We’re another week closer to the Super Bowl as the Divisional Round gets underway this weekend. Billy Gil of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz and God Bless Football joined Jordan Brenner and Peter Keating of the Underdogs podcast to preview all the action.
Jordan points out that the Division Round has been somewhat kind to underdogs, with those teams posting a 48-34-1 record against the spread. The Chiefs are 8.5-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook, so can the Texans be the underdog to take the defending champs down and deny everyone one of the matchups they want in the AFC Championship?
Billy admits he actually wasn’t really that impressed with the Texans last week in their Wild Card victory over the Chargers. He felt as though it was a case where both teams were competing to see who could blow that game. The weird thing about the Texans, Billy says, is this was the year everybody thought CJ Stroud and his team would take it to the next level and instead they disappointed. Additionally, despite looking a bit off for most of the season, that No. 1 seed the Chiefs earned helped them rest up in advance of this matchup, although he doesn’t know how the betting public feels about the fact that the Chiefs haven’t played a real game with their starters in three weeks.
Peter says we really need to figure out some way to tell when a team is about to play their worst game of the season. Jordan points out that he and Peter felt that, going into the postseason, the two worst teams were the Chargers and the Texans, although the most underrated unit in the playoffs might be the Texans’ defense. Jordan says if the Houston offense was functioning at the level we thought it would, with a functioning offensive line and healthy versions of Tank Dell and Stefon Diggs, maybe the Texans would have been able to make that leap. But the offense has fallen apart, unable to open up any holes in the run game and with just one weapon in the passing game. As Peter points out, since Stefon Diggs went down in Week 9, Houston is 27th in expected points added per play. And their games have gone under a lot.
Even if KC is kind of a smoke-and-mirrors team with Patrick Mahomes just figuring things out, Jordan just doesn’t think the Texans are the team that can exploit those weaknesses. So he sees the Chiefs winning what could be a close game, but not close enough where he feels comfortable to take the Texans with the points. Peter agrees, saying he doesn’t think the Chiefs can get past anybody else, but he thinks they can get past Houston.
With all of that in mind, is Billy buying KC as a Super Bowl team? He says he’s probably selling the Chiefs as a Super Bowl team, even though they’re in a good spot where this first playoff game is very winnable. Then you have the narrative of either Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson finally ascending and slaying the dragon that is the Chiefs. And he says it may not be because of anything the Bills or Ravens have done, but more so because the Chiefs are slightly off.
Watch or listen to the whole show below and make sure to keep an eye on the Underdogs podcast feeds on Apple and Spotify as well as the new Underdogs YouTube page for future episodes!
Watch or listen the full episode below!
AUDIO:
God Bless Underdogs: NFL Divisional Round Preview ft. Billy Gil
Can Jaden Daniels and the Commanders hold up to the Lion’s physicality? Do the Texans have what it takes to expose the Chiefs? On this episode of “Underdogs,” Jordan and Peter are joined by Billy Gil, the host of “God Bless Football,” to break down this weekend’s divisional matchups.
VIDEO:
Be sure to check out more episodes of Underdogs on the Underdogs YouTube page and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts! You can also follow Peter on X at @PeterKeatingNJ and Jordan at @JordanBrenner.
