Divisonal Game Picks and GOY

LA Rams -3.5 at Chicago Bears...I’m going to just say it up front so you know...I’m now officially a believer in Caleb Williams...some guys just have “it” and he has “it”...You don’t need to read any further if you are in a hurry because I am taking the Bears at home +3.5 as a 5 star “NO BRAINER” play and this can be classified as my GOY...

First year HC Ben Johnson is a huge part of the Bears success this year...and he knows HC Sean McVay very well as he schemed against him during his run as the Lions’ offensive coordinator...The Bears went from worst to first in the NFC North posting a winning record for the first time since 2018...last week, the Packers found out about what the Bears and Williams can do as they were down 18 points but rallied for their 7 4Q comeback win outscoring the Packers 25-6 in the final period...

Matt Stafford and the Rams also had a comeback win vs Carolina last week... with 38 seconds left in the game Stafford threw a TD pass and the Rams won 34-31...The Rams are hoping that RG Kevin Dotson comes back from 3 games out on the IR with a sprained ankle...DaVante Adams leads the NFL in TD receptions and Puka Nacua is a big threat as well for one of the best offenses in the league this year...

The Bears were 3 in the league in rushing and is the only team with two 750 yard rushers but they have struggled to run in the last 2 games...the Rams had 47 sacks in the regular season with their pass rush one of the best in the league so Williams elusiveness will come into play today...Williams set a playoff franchise record last week throwing for 361 years and 2 TDs in that furious comeback win...he also set a franchise record with 3942 passing yards this year...

Weather note...single digits predicted for game time today with wind chills making it feel like ZERO degrees...light snow flurries and accumulation... winds gusting up to 20+mph...pure BEARS WEATHER...oh, and... the RAMS are a dome team coming in from the West coast...LOL...

Hmm...what is Stafford’s record in cold weather games? ... 1-9...throw in some snow and high winds today...not going to be good for Stafford...I will take a mobile, young QB today....IMO...This is a GOY candidate and a definite 5 STAR PLAY on the BEARS +3.5...the oddsmakers have this game totally wrong...

Houston Texans at New England Patriots -3...The PATS went from worst to first in the AFC East and are trying to get to their first championship game since 2018...The Texans have lost in the divisional round in both of the last 2 years under their 3rd year HC DeMeco Ryans...and they recovered from an 0-3 start as well as riding a 10 game winning streak...

The PATS average an NFL leading 28.8 ppg going up against the top ranked defense in the league...Maye is the leagues most accurate QB this year and has great mobility...think Josh Allen lite...The Texans top receiver Nico Collins will miss the game with a concussion he received in the wild card win last week vs Pittsburgh...WR Justin Watson was also ruled out with a concussion...WR Christian Kirk has emerged as a big fill in, after having just 249 yards receiving all year he had 144 yards last week in the playoff game...

C.J. Stroud will have to play better, he had only 2 fumbles during the regular season but put the ball on the ground 5 times in the Steelers game...with 2 of those being turnovers and he threw an INT...but, he did throw for 250 yards and a TD and became the 4th player in NFL history to start and win a playoff game in each of his first 3 seasons... sounds strange to me but ok...

One guy that is highly motivated today is WR Stefon Diggs who played for the Texans for one year in 2024 and now has led the PATS this year with 85 catchers and 1013 yards...

IMO..defense wins championships...turnovers lose games... C.J. Stroud is the key to this game...if he plays well, the Texans win...Drake Maye will be controlled by the defense and will not get it done vs this defense today... IMO... points matter today, take the better defense with the +3 and the TEXANS for a regular play at a 60% confidence level...

Rams by 4 TDs

Bears will be lucky to score 10

Stafford knows cold weather and Soldier Field well.

@SportsIntuition

 You should be very wealthy after this game if you are right and actually wagering money on those theories.

Good luck today!

@SportsIntuition

 agree

Dome teams 0-8 straight up in 20 degrees or lower. Bears looking good. Their confidence is high and Rams played much better earlier in the year. Stafford finger may affect him more this week compared to last week when it happened in game. I'm in! ??????

@bulubulu

 Best of luck to us today!