Dr.Sack

Correct. If the communication gets corrected at the half, I suspect this will only help the Texans be in a position to sustain drives and pull off the upset. No turnovers so far. This feels like a game the team that gets the first turnover wins.

I suspect 49ers too. Only cause for concern being McCaffery's calf.

Penalties are interesting in this one. Texans 8 for 50, Ravens 1 for 5.

Ravens can win this game by going back to the run, 17 carries 95 yards in one half is no joke. Stop trying to justify Lamar as MVP purely on passing. Isn't this about winning? The way the Ravens can win is by running Lamar.

Either the Texans pass defense has dramatically improved since Cleveland, or Jackson and his WRs are not as good as advertised.

You can't miss FGs in the playoffs. Bills were lucky to survive 2 misses. We need Bass to become the man.

Texans kicker is a liability. But so to is Ravens OL.

If Tyler Bass is your kicker in a game like this, how confident are you?

Only thing that concerns me is what if Martin needs to run out for a FG hold as time is expiring and we don’t have the ability to stop the clock?

I want home games so go Texans. If it’s the Ravens so be it. Texans are heavy underdogs and probably will give the Ravens a game.

One of greatest advantages in this game is homefield. There are other advantages to like, the fact the Bills at home average 29.7 points per game and give up 15. The Chiefs on the road score 20.7 and give up 17.7. The Chiefs “greatest” defense of all-time has created 7 turnovers in 9 road/neutral site games. Wow 7! The Bills “injury” ravaged poverty defense has generated 15 turnovers. Speaking of greatest defense, the Bills have given up 9 3rd quarter points all season at home. The Chiefs Tackles are not good. The Bills Tackles are good. Mahomes completion % drops 7% in Super Bowl’s vs Arrowhead. Travis Kelce is 34 and probably is strongly considering retiring. Nick Bolton’s wrist is badly injured. Sneed was banged up vs Miami. Rashee Rice was banged up too. Mahomes hasn’t looked comfortable all year. Pacheco has been banged up recently. Chris Jones is likely gone. Give Kansas City a dose of the 12th Man and an aggressive physically dominant performance and they will collapse. Bills win, but not by the slightest of margins.

Expect the Bills to use a lot of their Safeties / Corners as LBs this week. Historically teams that commit 6-8 men to coverage do well vs the Chiefs, including the masterclass performed by the Bengals the past 2 AFC Championships. 3-2-6, 3-1-7 exotic looks depending on personnel. The idea is speed is more important to coverage. To that end some guys who might fill positions are Lewis, Neal, and Hamlin. While a not ideal replacement for Bernard, there likely will be scenarios where Klein & Dodson come off and lighter personnel is used.

Brady doesn’t want the job. He will have way more clout in 4 weeks.

Good point. Regarding the moment not being too big yes KC has been in bigger games in bigger moments. The Super Bowl is a corporate event and not very loud with the opposing teams fans comprising 30% of the stadium. In the Tampa Super Bowl only 24,000 fans were in the stands and that was 1st responders. Regarding hostile environments they’ve never been in such a loud environment under win or go home pressure. In 2023 KC has gone 7-2 on the road and the neutral site game in Germany vs Miami, losing at Green Bay 19-27, and Denver 9-24. Those are the toughest stadiums and environments they’ve played in 2023. And not surprisingly they lost both games.

Lamar has a ton of advantages including home field. Stroud has the advantage of no pressure. Not many expected the Texans to make the playoffs let alone win a game. Now Stroud has as many career playoff wins as the QB he is facing. The pressure is clearly on Lamar. If the Texans jump out to an early lead the Ravens could unravel.

What about passing TDs?

What pit is complete without a Rancor?

Bills 27 Chiefs 17

The way I see it, the decision is to eat $10m to save $22m or pay him $32m over the next two seasons.

This probably will be a game where the roles reverse and KC will lose 4 players in the 1st Qtr. (Sneed, Bolton, Pacheco, Rice).

10m dead cap, or pay him $16m. So the question is he worth $6m? I think there is a 50% chance that will retain him and target a mid-2024 return.

This guy is from Kansas City. He can't change a tire. Soft as Charmin.

Keys to the Game. #1 Score. The Chiefs are 0-4 when they give up 21 or more. 2-2 when they give up 20, including 0-1 vs Bills. #2 Turnovers. In their 6 losses KC has committed 13 TOs to 4 takeaways. #3 Run. KC can be run on, teams that commit to the run & rush for 118 yards are 6-2 vs the Chiefs.

Haack and Bass can’t lose us this game.

They looked old when Tyreek burnt them in the 13 second game. But in retrospect that dude would have done that to any safety. They are savvy veterans and Poyer and Hyde will be 33 next year. That’s not incredibly old. I’d try to keep Hyde back for another season if possible.