To be the man, you gotta beat the man. Eagles have my MVP (Saquon Barkley) and a feasting defense: best player, unit Chiefs face this season. Kansas City will be working against three-peat expectations. Chiefs have the best quarterback, coach and DC in the NFL. They match up well with Philadelphia, weakness being a still-solid OL. Eagles will have line-of-scrimmage advantages, but Chiefs DL will make some plays. Rushing defense should be shored up given extended practice. Philly has been the NFL's best team this season; KC the last six years. It will be close. No chance I'm ignoring Patrick Mahomes vs. top 10 defenses (4-0), Andy Reid with extra week of prep (33-7), Steve Spagnuolo ability to take apart talented QBs like Jalen Hurts.

To be the man, you gotta beat the man. And the Chiefs, most definitely, are the man. Here are the splits: Buffalo is 4-0 against Kansas City in the regular season, 0-3 in the playoffs since 2021. KC covered each time. Patrick Mahomes is dominant ATS when getting a second shot playing the same defense, and this Bills unit is down a couple key players. (He is also dominant in the postseason, of course.) Buffalo is 5-4 ATS on the road this season, while Kansas City is 6-1 ATS as a favorite of 4 points or less (or underdog). The Chiefs have gotten healthy with extra rest coming at the most opportune time for the two-time reigning champions. Update: Take this as pick 'em -115.

Plenty to be concerned about with the Eagles: loss of their center plus Jalen Hurts’ knee and passing struggles. Plenty to like about the Commanders behind Jayden Daniels, but Washington has concerns with Daron Payne’s absence hurting its already-poor rushing defense further. Second straight week my pick flipped; transparently, it cost us by 0.5 vs. Rams. I was all-in with the Commanders, but the Eagles’ line-of-scrimmage dominance matters. Dan Quinn takes a lot of fourth-down risks that have mostly paid off. Those become riskier against a Vic Fangio defense with Jake Elliott hot. The December road upset was an outlier with Hurts KO’d and 7 combined turnovers. Eagles led this meeting by 16 with 30 seconds left in Week 11. I will buy -5.5 (-115).

Notre Dame has been our golden goose (no pun intended) in the College Football Playoff, but its magic runs out Monday night. At full strength, the Fighting Irish cover this number; however, they are an injury-depleted squad that had just enough to get past Penn State but not enough to go 60 minutes with the talent on Ohio State’s roster Monday night. The Buckeyes have the sport’s best wide receivers and defensive coordinator, a run game that matches up and the advantage at quarterback. They clearly used the Michigan loss as an inflection point. Even if Marcus Freeman’s crew holds it down in the first half, Ohio State should be able to build a second-half lead and hold onto it.

Though both teams have impressed this season, the Ravens are built specifically for a hard-hitting, ground-based game like this. The frigid conditions will not affect them like they would other teams. The combination of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry is seemingly unstoppable; Josh Allen and James Cook are certainly dynamic, but they are going up against a much tougher defensive front. Baltimore’s ability to sustain drives has not faltered since earlier in the season when it dominated Buffalo, and the combination of Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely should pay dividends. The Bills are excellent at home, and while I disagreed with the line flipping, it ultimately found the right side. Jackson outplays Allen and the Ravens take it.

Lean was the Rams, which have won a lot for us. If you pick them +7, that’s a fine play. However, cold and snowy conditions flipped my pick; the elements are tough sledding for an indoor team flying cross country. L.A.’s defense has surged, but it’s taken advantage of flawed quarterbacks and injured offenses. Eagles OL is not going to fall apart like Vikings, and weather makes running – particularly short yardage – critical. The Rams will not protect Matthew Stafford as easily leading to passing game struggles. Stafford is 1-8 with 14 TD, 11 INT when playing in rain or snow. If Philadelphia sticks to its plan, its trenches should win the battle of attrition after halftime with a late TD sealing the cover.

Wish there was a prop for how many times the Lions will punt because I’m not sure it will happen more than once or twice. As impressive as the Commanders and Jayden Daniels were beating the Buccaneers, it sure feels like Detroit is an unstoppable force in the NFC. This is a large spread, but the Lions win games in dominant fashion. There is concern that Daniels could backdoor cover, no doubt, though we know Detroit doesn’t take its foot off the gas in the fourth quarter. The Lions defense is still injured, but if can keep Daniels in the pocket, I ultimately like Ben Johnson’s offense over Dan Quinn’s defense, which is probably a year away from its own dominance.

Quite a spread for the Chiefs, which struggle to cover (particularly big numbers). Their 8-point win vs. Texans is probably part of it. Since then, Isiah Pacheco is healthier and Tank Dell (leading WR that game) is sidelined. Kansas City is also off a bye -- where Andy Reid is historically stellar, particularly when his opponent plays the week prior -- with starters rested for two weeks. Steve Spagnuolo’s defense has improved. Houston’s offense is inconsistent. It's also an indoor team playing in the cold where Patrick Mahomes thrives (8-3 ATS). Mahomes is 6-0 this round (16 TD, 0 INT); he and the Chiefs are a huge step up from the Chargers. A simple Chiefs (-2.5) and Lions (-2.5) tease is a must as well.

Sunday night reminded: The better coach and quarterback usually win. Monday night, we have Sam Darnold favored in a playoff game against Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay in primetime. McVay and Kevin O'Connell are both 0-1 in the playoffs since 2022, but the Rams surged late this season with a win over the Bills. The Vikings have been mighty impressive outside of Week 18 and an earlier loss in Los Angeles; Stafford threw four TD and Aaron Jones was held to 58 yards that night. The Rams have match-up playmakers, a young defensive front and a massive experience edge. They’re also rested, which should get the offense in gear. Will settle for +2.5 here but plan to buy +3 (-118) with a moneyline sprinkle.

Legitimate toss-up. The Buccaneers have been terrible in primetime. The Commanders have only beaten one quality team. Jayden Daniels is a rookie making his first playoff start on the road, yet he’s not a normal rookie. Both rush well, but Washington can’t defend the run. Both throw well, but Tampa Bay can’t defend the pass. The Bucs are getting secondary help with Antoine Winfield, and their ability to lean on Bucky Irving to churn clock and extend drives should be critical. If the Commanders’ pass protection is not on point, the Bucs’ strong defensive front should impede some of Daniels’ scrambling. Washington is on an 0-3 ATS streak on the road, and Baker Mayfield has playoff experience playing well in the 2023 wild card.

Without Christian Watson to draw coverage, the Packers passing offense struggles. He’s now out for the season. Green Bay and Jordan Love have shown an ability to bounce back in second halves -- necessary due to slow starts. That does create dangerous backdoor cover scenarios. However, the Pack are 2-5 SU & ATS against playoff teams with mostly close losses, including to the Eagles by 5 in the season opener. Philadelphia is much improved four months later with a defense that has been on fire since the bye week. Philly closes out games extremely well with Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley, and it is coming off a half-bye, just like Buffalo. Taking the best line available here, but as a dead zone, take through -5.5.

The Broncos have impressed with their defense stout and offensive improving at the right time. However, they have one win against teams that made or just missed the playoffs (playing starters, the Bucs in Week 3); 0-7 otherwise with six losses by 6+ points. Bo Nix is a rookie starting his first playoff game on the road in cold weather. The Bills and Josh Allen have failed to live up to postseason expectations, but they’ve authored big-time wild card wins. With the line falling into a palatable range, Buffalo’s defense getting healthy, its offense rested and Allen on a mission, I’ll play despite originally planning to pass. Bills need to overcome early pass rush pressure and protect Allen in the second half to thrive.

This spread feels huge. Plus, history tells us not to discount the Steelers and Mike Tomlin as underdogs or against AFC North opponents. However, Pittsburgh has lost four straight by 13.0 ppg, fell at Baltimore by 17 and stands 0-4 in the playoffs since 2016 losing its last three by 15.3 ppg. Its anemic offense features Russell Wilson struggling downfield outside of moonballs to George Pickens. There’s talk of involving Justin Fields. Will it matter? The Ravens not having Zay Flowers is concerning, but they still possess far more weapons overall. Baltimore averages 100 more yards, 8 more ppg than Pittsburgh. The defenses are near statistical mirrors. The Ravens are 4-0 SU & ATS since their bye winning by 23 ppg (two against playoff teams).

Not sure I'd have taken the Chargers over the Texans at the midway point, but here we have a diminished Houston offense facing a surging Jim Harbaugh-coached team. The Chargers won three straight entering the postseason with a 9-2 ATS mark since Oct. 27; the Texans are 4-5 SU & ATS since Oct. 31. Justin Herbert is playing his best ball at the most important time. J.K. Dobbins is back healthy helping open the passing game. Conversely, C.J. Stroud has 9 TD and 8 INT over his last eight games with Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell both out. The Bolts being on the road for a third straight week deserves pause; it’s not enough to shy away from Herbert, this defense, Harbaugh and his staff.

After being on Ohio State all week, Texas started looking favorable when it appeared the line was shifting to 7. Alas, it did not. This call is ultimately about Jim Knowles. The Buckeyes defensive coordinator is arguably the best in the business as evidenced by his crew demoralizing Oregon and completely erasing its run game. The Longhorns have been explosive but inconsistent offensively, and I worry about Quinn Ewers facing a regular pass rush knocking him off his spot. This line is indeed inflated given overreaction to OSU's quarterfinal effort (should probably be -4 or -4.5), but 5.5 is in the dead zone, and I like Ohio State to win by a touchdown behind its explosive playmakers and swarming defense.