Time To Get WILD
OK people, we dream about this moment all year long, and it’s finally here. Think back to the dog days of summer, to preseason, to when every single team and every single fan believed in their squad’s playoff chances. Well, the playoffs are here…and WE GOTTA KEEP OUR COMPOSURE!
And with that, let’s dive into the matchups:
Oakland Raiders at Houston Texans
Saturday, 1/7–4:35pmET
#WildcardWeekend kicks off on Saturday with an absolute BARN-BURNER of a showdown when the Oakland Raiders take on the Houston Texans in Houston’s NRG Stadium. While there’s definitely been some magic happening in NRG (see: Villanova Wildcats in April of last year), I don’t see the same sparks flying this time around (YES, I know it’s a different sport, let’s relax).
With the almighty Connor Cook (wait, who?) taking the reigns for the Raiders, many are writing off the boys in black. Coming in at 3.5 point underdogs, Vegas seems to agree with the public opinion, and many are pointing to the lack of experience and overall talent of Cook. After all, Mr. Cook is a third-string ROOKIE QB, who will become the first QB in the Super Bowl era to make his first ever start in the playoffs. His lack of experience, however, is a double-edged sword — with minimal playing time comes minimal game film for opponents to game plan.
The Texans, on the other hand, are in the oh-so-enviable position of turning back to Brock Osweiler at QB — the same Brock Osweiler they benched for atrocious play just a few weeks ago. Their signal caller is not their only problem, though, as Houston had one of the absolute worst offenses in the league, which people often forget (second-worst behind the juggernaut that is the LA Rams).
Fun Fact: Houston is the third-worst team to make the playoffs in NFL history, per the great work done by the guys over at Football Outsider’s.
Bold Prediction: Connor Cook surprises most and delivers the game of his football career, throwing for 250+ yards, 2 TDS, and guides the Raiders to a first round victory.
Not-So-Bold Prediction: This game will be absolutely brutal to watch. And no one cares who wins because they won’t last another week.
Detroit Lions at Seattle Seahawks
Saturday, 1/7–8:15pm ET
The later game in the Saturday night slate brings with it a bit more intrigue, despite this game opening as the second biggest points-line (Seahawks minus-8). With both teams struggling down the stretch, neither team really brings much momentum into this game.
The Seahawks are the Seahawks — they’ve become one of the perennial NFL powerhouses, and they have the 12th man of CenturyLink Field on their side, which, when the fans get rowdy, can literally move the Earth.
Many Detroit pundits point to a small margin of victory (approx. 2 points), a 3-game losing streak to wrap up their regular season, and Matty Stafford’s bum finger as reasons the Lions will continue their losing ways. That said, this team has more fight than a lot of people give them credit for, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they kept this game close.
Fun Fact: The Seahawks have a winning percentage of over 86% (38–6) at home since 2012, Wilson’s rookie season.
Bold Prediction: Stafford overcomes the injured finger on his throwing hand, and plays JUST well enough to give Detroit kicker Matt Prater a chance to win it with a last-second field goal from 50+ yards. Prater misses the first attempt, only to realize that the infamous Coach Carroll called a timeout to ice him. He nails the second to send the Lions to the next round.
Not-So-Bold Prediction: Both the Seahawks and the Lions revert back to their old ways (Seahawks = good; Lions = bad), with the Seahawks D proving to be too much for the Lions to handle. Seahawks cover.
Miami Dolphins at Pittsburgh Steelers
Sunday, 1/8–1:05pm ET
Wait, both the Lions AND the Dolphins made the playoffs? What’s happening? #SignsOfTheApocalypse
This will be the second matchup between these two teams this year, as they faced off in Week 6. Miami, then a pitiful 1–4, rallied behind stellar defensive play and a rock-solid ground game to knock off the Steelers 30–15, sparking a 6 game winning streak that positioned the Dolphins for the postseason.
The Dolphins, playing the biggest game in their franchise’s recent history, will need a big performance from second-string QB Matt Moore if they’re going to have a chance in this one. Everyone knows the Dolphins game plan: Ajayi Left, Ajayi Right, Ajayi Middle. If Ajayi, Wake, Suh, & Co (dibs future law-firm name), can perform as they did when they faced off against the Steelers in Week 6, they’ll have a great shot to repeat.
The problem, though, is that the Steelers’ #TripleBs of Big Ben, Leveon Bell, and Antonio Brown are all healthy now, which wasn’t the case in Week 6. Personally, I just can’t see a healthy Steelers team bowing out to a Dolphins team that already bested them once this year.
Fun Fact: To start the year, Miami came in at plus-290 to make the postseason (among the lowest), while Pittsburgh was minus-240 to achieve the seam feat (among the highest).
Bold Prediction: Matt Moore continues to outplay Ryan Tannehill, and Ajayi rips off another 200+ yard rushing day to keep the Steelers’ offense off the field. After the win, Moore begins the 2017 as the starting QB for the Miami Dolphins.
Bonus Bold Prediction: Finally healthy, the Steelers ask the Dolphins if they really even want to play. Adam Gase, the Dolphins’ head coach, agrees to the terms to avoid embarrassment.
Not-So-Bold Prediction: The Steelers run away with this one, 31–17.
New York Giants at Green Bay Packers
Sunday, 1/8–4:40pm ET
After digging themselves a hole to start the year, the Packers were faced with playing postseason-type football for the better part of the past two months in order to make the playoffs. A loss in any of their final 6 games would have been hugely detrimental to their playoff chances, but we’ve seen this movie before, amirite? Rodgers struggles, then Rodgers tells everyone to relax, and then Rodgers destroys everything in his way. With that in mind, the Packers are arguably THE hottest team entering the postseason, riding a 6-game winning streak.
But are they that good? The Packers didn’t really get tested down the stretch, facing bottom-tier offenses and benefiting from an easy end-of-season schedule. Their real problem lies in their secondary and their inability to contain elite WRs. And that’s where Mr. Beckham comes into play.
Odell is the driving force behind the Giants offense, plain and simple. The Packers know that, so they’re going to be playing their safeties deep to protect from the homerun. That does leave quite a bit of room for Odell and Eli to work the underneath routes — quick slants, drags, crossing routes, etc. — which we’ve seen Odell do some damage with so far this year.
Yes, many people point to the Giants’ last two playoff appearances in Lambeau, both victories, but let’s be honest, that really means nothing, as both teams have fewer than 12 players remaining on their respective rosters from those matchups. If the Giants can get some semblance of a rushing attack behind Paulie Perkins and Rashad Jennings, that should be enough to open up the passing attack for some deep shots.
Fun Fact: The last time these two teams faced in the playoffs, Giants HC Ben McAdoo was a member of the Packers’ coaching staff (Quarterback’s Coach).
Bold Prediction: The Giants secondary (possibly the best the franchise has ever had) makes the almighty Rodgers look relatively mortal, forcing two turnovers and knocking him around all game. The Giants prevail in a low scoring affair, 17–13.
Not-So-Bold Prediction: The Packers stay hot and keep Odell from taking over the game, while Rodgers continually breaks the containment of the Giants’ front 7, extending play after play. The game turns into a shootout, and Eli & Big Blue can’t keep up. Final score: 31–24 Packers win.
Well folks, there you have it. Now, all we can do is sit back, crack a brew, and watch as things start to get wild.
