Benster and D Pick Your Games -- Do You Want Round 3 Or The Eagles Edition

So as a quick disclaimer, I saw very little of both the Packers and Vikings because we were out of town last weekend. 

Yep, and we saw stuff like this:

Shoot your shot in Fort Smith, Arkansas

And in the case of the Packers, that probably was for the best as Derrick Henry is probably still running through the defense. 

As for the question in the title, because a trip to Chicago or a trip to Philadelphia would both would give the Packers a chance for revenge. Winning a potential round 3 against the Bears would mean that the Packers would once again win a huge game in the context of the rivalry, in da Bearz house. Also going into Philly would get the taste of last year out of their mouths. 

The taste of a cheesesteak marinated in bile.

Not good eatin', to be sure Either result would be fine with me. 

I would prefer a trip to Chicago, because historically we don't get to break out the Happy Schnapps Combo when the Packers beat the Eagles, but your mileage may vary.

 I am feeling the HYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEE! and am ready to pick some games. Watch me work. 

Glorious Green Bay Packers (+9.5) vs. Minnesota Vikings Quite honestly, I have no issues with resting the starters against the Vikings. They have nothing to gain by winning, and given how this team resembles a walking hospital unit at this point, I have no problem turning things over to Clayton Tune with a week of prep and having Desmond Ridder serve as the backup. My issue with the Packers last week was that knowing that Lamar Jackson was going to be out, I would have thrown everything into stopping the run game and forcing the Ravens to win by passing down the field. To not do it was a bad coaching decision. The Vikings aren't playing for jobs, but this offseason is going to have a lot of interesting questions. I think that KOC is pretty safe, but it wouldn't surprise me if the front office gets a shakeup and the Vikings might move a couple of big pieces because they have locked themselves into a team that is near the top of the cap and could see Flores get a second shot at a head coaching gig. As for the Packers, if they can find a pass rush like they did back in November, they can beat JJ McCarthy and go into either Philadelphia or Chicago with some momentum. Packers 18, Vikings 17. 

That 9.5 line is a sucker bet. Do we assume the Vikings can score 10 points? They've had trouble scoring no matter who plays quarterback. I think McCarthy will want to prove a point, but I'm not convinced he can. This could be a really bad football game. Packers 16, Vikings 9.

Detroit LOLions (+3) vs. Bear Down Chicago Da Bearz Still Suck So the Bears got a huge assist from the Eagles, who will likely resting players, and are likely going to want to get the chance of a home game in the divisional round. The thing is, Dan Campbell is the type of coach who is going to want to make things tough on the Bears and his old understudy, Ben Johnson. I figure that the Bears are going to play their starters for a good chunk of the game, and are hoping that they can get through this game healthy. Jared Goff had an epic meltdown last week with his decision to hand out a bunch of gifts at US Bank Stadium. Thankfully, his performance didn't cost my fantasy team in our bid to win a second title in three years and also make the title game for a third straight year. You love to see it. LOLions 26, Bears Still Suck 15. 

This game has bad karma written all over it for the Bears. The Lions played terribly last week and they will not want to end their season in last place, which would be the result of a loss. The Bears need to be careful here. Lions 28, Bears 24.

 Enjoy your football this weekend. It's almost certain you probably will enjoy it more than the SEC and their enablers Paul Finebaum and Clay Travis. Ben out.