It was football heaven. One game went into overtime. All went down to the last second. The NFL is doing things right, but I won't get any "amens" from Packers, Bucs and Titans fans. Both number one seeds lost in the same round. The defending champion Bucs were dumped.

I have been preaching for some time that the home-field advantage, while real, is overrated. It is now a minor advantage.

I repeated that opinion last year, after the wild-card Bucs beat four division champs to become NFL champions. But last year, many games were played with few fans in the stands. Still, evidence of the decline of home-field advantage has been around for years.

Take Aaron Rodgers. The Packers' only Super Bowl win in the Rodgers era came in 2011, after they capped off the 2010 season with a wild card playoff berth. They won three road games and beat the Steelers in a neutral Super Bowl venue. Since then, the Packers have lost three home playoff games. They were eliminated at home by the Giants in 2011, the 49ers in 2013, and the Bucs in 2020. Saturday, as rowdy Cheeseheads celebrated the sub-zero temperatures, the Pack suffered yet another humiliating elimination at home.

I think Aaron Rodgers is better suited for playing in 'decent' weather and/or indoor venues. Saturday night, the QBs could not throw deep very well - due to wind and snow - and it neutralized one of Aaron Rodgers' major strengths (even in sunny weather, the 49ers never could exploit the deep ball as well as Rodgers and WR Davante Adams, so, advantage to the 49ers).

Even as Cheeseheads were proudly taking off their shirts in the freezing air, I thought the cold fact was settling in that their season was just about over — the victim of yet another low-scoring Ice Bowl. How ironic!

Saturday, I picked the Pack and the Titans, but both offenses froze up — not to take any credit from the tough Niners and the feisty Bengals. They were magnificent.

On Sunday, the Chiefs lost a key defender, safety Tyrann Mathieu, and — oh, crap — my pick immediately looked in doubt, as the Bills diced up that Chief defense. I think D coordinator Steve Spagnuolo did a poor job defending against the deadly running and passing of Josh Allen.

It is truly sad that game came down to a coin toss! Someone, please fix that?

I went 2-2 in the divisional round, picking the Rams and the Chiefs, and I am sticking with those two teams to win the Conference Championships and head to L.A. for the Super Bowl.

Conference Championships      My Pick

49ers at Rams                            Rams

Bengals at Chiefs                        Chiefs

I doubt that these games will match last weekend's excitement, but then, last weekend was so insane that I doubt fans could survive another one. I will be satisfied with just "very good football", and hopefully you will, too. Enjoy!