Steve Brownlee

What a first round of action from the NFL last weekend!

I realized as I was looking at the results that almost half of this season’s playoff games — six of the 13 — were played on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

There’s four games this weekend, two during the conference championships and also the Super Bowl — that’s just seven left to play.

It’s what is happening as one more team was added to each conference for the playoffs starting last year.

It certainly wasn’t much of a picking weekend for me, as I missed every game that you could consider contested. Very few people were picking Las Vegas to beat Cincinnati, Philadelphia to beat Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh to beat Kansas City, and neither did I.

So a 3-3 record was like going 4-12 during a week of the regular season.

Ah well, let me spend my time and my space here looking at the four games this weekend, again listing the games chronologically with conference, seeding, current record, time and TV coverage:

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SATURDAY

AFC No. 4 Cincinnati (11-7) at No. 1 Tennessee (12-5), 4:30 p.m., CBS — Just a warmup game for the contest you’re really ready to watch Saturday night.

But like all of these games, you can make a case for the underdog.

In this one, the Titans looked mortal later in the season without top-flight running Derrick Henry, who looks to return this week. Although he’s about to be reactivated, as such an elite, MVP-type runner he needs to be in top form to be worth as much to Tennessee as he was before his midseason injury.

One thing working in his favor is he will have fresh legs even as he’s working through the post-surgery recovery of his right foot that includes a steel plate.

Cincy, I’m told, is fifth in the NFL defending the run, which must mean they’re not quite that good against the pass.

And they’re quite banged up on the defensive line, I’m also reading, so they might not put as much pressure on the real wild card in this game, Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill, as he’s like some of the other middling quarterbacks who tend to make more turnovers when they’re forced to carry a big part of the load.

And the Titans are supposed to have receivers Julio Jones and A.J. Brown available for this game, probably giving Tannehill something of a security blanket.

Tennessee has still had a good running game without Henry, so I’m thinking they’ll still be able to run even if they limit their star’s number of carries.

Based on what personnel looks available, I’ll take the Titans, 29-23.

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NFC No. 6 San Francisco (11-7) at No. 1 Green Bay (13-4), 8:15 p.m., Fox — Is this the game you were most interested in?

It seems like it should be a slam-dunk for the Packers, except their defense has been leaking oil for a good month now, not counting the final “exhibition” game vs. the Lions.

Looking at scenarios where each team takes an early lead, that looks like a real problem for the 49ers if the Packers jump out early, but shouldn’t hurt Green Bay nearly as much with Aaron Rodgers at the helm if San Fran starts fast.

So I’ll take the Packers, 28-20.

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SUNDAY

NFC No. 4 Los Angeles Rams (13-5) at No. 2 Tampa Bay (14-4), 3 p.m., NBC — This feels like the toughest game to call.

While they looked like world beaters on Monday vs. Arizona, the Rams have had major inconsistent stretches this season.

And the Bucs have been going through some major injury issues, with the pundits focusing on their right tackle, whose name wasn’t even familiar when I found it — Tristan Wirfs.

It seems to me that the Rams will be able to run the ball better to keep the heat off QB Matthew Stafford than Tampa will to do the same for Tom Brady.

On that account, I’ll take the Rams, 31-26.

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AFC No. 3 Buffalo (12-6) at No. 2 Kansas City (13-5), 6:30 p.m., CBS — The most intriguing matchup of the weekend just because of QBs Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen.

Sure, this game could turn into a blowout if either QB falters or simply runs into a brick wall of a defense.

But it’s KC who’s returned to form for a longer time, and thusly, I feel I can trust more. Chiefs, 24-20.

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Last week — 3-3, 50 percent.

Steve Brownlee can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 252. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.