January 11, 2018

NFL Playoffs 2018 Divisional Round Games Preview

Every Wednesday, Dan Hanzus combs through the expert findings of the NFL Media Research Department to share nuggets (also known as "nugs") that fascinate, frighten or change him on a fundamental level. This is the Divisional Playoffs edition of High-Flying Adventures In The Research Notes. The Eagles might be the first No. 1 seed in the history of the NFL playoffs that can accurately play the "Nobody Believes In Us!" card. With Carson Wentz, the Eagles were a clear favorite in the NFC. Without him, they appear lost. That was more or less confirmed for many in the football cognoscenti when Nick Foles cratered in the final two weeks of the regular season. Foles completed fewer than half his passes in that stretch, averaged 4.2 yards per attempt (Sub Gabbert Zone!) and posted a passer rating south of 50. It was bad enough to completely erase the good vibes engendered from his four-touchdown debut against the wretched Giants in Week 15. Compounding matters is the Falcons defense, which is playing its best ball of the year. As colleague Chris Wesseling noted on a recent episode of the Around The NFL Podcast, a notably less explosive offense isn't the only key difference between this year's Falcons and last year's NFC champs. They also have a better, more balanced defense, which we saw on shining display in last weekend's shutdown of the previously high-flying Rams. NFL Playoffs 2018 Divisional Round Games schedule:patriots vs titanseagles vs falconssteelers vs jaguarssaints vs vikingsAtlanta's defense allowed 30 or more points in seven instances last season, culminating in their crushing loss in Super Bowl LI. They've allowed 30 points just once this season. None of this feels like good news for Foles or the Eagles, who will need to flip the script to avoid a painful winter of "What if?" regret. CAN THE JAGUARS HANDLE THE STEELERS' FIREPOWER? That right there might be the difference in the game on Sunday. The team that wins that tag team match probably wins the game. Though I disagree with his opinion, there is merit to colleague Gregg Rosenthal's take that Ben Roethlisberger is the most trustworthy signal-caller remaining in the playoffs. Wrote Gregg: "Roethlisberger has the best mix of electric current play and playoff experience of any quarterback left." NFL Playoffs 2018 Divisional Round Matchup:titans vs patriotsfalcons vs eaglesjaguars vs steelersvikings vs saintsThere's no questioning Roethlisberger has been on point in the second half of the season. He's probably been the best quarterback in the league since his five-pick meltdown against the Jaguars in Week 5. I'll even give him a pass for his crushing game-ending pick against the Patriots in Week 15 since the arcane NFL rulebook wiped out a deserved touchdown pass on the previous play.

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