1. Kansas City Chiefs 2. New England Patriots 3. Houston Texans 4. Baltimore Ravens 5. Los Angeles Chargers 6. Indianapolis Colts NFC: 1. New Orleans Saints 2. Los Angeles Rams 3. Chicago Bears 4. Dallas Cowboys 5. Seattle Seahawks 6. Philadelphia Eagles Wild Card Weekend is set for Saturday and Sunday, and my picks are up  for those four games. Assuming my picks are correct, that would give us these four matchups for the Divisional Round: 6. Indianapolis at 1. Kansas City 5. Los Angeles Chargers at 2. New England 4. Dallas at 1. New Orleans 3. Chicago at 2. Los Angeles Rams The way the playoff bracket works is that the lowest remaining seed will a...

I haven't been this excited for the NFL playoffs in a long time. For the first time in at least five years, all 12 teams can legitimately win this year's Super Bowl. Everyone knew the Bills and Titans were never going to win it all last year. Neither were the 2016 Raiders with third-string quarterback Connor Cook at the helm. Injuries and random luck struck the past few years, but not this year. Both six seeds (the Colts and the Eagles) are hot at the right time and dangerous. Both 4 seeds (often the weakest team since a bad team can win a mediocre division) are backed by solid defenses. We used to see a lot of Wild Card teams wreck havoc in the postseason. The 2007 Giants and 2010 Packers were both Wild Card teams, and the 2011 Giants and 2012 Ravens were both 4 seeds that played on Wild Card weekend. Amazingly, the last five Super Bowl champions have been number one overall seeds, and every single Super Bowl participant in the last five years earned a first-round bye. I...

I'm a little salty as I write this thanks to a series of unfortunate events causing me to miss the fantasy football playoffs, but I'll try to put my bias aside and recap an exciting week of football. The best game of the week came on Sunday night, with three consecutive offsides penalties on the Steelers (three!) gifting the Los Angeles Chargers a key AFC victory. With that win, the Chargers, at 9-3, are very likely to make the postseason, although they still have tough games ahead against the Ravens, Chiefs, and Broncos. If they lose all three, they could find themselves on the outside looking in. But this win was huge for Los Angeles, as Philip Rivers stepped up in Melvin Gordon's absence to deliver a critical victory. The Chiefs, Patriots, and Texans all won, with New England looking particularly sharp on defense against Kirk Cousins and the mediocre Minnesota Vikings. As it stands, New England and Houston are threats to take the top seed in the AFC. The Texans are o...

The future of the NFL was on full display last night, with the Chiefs and Rams squaring off in one of the most exciting games in NFL history. The Chiefs became the first team in NFL history to put up 50 points...and lose. The Rams won 54-51 in what many are calling a Super Bowl preview. Do I think the game will be a Super Bowl preview? Absolutely not. Neither team has the defense to win games in January. Both teams abandoned the run game, as Kareem Hunt and Todd Gurley combined to contribute 6 of the game's 105 points. Sure, the offenses played well. But the game was sloppy and turnovers were plentiful. The Real Super Bowl Favorite Once again, the New Orleans Saints, who dethroned last year's champion Philadelphia Eagles 48-7, look unstoppable. The game was shocking to me, as Carson Wentz played horribly and the now 4-6 Eagles looked completely lost. Meanwhile, New Orleans broke the 45-point threshold for the third week in a row, spreading the love to Michael Thoma...

Atlanta 23, Dallas 20 Both teams need this game badly. At 4-5, the loser is going to have incredibly long odds to make the postseason. Home-field advantage and better offensive production gives Atlanta the edge in a tight game. Carolina 35, Detroit 14 After getting thrashed in the Steel City last week, Cam Newton continues his MVP season against the crumbling Lions. Carolina will get back on track. Indianapolis 24, Tennessee 23 The Titans have lost four games, and only one of those losses came at the hands of a team with a winning record. In a game Tennessee should win, the inefficient offense will catch up to them. Andrew Luck wills his way to a heroic and unexpected home victory to keep the Colts rolling. Tampa Bay 27, New York Giants 20 Ryan Fitzpatrick will throw for a lot of yards against a depleted Giants team, and, while his turnovers will keep New York in the game, Tampa Bay is the better team. Saquon Barkley and Odell Beckham Jr. aren't enough. Houston 20, ...