Two teams that are, now, viewed as among the very best in the league are going to meet perhaps a bit earlier than either would prefer. Coach Matej Orazem skillfully and tactfully guided his Chicago Bears (Oddly a team Livojevic used to coach) to the NFC North title by sweeping the Green Bay Packers out of the way. Chicago would then slip by the Packers a third time in last week's Wild Card round, 20-13, with an outstanding defensive effort that thwarted a Green Bay defensive scheme that held the Bears' offense to its second lowest output of the season! Livojevic, for his part, is the only coach in PFL history to claim three consecutive PFL championships, doing so with the Houston Texans in SB XXXVI and then the next two with the Seattle Seahawks! 

   The Bears and Cardinals finished 1 and 2 in the NFC in scoring averaging 39.3 and 37.3 PPG respectively. Chicago QB Caleb Williams was named the league's MVP after he compiled a league most 54 TD passes while averaging an NFC best 357.4 YPG passing. WR DJ Moore would end the regular season third in the NFC with 106 receptions for 1495 yards and second with 18 touchdowns. HB D'Andre Swift was sixth in the NFC in rushing with 1311 yards. Of course, the Cards were no slouches on the offensive side of the ball. Tailback Trey Benson toted the rock an NFC most 322 times and led the conference with 1923 yards. He does have a propensity for fumbling the ball as his NFC worst 5 suggests. WR Marvin Harrison paced the NFC WR corps with 121 catches for 1819 yards and led the league with 28 touchdowns! QB Kyler Murray may have been a bit disrespected as he finished 7th in the MVPvoting. Murray was tremendous leading the PFL with a sparkling 130.8 QBR to go along with his 50 TD passes, 73% completion rate, and just 9 interceptions.

   The difference maker could be on the defensive side of the ball. Arizona utterly dominated the league allowing a meager 14.9 PPG that included a pass defense that led the PFL ceding a mere 152.8 YPG while blasting opposing quarterbacks into the turf a stunning 103 times. The game will feature the league's two most feared pass rushers. Arizona's Josh Sweat terrorized folks with his league leading 31.5 sacks while Chicago's Montez Sweat (No relation) destroyed teams with 30 traps.The Bears did surrender the third most yards against the pass (5236),  but came in second, right behind the Cardinals, with 96 sacks.

   Final Analysis: The Bears have gone 6-2 versus playoff teams, while the Cardinals went 3-1. Arizona had, by quite a margin, the easiest schedule in the back half of the season. In games like these, defense can make the difference and the Cards seem better overall in this area. Arizona 28-24.

#3 PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (15-3) AT #2 NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (16-2)

Is Defending Champs Run in Trouble?

    People keep waiting for the Eagles to slip into the rear view mirror, but all that keeps happening is they win and move on. They stormed back from a second quarter 15-0 hole and went on to roll the rival New York Giants, 32-15, in last weeks Wild Card game. The game was more impressive due to the fact stud tailback Saquon Barkley would miss his fourth game of the year. Barkley, though, returns for this matchup giving Philly a much needed boost to its running game. The Saints cruised to the NFC South title supplanting the Atlanta Falcons who did a major reversal and finished 3-14. Despite coach Mike Kleinknecht's best efforts, his team could not outgun the Bears and Cardinals for offensive dominance as the Saints would end third in the NFC averaging 35.6 PPG. QB Spencer Rattler had a spectacular campaign finishing third in the MVP voting. He amassed some impressive stats that included 6049 yards, 52 touchdowns, a 130.7 QBR, and just 9 interceptions!

   The Eagles boast one of the very best defensive interior lines in the league in 6'3" 314 Lbs Jalen Carter and 6'6" 336 Lbs Jordan Davis but the run defense still relinquished 125 YPG which ranked 27th in the league. The unit did conclude the year third in the NFC with 83 sacks and in pass defense yielding only 227.4 YPG. New Orleans matched Philly with their 212.8 YPG allowed versus the pass and 82 sacks. The Saints were much better against the run giving up only 95.8 YPG. A big factor could be in the takeaway department where the Saints hold a large 22-13 gap. Only the Green Bay Packers (9) had fewer takeaways than the Eagles.

   Final Analysis: The two teams do have a number of teams in common including the Giants and Bears. Philly went 4-0 versus those two clubs, while New Orleans went 2-0. Judging from the scores of those contests, this one does figure to be a tight one. The lack of takeways has Philly entering the game with a -6 TO margin. Similar to Green Bay, this will likely lead to too many long field situations that could prove fatal here. New Orleans 30-21.

#7 INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (10-7-1) AT #1 NEW YORK JETS (16-1)

Upstart Colts Feeling Their Oats. Claim They Will Dump Top Seeded Jets!

    Two seasons ago, Coach Buck stunned the PFL when his, then, Colts upset the Miami Dolphins and HC Mike Kleinknecht in the first round of the playoffs. Now, HC Matej Orazem has made a bold statement, ala Joe Namath oddly, predicting an Indianapolis upset again! In an even more of a twist, it was the Jets' Namath who predicted his team would shock the heavily favored Baltimore Colts back in 1969, forever enshrining Namath as "Broadway Joe" in Jet lore. This time, it would probably be the efforts of QB Anthony Richardson the running of Jonathan Taylor if the Colts are to pull it off. Indy will also need its much improved defense to show up big time.

   The Colts come in as one of football's hottest teams having now won six in a row and have been undefeated going 8-0-1 over its last nine games. During the streak the team has averaged a remarkable 41.44 PPG while surrendering 25.55 PPG on defense! Taylor has suffered a few in-game injuries, but he has logged 95+ yards rushing in eight of the team's last nine games including posting six outings where he ran for 124 or more yards! Richardson has not been quite as prolific, but he has been effective throwing 13 TD passes compared to only 3 interceptions during the nine game burst. As well as the Colts have played on D of late, they suffered a monstrous loss last week when leading player JT Tuimoloau suffered a season ending torn pectoral. He leads the team with 20.5 sacks and 5 forced fumbles. It will mean Kwity Paye, who is more than capable, returns as the starting left edge with Laiatu Latu on the right side. Paye was formation subbed quite a bit earlier in the year before giving way to Latu. 

   New York has been the league's top scoring unit averaging 39.5 PPG and have been scoring at a 40.78 PPG clip over its last nine games. The defense has been damn good as well over the nine game span giving up just 19.22 PG. However, the Jets turned the ball over an uncharacteristic 3 times against the Patriots in week 17 in a, 44-25, thrashing. Patriots' QB Drake Maye would be sacked only once and complete 74% of his pass attempts for 336 yards and 3 touchdowns in the rout. New England also got a combined 17 carries for 94 yards (5.53 YPC) out of backs Treveyon Henderson and Keaton Mitchell. It is not likely that Indy's Richardson can duplicate the success Maye had, but it could be possible Taylor could be a pose a major headache for the Gang Green defensive front. New York gave up 103.4 YPG against the run this season and had an opposing running back gain at least 82 yards rushing some eight times that included six games this year when a back ran for over 100 yards against them. However, the Jets were #2 in the AFC allowing just 228.7 YPG against the pass with 18 interceptions. New York would conclude their season with a +6 turnover margin. Still, Indianapolis comes in with a +11 margin following their, 52-19, dismantling of the Raiders in last week's Wild Card game that includes 23 picks!

   Final Analysis: Indy has been playing great on both sides of the ball over their prior nine games. Miami has been equally as good, but do have that big stumble against New England that ended their bid for an undefeated season. If Indy can keep the Jets a bit off-balance and avoid getting Richardson into too many predictable passing situations, they can pull off the upset. Paye and Latu will need to provide at least some pressure on QB Justin Fields though. Fields was a demon getting outside the pocket for 363 yards rushing and 9 touchdowns while averaging 7.9 YPC! In addition, Jet tailback Breece Hall can be a real load to bring down. Hall has logged seven games where he has run for 93 or more yards. A tense one is probable here, but feel Fields could give a slight edge to New York. Richardson can be problematic as well, but his 10 fumbles as well as Taylor's 10 drops, might prove to be a death knell. New York, 37-30.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (15-3) AT #3 BALTIMORE RAVENS (12-5-1)

Can Pats Avenge Week 16 Loss in Playoff Rematch?

   New England is, clearly, one of the best teams in all of football. They showed some toughness with their stirring, 44-25, romp of the New York Jets right after their, 44-30, loss to these Ravens. Still, they struggled in week 18 against the Miami Dolphins narrowly winning, 16-14, and had issues with Miami earlier in the season as well. They did get by a sticky Titans' squad, 31-21, in last week's Wild Card game but it would take a big fourth quarter to finally open up what was a, 14-14, tie after three! Baltimore has completely overhauled their defensive style of play! They had been almost completely a man-to-man team, but coach Rob Brick has found something with his new Cover 2/Cover 3 scheme mixed in with some man-to-man blitzes. In last week's, 38-19, ripping of the Miami Dolphins in their Wild Card clash, DT Travis Jones would come up with his third interception of the year! Jones had 2 interceptions versus the Green Bay Packers in week 17 as the Ravens employed a unique Cover 2 Contain ploy out of the Big Nickel Over G formation! That particular defense can only be played out of that formation and had Jones dropping back out his DT position into the sort of middle read role. 

   QB Drake Maye finished second in the MVP voting behind Chicago's Caleb Williams. He threw for 5761 yards with 47 TD passes and a 113.8 QBR.  He was extremely troublesome once he escaped the pocket rushing 66 times for 364 yards and a whopping 12 touchdowns! The team was not overpowering in the run game with top back Treveyon Henderson coming in with 183 carries for 747 yards (4.08 YPC), and 9 touchdowns. The defense, though, led the AFC in scoring defense (22.18 PPG).

   Baltimore's Derrick Henry punished teams to the tune of 1456 yards and 10 scores. QB Lamar Jackson finished fifth in passing with 5820 yards and 47 touchdowns. However, his 19 interceptions is the most by any playoff quarterback and is a concern in this one.

   Final Analysis: Jackson has been playing awfully well and has thrown just 1 pick over his last five games while also finding the endzone for 13 TD passes! The Ravens' defense is also playing extremely well at this time. New England might need to get some takeaways in this one or else Jackson and Henry might rule the day. Not sure they can do that...Baltimore 27-23.

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