My 2022-23 NFL Picks (Wild Card)

We've got some new blood in this season's NFL playoffs.  No Packers.  No Steelers.  No Patriots.  Instead, we've got the Giants, Dolphins and Jaguars.  And it's kind of refreshing.  I love seeing somebody other than just the usual suspects.  It's part of what made Cincinnati's run last season so fun.  Although, we've still got some of the usual suspects, too.  And those are probably the teams that'll be in the mix at the end.

But first we've got Season 3 of Super Wild Card Weekend.  There are three intradivision matchups among the six games, including Ravens-Bengals in Cincinnati for the second week in a row.  And the Giants visited Minnesota on Christmas Eve, so that's a rematch of a fairly recent game, as well.  In fact, all six matchups are rematches of regular season contests.

Seahawks (9-8) at 49ers (13-4): San Francisco-The 49ers are perhaps the hottest team in the league.  They enter the playoffs on a 10-game winning streak, and they've been doing it with a rookie quarterback.  Combine that with San Francisco's top-ranked defense, and the Seahawks have a very tall order ahead of them.  Although, for Seattle, just making the playoffs this season was a massive achievement.

When the Seahawks parted ways with Russell Wilson over the offseason, everyone just assumed they were starting a rebuild.  Little did we know that Geno Smith wouldn't just outperform Wilson, he'd turn into a franchise quarterback!  (One of the many the Jets let get away.)  Their impressive 2022 run will end on the home field of their division rivals, though.  Seattle's nowhere near as good as San Francisco.  

Chargers (10-7) at Jaguars (9-8): Jacksonville-From back-to-back No. 1 overall picks to an AFC South title.  I know he probably won't win, but Doug Pederson should certainly be in the conversation for Coach of the Year!  I don't think the Jaguars are done yet, either.  This is a team that was 4-8 at the start of December, only to end the regular season with five straight wins to take the division.  And how awesome was it that they clinched it with a fumble recovery touchdown?

That crowd's gonna be rocking for the Jaguars' first home playoff game in five years!  And it comes against a team they beat on the road in Week 3.  That 38-10 victory over the Chargers at SoFi Stadium was perhaps Jacksonville's most impressive performance of the season.  This one won't be a blowout, but with the Jaguars on a roll and the Chargers missing two big offensive weapons, I'm not sure how they score against that Jacksonville defense.

Dolphins (9-8) at Bills (13-3): Buffalo-Congratulations to the Dolphins on returning to the playoffs!  Miami was sitting pretty for a while before going on that five-game losing streak towards the end of the season.  The Dolphins took care of business against the Jets last week, though, and got the help they needed, including a Bills win over the Patriots, to grab the AFC's last wild card.  Unfortunately for them, though, it means a trip north to face their division rivals.

Even before everything with Damar Hamlin happened, Buffalo was a legitimate Super Bowl contender.  Now that they've got the extra motivation, there really could be no stopping them on the Road to Arizona!  Yes, I think they're THAT good!  Impressive job by Miami to make the playoffs, but the Dolphins' stay will be short.  The Bills take care of business.

Giants (9-7-1) at Vikings (13-4): Giants-Outside of getting blown out by Dallas and one blowout each way against Green Bay, virtually every one of the Vikings' games this season has been decided by one score.  Minnesota's scoring margin for the season, in fact, is -3.  Yet they won 13 games and the NFC North going away.  So, they're clearly comfortable in close games.  Which is exactly what you should expect them to play again here.

Not all of those close wins have been easy, though.  Take Christmas Eve for example.  The Vikings only won because of a 60-yard field goal as time expired.  The Giants hung with them.  And I think they will again.  Minnesota's strength is its offense, which will be countered by the Giants' defense.  Which makes Saquon Barkley the X-factor in his first career postseason game.  I know I've been high on the Vikings all season, but I smell an upset here.  That game on Christmas Eve was too recent and too encouraging for me to not take the Giants.

Ravens (10-7) at Bengals (12-4): Cincinnati-I was right that they'd pick Baltimore-Cincinnati for the Sunday night game.  I was just off by a week!  And I'm sure glad it didn't come down to a coin toss between these two.  That, to me, was the most ridiculous thing about the Bengals' complaining about that possibility after the NFL gifted them a division title.

Anyway, this one has the potential to be very similar to last week, when Cincinnati really dominated the game.  The Ravens didn't have Lamar Jackson or Tyler Huntley, though, so if they get one of their top two quarterbacks back, they should be able to show a little more offensively.  Problem is, even with either Jackson or Huntley under center, I'm not sure they have enough.  Especially since the game's in Cincinnati.  The score won't be the same as last week, but the result will.

Cowboys (12-5) at Buccaneers (8-9): Dallas-They saved the best for last!  We've known for weeks that the NFC 4-5 game would likely be Cowboys-Bucs, but I think most people were expecting Sunday night instead of Monday night.  And this isn't just the best matchup of the weekend, it looks like it could easily be the most competitive.

On paper, it shouldn't be.  Dallas is one of the best teams in football and Tampa Bay is under .500 overall.  But, the Bucs have Tom Brady.  And they're playing at home.  Plus, when these two met in Dallas to start the season, it was Tampa Bay that won.  There's a big difference between the middle of September and the middle of January, though.  All season, I've been convinced that Dallas will either go on a deep playoff run or lose their Wild Card Game.  I guess we'll find out which it is.  I think it'll be Option A, though.

Last Week: 12-4
Overall: 164-105-2