The Houston/Buffalo game was much closer than I anticipated. Buffalo pressured Houston well and did a great job forcing over time. Brian Daboll does a great job of minimizing Allen’s weaknesses letting him throw the ball deep when John Brown and Co. got open. I think of Mike McCoy crafting an offense for Tim Tebow in Denver back in ’11 when watching Allen play. Josh Allen is having the season I kind of expected Lamar Jackson to have. Houston saw DeShaun Watson pull some absolute rabbits out of his hat against the second best (points allowed) defense in football. Watson was sacked SIX times, three by Jerry Hughes. The Texans go on the road to Arrowhead stadium and face the Chiefs next week.
Derrick Henry ran New England into the ground.
The New England Patriots only scored 13 points in a home game. The following names were on the Patriots roster in 2019: five time pro bowl wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, seven time pro bowler Antonio Brown, Josh Gordon (with an average yards per reception of over 17), tight end Austin Sefarian-Jenkins (one of the top tight ends in free agency). The Patriots finished the season with Julian Edelman, Philip Dorsett, and a pair of struggling rookies at wide receiver. The Nashville side of the story for this game revolved around Derrick Henry inflicting his will upon the New England defense. Henry accounted for over 200 yards from scrimmage for Tennessee. Tennessee travels to M&T Bank Stadium to challenge John Harbaugh, Lamar Jackson and the NFL-best Baltimore Ravens.
Vikings/Saints
The Vikings WON a football game against a winning team 
The Vikings defense performed well at containing the Saints throughout the whole game. Vikings running back Dalvin Cook got going with 130 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. The Saints lack of receiving weapons bit them in the butt. Alvin Kamara, who was heavily used in 2018, hasn’t been featured in the gameplan with either the same success, or to the same extent. The game boiled down to an overtime play where “anti”-clutch Kirk Cousins tossed a 3rd down ball to Kyle Rudolph who reached over his man and kept Minnesota alive past wild card weekend. Minnesota travels to Levi’s Stadium to play the number one seed 49ers (NFC). This Vikings team looked UNIMPRESSIVE during the regular season, a playoff win against a heavyweight like the Saints is a statement win for Zimmer’s program. Cousins didn’t play amazing, but he didn’t turn the ball over and literally threw the game winning touchdown.
Seahawks/Eagles
These two teams played earlier this year. The Eagles QB was healthy the whole game, and the score ended 17-9, Seahawks with the W. Today, Carson Wentz went down with injury, and the Seahawks won, 17-9. Seattle will now travel to Green Bay and face a relatively healthy roster with a MEAN defense.
UNSUNG HERO OF THE PLAYOFFS: BYU’s number 5 all time rusher, Taysom Hill threw a 50 yard pass, ran for 50 yards on 4 touches, and caught two passes for 25 yards including one for a touchdown. It took Drew Brees over seven completions to match Hill’s 50 yards passing.
Song of the day: Sugar, we’re going down swinging (’80s version) Fall Out Boy
Gridiron Seasonal 