Picking Wild Card Games

Wow!  Now THAT was quite a weekend to end the regular season!  It wasn't until literally the last play of the regular season that the Raiders kicked the winning field goal to set the AFC field.  And, boy, does that field look different than it did when Week 18 started!  Raiders and Steelers in, Colts and Chargers out.  Although, sorry Indy, it's your own damn fault!

Over in the NFC, the Packers lost to the Lions because they simply didn't care and the 49ers beat the Rams in another OT game to claim the final spot over the Saints.  While I'm not surprised by the NFC field at all, I am happy with how the seeds shifted around.  Because I think Green Bay and Dallas are the two best teams and now that the Cowboys are the 3-seed, they can't meet until the NFC Championship Game. 

Spoiler alert, that's my pick for the NFC Championship Game matchup.  The rest of the playoffs-as-a-whole picks will come after I go through this week's six games, including the first-ever Monday night Wild Card Game, which, frankly, is just awesome!

Raiders (10-7) at Bengals (10-7): Cincinnati-Thirty-one years ago in the Divisional Playoffs, the Bengals broke Bo Jackson.  Their punishment for doing that was to lose that game...and every playoff game they've played since!  It's also been a while since the Raiders won a playoff game.  The 2002 AFC Championship Game to be exact.  In fact, this will be just their second playoff game since then!  So, one of these teams will finally end a long playoff drought!

I wonder if playing the Sunday night game then turning around and playing a Sunday afternoon game will have any impact on the Raiders.  More likely, the cold weather in Cincinnati will be a factor.  It was an incredible run by Las Vegas to sneak in when everybody thought they were out of it, but I think that run ends here.  The Bengals have had a chip on their shoulder all season and still feel like they have something to prove.  They'll go a long way towards proving it with their first playoff win since 1990.

Patriots (10-7) at Bills (11-6): New England-Snow?  Frigid temperatures?  Sounds like a typical January day in Buffalo!  It also sounds like a great day for some playoff football!  Although, any advantage the Bills would've had because of the elements is negated by the fact that their division rivals are used to these conditions, too (and pretty famously won a playoff game in a blizzard 20 years ago this week).

This is the rubber match between these two.  The road team won both regular season meetings, with the Bills doing absolutely nothing offensively on that windy Monday night six weeks ago.  They rebounded to put up 33 points at Foxboro in Week 16, which is what gave them the division title.  So, really, who has the edge depends on what type of game they play.  If it's like Week 13, it's advantage New England.  If it's like Week 16, it's advantage Buffalo.  Considering what the weather is supposed to be and Belichick, I've gotta go with the Patriots.

Eagles (9-8) at Buccaneers (13-4): Tampa Bay-Last season, Tampa Bay played all road games before becoming the first-ever Super Bowl home team.  This time, they get to start the playoffs at Raymond James Stadium after winning their first division title since 2007.  Perhaps more importantly, though, their win and the Rams' loss last week moved them up to the 2-seed, which means they'll get another home game next week.

Their opponent this week is a team they used to face in the playoffs seemingly every year--the Philadelphia Eagles.  Great job by the Eagles to make the playoffs, but they're overmatched here and they know it.  You can only take so much from last week's result when they clearly didn't care, but, still, going into the playoffs having given up 51 points in your last game doesn't exactly exude confidence.  That and the fact that their opponent is Tom Brady.

49ers (10-7) at Cowboys (12-5): Dallas-Speaking of teams that used to play in the playoffs every year, I present Dallas and San Francisco.  The Cowboys and 49ers have played some all-time classics, and their rivalry in the 90s was epic!  What does this latest chapter have in store?

Well, if the Dallas Cowboys play like they did last week, they're gonna be very difficult to beat.  I've been saying all season that I think Dallas is the best team.  They're certaily the most complete.  And last week was probably their best all-around effort of the season.  Even if only one of their units is firing on all cylinders, that should be enough.  San Francisco won four of its last five to go from 6-7 to 10-7, but their season ends here.

Steelers (9-7-1) at Chiefs (12-5): Kansas City-That stupid tie against the Lions got the Steelers into the playoffs!  Although, to their credit, they did what they had to do and had everything they needed to happen go their way (I can only imagine how crazy their fans must've been going when Raiders-Chargers went to OT, knowing that they were out if that game ended in a tie!).  And, as a result, Ben Roethlisberger gets one last game.  On Sunday Night Football no less!

People aren't giving Pittsburgh much of a chance here, and the Chiefs are even promoting this as the "Ben Roetlisberger Retirement Party."  You obviously don't want to get caught being overconfident (which I think the Steelers did in their playoff loss to the Browns last year), but Kansas City knows they're the better team.  My biggest concern regarding the Chiefs will be in a few weeks, when Mahomes has to go on the road in the postseason for the first time.  I don't think not having the bye will have any impact.

Cardinals (11-6) at Rams (12-5): Arizona-We wrap up Super Wild Card Weekend with a rematch of a regular season Monday night game that the Rams won.  That proved to be the difference that gave the Rams the division crown, although the standings would've flipped had the Cardinals beaten Seattle last week.  I'm not sure Arizona's too bothered by that, though, since they were such a good road team this season.  The Rams, however, are certainly helped by playing at SoFi.

Just like Bills-Patriots, these two split in the regular season, with the road team winning both games.  Unlike Bills-Patriots, the two games in this series were spread apart.  The first one was early in the season when Arizona was in the midst of its 7-0 start.  The second one, meanwhile, is what got the Rams going on their strong stretch run.  I'd say meeting No. 3 is a coin flip, and I'm going to call "tails," an Arizona victory.

As for my overall playoff picks, I already told you what I think in the NFC.  In the AFC, meanwhile, I've got a Titans-Chiefs Championship Game.  My Super Bowl matchup is Dallas-Tennessee.  With the Dallas Cowboys winning their sixth Super Bowl.

Last Week: 9-7
Overall: 171-100-1