Wild Card Weekend Matchup Predictions/Discussion
 

To pass some time...

http://static.nfl.com/static/content...4_video_cp.jpg

My early outlook...

BUF/HOU: The X-factor here might be Will Fuller. His health is up in the air, may or may not play. He makes a big difference for their offense and I think it probably will determine the outcome.

TEN/NE: Derrick Henry is the key here. If he can be successful, I don't see New England winning. Hard to imagine the Pats getting above 21 points.

MIN/NO: Minnesota may have a better roster overall, especially excluding the QBs. But home field is big here. Saints should win and go to Green Bay.

SEA/PHI: Wanted to say that there's no way Philly could win with all their injuries... but then I realized Seattle is just as worse off probably. Should be a good one that comes down to a final drive (where I'd bet on Wilson earning a bid back to San Francisco).

I’m going all home teams

Houston
Pats
Saints
Eagles

I swear Houston has the annual Saturday morning playoff game every year

Right now I lean

Bills
Titans
Saints
Seahawks

I am tempted to take the Bills but ultimately I think the Texans skill positions make up and over for the better Bills defense. Texans in a somewhat boring, deserving of the early Saturday game 17-10.

I’m all in on the collapse of the Empire. Just don’t see how the Pats stop Henry. 24-17 Tits.

Minneapolis Miracle revenge game. One side has Drew Brees. The other Kirk Cousins. 38-20 Saints.

The last game is the hardest to pick in my opinion. Basically, at this point, two even teams. Philly is at home where the already lost to Seattle once. Is Seattle so much better than Philly that they will sweep a “road and road”? When in doubt, you take the better coach and better QB. Pederson is a better coach than Pete Carroll. Both have one SB, only one has pissed one away in what can be argued is the biggest coaching gaff of all time. For his career, Wilson is absolutely better at this point. But give me Wentz as the guy playing better right now. Most competitive game of the first round. 17-16 Eagles.

Texans
Titans
Saints
Seahawks

It was my understanding that the playoffs don't start until Sunday 1/12 @ 3:05pm in Arrowhead...

:shrug:

Texans should be able to beat the Bills. The Bills have a far better defense, but offensively they're pretty anemic. particularly at QB, HOU has the much better signal-caller in every respect except sheer mass.

The Titans on paper are a better team than the Pats, but how will they handle being in the playoffs playing Belichick and Brady? The Pats might be able to smoke-and-mirror their way to a win here, if they can find a way to contain Henry. If they can't, the Titans will steam-roll the Pats, and it will be a very ugly loss for Bill and Brady.

Kirk Cousins showed a couple flashes this season, but he's going to revert to form against the Saints. Plus, the Vikes have some key injuries (Cook being the worst one), so the Saints should beat the Vikings pretty easily.

The SEA/PHI game might be the most interesting of the lot. Neither defense is top shelf, but both units play hard. injuries on both teams are going to be a factor. SEA has the better QB, the running games probably cancel, and the Seahawks probably have the better WR group. The exception being Ertz, who's better than anyone the Seahawks have.

If I had to bet the game, I'd probably take the Seahawks to win outright, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Eagles managed to steal a win. A lot is going to depend on Carson Wentz.

Are we going to see bad Carson, that holds the ball too long and makes bad decisions with it late in the game, or good Carson that get rid of the ball quickly and lets his play-makers do the heavy lifting? Of course, the caveat is whether the Eagles receivers will actually catch the ball instead of dropping it as they have all season. If the Eagles WR group plays as they have most of the year, the Seahawks will run away with this game in the second half.

Huh, pretty much (well, if you live in Hawaii, I take it)...
2019
2018
.
2016
2015
.
.
2012
2011

It's the equivalent of March Madness not starting until the first Thursday.

texans, patriots, saints, seahawks

Texans
Titans
Saints
Seahags

All we need is one of the road teams to win. Buffalo and Tennessee are both physical teams with good running games and defenses. Would be nice to have Baltimore play one of them first.

I think it goes:

Bills
Patriots
Saints
Seahawks

Texans, Titans, Saints, Eagles

Texans 27-13
Titans 27-23
Saints 38-17
Eagles 23-20