National Football League

Buccaneers, Chiefs highlight Colin Cowherd's Blazin' 4 Picks

Updated Jan. 21, 2022 8:12 p.m. ET

Colin Cowherd has his hands full picking the divisional round of the playoffs in this edition of "Blazin' 4."

To kick off the action, the Bengals travel to Tennessee for a Saturday meeting with the Titans (4:30 p.m. ET on CBS). Later on that evening, the San Francisco 49ers take their shot at the NFL's top-seeded Green Bay Packers (8:15 p.m. ET on FOX).

On Sunday, the Rams are looking to end the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' reign as defending Super Bowl champions (3 p.m. ET on NBC). To cap the weekend off, the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs renew their rivalry with a trip to the AFC Championship Game on the line (6:30 p.m. ET on CBS).

Here are "The Herd" host's predictions, along with odds and win totals as presented by FOX Bet.

Cincinnati Bengals at Tennessee Titans

Colin's thoughts: "I'm gonna take the Titans. Cincinnati is banged up, and Mike Vrabel, like great coaches, is better off a bye. He's 4-0 off a bye. They're 11-2 when A.J. Brown plays and 6-2 when Derrick Henry plays. Go back and look at the stats, the first eight weeks with Derrick Henry, he was unstoppable. Joe Burrow is the most sacked quarterback in the NFL. It's the worst O-line in the playoffs, I don't think you can win multiple playoff games with the worst O-line in the playoffs. I'll take the Titans to win and cover, 28-23."

San Francisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers

Colin's thoughts: "Have no strong vibes on this. This would be my weakest pick, but I'll take the Packers -5.5. Za'Darius Smith may play, Jaire Alexander may play, David Bakhtiari should play. Green Bay doesn't beat themselves, they were the least-penalized team in the league. They had the fewest giveaways in the league. Since Week 2, Aaron Rodgers is first or second in every stat in the league. In his playoff career, Jimmy Garoppolo completes 54% of his throws in the second half off-script and has a 49 passer rating. He can struggle, second half against great playoff teams. I'm gonna take Green Bay with no conviction to win, and cover, 31-24."

Los Angeles Rams at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Colin's thoughts: "I like the Bucs to win and cover, although I do worry about Tampa Bay's beat-up center Ryan Jensen, and Tristan Wirfs, right tackle. That is problematic for a quarterback that doesn't love getting hit and isn't overly mobile. But the Bucs are 10-0 when they win the turnover battle, 8-0 at home this year, and Tom [Brady] has been in this game so many times in his career. Matthew Stafford is going to be asked to throw the ball over 30 times, he threw the ball 17 times last week. They won't have great success running. Stafford throwing 30, 35 times on the road worries me, he had 17 picks. Again, I say this with very little conviction … I'll take Tampa, 27-21."

Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs

Colin's thoughts: "This would be my strongest play, maybe I'll bet a little, I would take Kansas City -1.5. They're No. 1 in scoring, again, let's look at how Patrick Mahomes has done in this spot in his career. As a home playoff quarterback, 120 passer rating. Josh Allen tends to spike and then drop. The Bills are 0-5 in games decided by a possession. So, all of their wins are Mike Tyson early knockouts. You get into strategy, you can beat Tyson. You want a refined, strategic, close game, that's not built for Buffalo. And I don't see Kansas City getting blown out. This would be my strongest play, Kansas City winning. I think this will be high scoring, though both defenses are more than capable. I don't think this is the shootout that everybody thinks, 33-27, but there will be plenty of defensive plays."

For Cowherd's full breakdown, check out the video below: