This Saturday will kickoff the first round of the NFL playoffs of the wild card round. We have 2 games Saturday, 3 on Sunday, and 1 Monday night. I think this will be a very good playoff round as there are no stand out teams that would be clear winners. Two teams will have a by the Chiefs in the AFC and the Lions in the NFC. The Chiefs don’t seem to be the same this season, the offense has been very off and the Lions have 12 players injured on the defense neither of these first seeds are guarantees to go all the way.
Starting off we have the we Chargers at Texans. The Chargers actually have a better record than the Texans but are a lower seed because Houston won their division, the AFC south was pretty terrible this season. I like the Chargers here. The Texans offense has been off lately and the Chargers are a very consistent team. Stroud has had a sophomore slump this year and with Diggs and Dell out for the season, Stroud doesn't have many options to throw to. While Houston’s defense is good, so are the Chargers, and I like the Chargers offense more right now.
Next up we have the Steelers at the Ravens in the Saturday night game. While the Steelers have had the Raven’s number over the past few seasons I still like the Ravens. This is a great Pittsburgh defense against a great Baltimore offense. It is important to note that bro bowler Zay Flowers will be out for Baltimore. Overall my decision comes down to the better quarterback and that’s why I’m picking Baltimore. Baltimore’s secondary has struggled at times and that’s pretty much their only weakness. While I just don’t trust the Steelers offense, it’s been terrible the past few weeks.
Now we have the Sunday games starting off with Denver at Buffalo. You have a rookie quarterback against Josh Allen. I don’t see any way Denver would win, but they have had an unbelievable season. I like the Broncos defense but I just like the Buffalo offense more. It’s nice to see Bo Nix in the playoffs in just his first year and I’m sure Denver will be back, I just don't see them getting past the second seed Bills. While defense has been a struggle for Buffalo this year, I still like the Bills since they have so much more experience than the Broncos.
Next up we have the Green Bay in Philadelphia. This one really could go either way especially if Jalen Hurts does not play. Hurts is still questionable dealing with a concussion. Reports say he is on track to play, but you never know players dealing with a concussion can be out 2 weeks or even 7/8 weeks. If Hurts is healthy I like the Eagles. This matchup happened in week 1 in Brazil, with the Eagles finishing on top. The problem with Green Bay is the offense is very inconsistent sometimes Love is on and sometimes he just doesn't haven't. I expect this to be a very run heavy game with Jacobs and Barkely. Both defenses have been pretty good against the run, I expect this game to be close.
Now we have the Commanders at the Buccaneers. The Commanders actually have a better record than the Buccaneers. I could very easily see the Commanders upsetting here. The Bucs are good, it's just I don’t know if they are good enough. Now the Bucs have beaten good teams this regular season by actually beating the Commanders, Eagles, and Lions. This game will be close and could go either way. I’m not sure if I trust the rookie quarterback in the playoffs but this season but the Commander have looked like the better team. I like the Commanders here, they have the health advantage.
The Playoffs will wrap up with the Vikings at the Rams. Again the Vikings had a much better record than the Rams but the Rams had more division wins so they are a higher seed. This one I actually really like the upset with the Rams winning. The Rams are my dark horse team for these playoffs. The Rams really heated up at the end of the season and still have an incredible offense. The Rams have been there before and I trust McVay to have the better coached team in this matchup. Last week felt like a playoff game with the Vikings and Lions. Darnold didn't live up to the pressure and I think the same thing happens here. If the Rams get pressure early on and mess up the rhythm of this Vikings offense depends on, I could see the Rams pulling off the upset. The Vikings always seem like a fake good team every year and I see a disappointing playoff performance by them.
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