Titans at Chiefs

The Titans are coming off of a shocking upset over the Ravens and the Chiefs just overcame a massive deficit to beat the Texans. When looking at the match ups, Derrick Henry should once again have a massive game, quite possibly his biggest of the playoffs, and that's saying a lot. The Chiefs' defense, though improved, was still 26th against the run during the regular season, so they will mightily struggle to contain Henry. That should set up the play-action for the Titans, and the Chiefs don't have nearly as good of a secondary as the Patriots or Titans, so Tennessee should be able to pass for more yards than they have the past two weeks. Though it looks like the Titans offense should do better than every, one has to wonder if they will fizzle out, or if the pressure of this big stage gets to them. It would be one of the most impressive postseason runs ever if the Titans could get through the Patriots, Ravens, and Chiefs on the road in a row. Mathematically speaking, the odds of them doing that are incredibly low, so there is a great chance that the Titans suddenly stop playing like they have been. When looking at the other side of the ball, the Titans will likely put Adoree' Jackson on Tyreek Hill since he is very fast, but he isn't good enough to cover Hill one-on-one. The issue is that if the Titans double-team Hill, then they would either have Kelce one-on-one or double-team him too but that would leave wide open holes in the run game plus Sammy Watkins would be all by himself with likely no safety help. The Titans simply don't have the talent to account for all of the Chiefs' weapons. Overall, both teams should be able to move the ball effectively, so this should be  a close game. If the game is close, however, who do you trust to close it out, Mahomes or Tannehill? Obviously Mahomes, not to mention the fact that the Chiefs are at home and mathematically speaking the Titans are likely to fizzle out at one point. Because of all of these factors, expect the Chiefs to go to the Super Bowl.

Expert Prediction: Chiefs 34, Titans 28

Analytics-Based Prediction: Chiefs 40, Titans 9

Packers at 49ers

The Packers have been good all year, but they simply don't match up well with the 49ers, and that was demonstrated earlier this year when they were killed by San Francisco. The Packers have a bad run defense, 23rd to be exact, while the 49ers have one of the best run games in the NFL. They will be able to run the ball up and down the field during this game and score a ton of points without even needing to consider having Jimmy Garoppolo drop back to pass. When they do pass, however, George Kittle will make some big plays, as the Packers don't have anybody capable of covering him one-on-one. The run game will also set up the play action if the 49ers want to use it. The 49ers will simply be impossible for the Packers to stop. On the other side of the ball, the 49ers' top pass defense should be able to shut down the Packers passing offense, as Davante Adams is the only real threat so by keying in on him Green Bay will mightily struggle to pass the ball. That leaves Arron Jones as the Packers' only hope, unless Adams can find a way to have a massive game which is highly unlikely. The 49ers' run defense is mediocre, coming in at 17th, but since they won't need to worry too much about the passing game they can load the box, which will prevent the Packers from doing much on the ground. Green Bay wil try to take advantage of this through the play action, but the 49ers' secondary is too good and won't bite. At the end of the day, Green Bay is set up to fail in this game, so don't be shocked if this game ends the same way the last meeting between these teams did: in a blowout.

Expert Prediction: 49ers 35, Packers 13

Analytics-Based Prediction: 49ers 27, Packers 10