Hey, remember when the Buffalo Bills traded their best WR in Stefon Diggs and how that would hamper the productivity of QB Josh Allen? Good times! Yeah, Allen has only been responsible for 40 touchdowns (28 passing, 12 rushing) this season while having nary a 1,000-yard receiver. Buffalo is also the second highest scoring offense in the NFL with an average of nearly 31 points per game.
While it appears Nix has a bright future for Denver, a rookie quarterback winning his postseason debut in Buffalo is a tall order.
Buffalo 28 Denver 17
Green Bay Packers (+3-1/2) at Philadelphia Eagles: These two teams met in the 2024 NFL opener, a 34-29 Eagles win in São Paulo, Brazil. So what impact will that have on this game? Absolutely none.
The Packers were a surprise entrant in the playoffs last year, yet had a nice showing when they whipped the Cowboys in Dallas and then lost a close game on the road the following week against the eventual NFC champion San Francisco 49ers. With that postseason run came high expectations for the 2024 season. And while the Pack finished a solid 11-6, they went 0-5 against the three NFC teams with superior records. While QB Jordan Love had another solid season, Green Bay really shined in the run game with free agent RB Josh Jacobs running for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns.
But as good as Jacobs was, Philly RB Saquon Barkley was downright phenomenal, running for more than 2,000 yards. And the Eagles needed that type off productions since QB Jalen Hurts didn't even throw for 3,000 yards. In my opinion, Hurts has taken a downturn since Philadelphia's Super Bowl loss two years ago. And the fact he didn't even clear concussion protocol until Friday morning doesn't bode well for the Philly offense. As such, Barkley could see an even heavier workload.
The Eagles allowed the second fewest point in the '24 campaign while also allowing the fewest yards. They too will have to step up big time if Hurts is still wobbly.
Philadelphia 20 Green Bay 17
Washington Commanders (+2-1/2) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Yet another Week 1 rematch, won by the Bucs 37-20. But, again, we can't glean a whole lot from that given Commies QB Jayden Daniels was making his NFL debut. Needless to say, Daniels eventually figured it out as he amassed nearly 4,500 total yards (3,568 yards passing, 891 yards rushing), putting him on the inside track for 2024 NFL Rookie of the Year.
I have to say that I'm happy for long-suffering Redskins Washington Football Team Commanders fans now that sniveling weasel punk Dan Snyder no longer owns the club, thus making the organization's morale orders of magnitude better. And they appear to have gotten it right with head coach Dan Quinn, who led the squad to 12 victories in his first season at the helm. This shouldn't be a huge surprise given he was Seattle's defensive coordinator in the "Legion of Boom" era when the Seahawks won the franchise's only Super Bowl and then three seasons later guided the Atlanta Falcons to the big game while serving as head coach.
After 10 games in 2024, the Bucs looked dead in the water as they sported a 4-6 record while losing WR Chris Godwin to a season-ending ankle injury as well as being without to WR Mike Evans for a few games. However, QB Baker Mayfield's resurgence is real as compiled career highs in pass yards (4,500) touchdown passes (41) and completion percentage (71.4%). Tampa has also looked better defensively down the stretch, playing a vital role in the winning six of their final seven games. Add to that stud Safety Antoine Winfield, Jr. being on track to play this game and you have a Bucs team that could make deep run this postseason.
I believe Washington's future is bright and they will acquit themselves well this game, but they're not quite ready for prime time.
Tampa Bay 31 Washington 24
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