Happy Monday everyone! Hopefully you all had a fantastic weekend and most of you were able to dig yourself out of the weekend snowstorms across the East Coast. Unfortunately, the NFL didn’t exactly deliver much drama so today’s “Weekend Recap” will be a bit light. I will wrap up with a quick preview of tonight’s CFP National Championship between Alabama and Clemson.

A Mild, Wild Card Weekend in the NFL

We’ll start with the NFL, where the Wild Card round didn’t exactly scream “wild.” The home teams dominated all four games and just like that the wild card teams in both conferences are gone. Oakland couldn’t do anything on offense with Connor Cook at the helm while Brock Osweiler played mistake-free football and led Houston to a nice 27-14 playoff win. Seattle dropped Detroit in the least exciting game of the weekend, 26-6. Detroit has spent more time blaming the officials on Saturday night than taking accountability for getting outplayed by Seattle.

Sunday gave us the two hottest teams in football continuing their impressive runs. The opening game of the day saw Pittsburgh jump all over Miami early and keep the motor down the rest of the game. Antonio Brown scored two 50+-yard touchdowns to open the game and the Steelers never looked back. Le’Veon Bell got the rock the rest of the game and broke the franchise record for a single-game rushing performance with his 167-yard, two-touchdown day on the ground. Should Big Ben have been in a three-possession game late? Probably not, but that was what Mike Tomlin thought was the best decision. Roethlisberger is one of the toughest QBs in the league, and a mild ankle sprain won’t stop him from playing next week.

The Packers and quarterback Aaron Rodgers dominated the final game of the weekend, which everyone thought would be an early “game of the year” candidate, sinking the New York Giants. Rodgers threw for a whooping 362 yards and four touchdowns in what quickly became a rout of the G-men. It was a tight first half, but once Green Bay ended the first half with Rodgers connected with Randall Cobb for a touchdown on a 42-yard Hail Mary, it was all over.

New York couldn’t move the ball with any consistency due in large part to a terrible game from Odell Beckham Jr. and the rest of the wide receivers. A lot has been made about that Miami trip, but honestly they just no-showed this game, plain and simple. The one time where Eli Manning actually looked like the good Eli, his receivers weren’t up to the task. That was the Giants offense in a nutshell this year, no consistency or cohesion.

Regardless of all the blowouts this weekend, we are set up for a potentially epic Divisional round next weekend. Green Bay-Dallas, Seattle-Atlanta, and Pittsburgh-Kansas City all have the potential to be great football games. Houston-New England is part of the slate, and I just hope Brady puts on a show.

CFP National Championship Preview

Let’s get to tonight’s national championship game between Alabama and Clemson. The rematch from last season could provide an even better game than the 45-40 thriller we got a year ago. There is history on the line along with the national title tonight. Alabama could win its fifth title in eight years, which has never been done in the modern era. Nick Saban would also tie Paul “Bear” Bryant for the most national championships for a head coach. Clemson can win its first championship since 1981, and could be the first team since Florida State in 1999 to win a national title after losing in the championship game the year before.

The other “storyline” in this game was Steve Sarkisian taking over as offensive coordinator for the outgoing Lane Kiffin. Personally, I think it’s a non-factor in this game. Sarkisian has been around the program all year, and is good friends with Kiffin back from their days coaching under Pete Carroll at USC. He’ll have a good handle on this offense and the scheme they have used all season. Expect a much better gameplan than a week ago despite the coaching change.

In terms of the actual matchup, this one is juicy. Alabama’s top-ranked defense flexed its muscles against Washington, but if there is one thing that has troubled Nick Saban defenses during his tenure in Tuscaloosa it is a mobile quarterback. Clemson’s Deshaun Watson certainly fits that description, and last season he torched the Tide’s defense for almost 500 total yards and four passing touchdowns.

The Tigers didn’t have its best weapon last season in wide receiver Mike Williams, but he is back for the rematch. Williams will likely be one of the first receivers off the board in the NFL draft and he is a matchup nightmare for opposing defensive backs. He adds a threat that was definitely lacking in the first matchup.

I’m expecting to see another classic between these two teams. Alabama is reportedly more fired up tonight than any other game this season. That could be bad news for Clemson because if the Tide gets out to an early lead, it could roll. The Tigers need to take control of this game early if it wants any chance to win tonight. With a matchup this close, the team that takes care of the little things will come away with the national championship. I whiffed big time going against Alabama last week but I think the revenge factor gives Clemson the motivation to stand tall against the top-ranked Tide.

Game Pick: Clemson           ATS Pick: Clemson (+6)

Enjoy the game tonight! I’ll be back tomorrow with a recap of tonight’s game. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.