Saturday 4:30 PM Raiders @ Bengals
Early game to start the weekend and it should be a good one. Raiders are known for their pass rush, with Maxx Crosby and Yannick Ngakoue leading the charger and they made things miserable for Burrow the first time these two teams played earlier this year. And lets not take anything away from the Vegas offense, as Derek Carr and Hunter Renfrow have been good all year leading this team. Also have a pretty good tight end in Darren Waller. The problem is, can that offense manage to stay punch for punch with a much more high powered Bengals offense?
Short answer is no. The Bengals have too much firepower up front. Higgins and Chase are both over 1,000 yard receivers on the year, Joe Mixon was a 1,000 yard rusher and Burrow threw for over 4,600 yards. Its a balanced attack. The thing is, at times that offensive line has had trouble in the past keeping Burrow up on his feet. If they do that, this should be a win for the Bengals
Pick: Bengals 30 Raiders 17
Saturday 8:15 PM Patriots @ Bills
How could you not like a divisional matchup in the playoffs. If there's anything that has been well documented it is this.....the New England Patriots are always prepared for whoever they go up against. Mac Jones has been impressive taking over as the main starter under center for the Patriots. They still have a solid defense and know how to throw an opposing offense off their game.
New England knows how to play in cold weather but its a different kind of cold going up to play in Buffalo and the Bills are ready to handle it. Josh Allen has struggled at times this year, but when he's on his game, he's very tough to be able to beat. Stefon Diggs has been good as of late and is starting to remind us all why he's one of the top receivers in this game.
Pick: Bills 28, Patriots 14
Sunday 1 PM Eagles @ Buccaneers
Give credit where its due, the Eagles surprised quite a few people by making the playoffs. What's been doing it for the Eagles this year has been an outstanding running game. They had the best rushing attack in the NFL this year, averaging 159.7 yards a game. Two guys on the team, Hurts and Mike Sanders, rushed for over 700 yards on the year. This to go along with Hurts throwing for just over 3,100 yards for the year, proves that he's a dual threat.
He is going up against the greatest to ever do this in Tom Brady. Brady still has weapons with Evans and Gronk and a pretty balanced running attack. Then there's the Tampa defense, lead by Shaq Barrett, Jason Pierre-Paul and Lavonte David. Those guys can play the game that Bucs fans have become used to seeing, then this should be an easy win for the champs. But with Hurts being the dual threat that he is, this could be a closer game than expected.
Pick: Buccaneers 30, Eagles 21
Sunday 4:30 PM 49ers @ Cowboys
Pretty even matchup this one. And it's the first time that these two teams have faced off since the 1993 playoffs. Dak Prescott has played like a man on a mission most of this season. When he's got deep threats like Amari Cooper and a healthy CeeDee Lamb to work with, its something that can exploit what has been a weakness in the San Francisco defense, the deep ball. Throw in the running of Zek Elliott, who finished with over a thousand yards this season. Combine all of that it makes for a very tough Dallas team to beat.
But hey, Jimmy G and San Francisco is no push over. They've gotten better as the year has gone on, with the second half of the 49ers season being their best football yet. Having George Kittle back and healthy to play well with DeBo Samuel has been huge for Jimmy G. They can matchup pretty well in the physicality department on the other side of the ball with the Cowboys. What worries me is which 49ers team shows up, what we got in the first half of the year, or the team that's been showing up as of late? Doesn't matter really, the Boys have been just too good.
Pick: Cowboys 35, 49ers 21
Sunday 8:15 PM Steelers @ Chiefs
This could be the final time we see Big Ben on an NFL field, and he knows it too. He has said that they gonna go out and give it a go in a very tough place to play at Aasrowhead. He got a good back in rookie Najee Harris to hand the ball to so it will make things a little easier for the Steelers to try and control the clock.
But your going up against the defending AFC Champions and one of the most prolific offenses in the league. Yes, Kansas City did get off to a slow start, at least by their standards, but they found their game as the season wore along. Mahomes Hill and Kelce should be able to find room to throw thanks to the running game. They are playing a Steelers defense that has had a lot of trouble controlling the opposing run game. This could be a pretty big mismatch this weekend.
Pick: Chiefs 26, Steelers 14
Monday 8:15 PM Cardinals @ Rams
Another divisional rematch come Monday night, a first for wild card weekend. And its going to be a shootout too. Murray against Stafford. Its going to be a balanced and high scoring game. What's going to be the turning point here is the defense and that edge goes to the Rams. They've had the best defense in the NFL most of the year and they've only gotten better. This isn't to take away from what JJ Watt has done for Arizona.
On offense, Kyler Murray has been the jack of all trades. James Conor and Christian Kirk have been reliable weapons for Murray. The defense has been fine as of late. But they had struggled down the stretch losing four of their final five games. Meanwhile the Rams have been hot, winning five of their final seven games. Stafford and Kupp have been a great combo all season long. he can also spread the ball around to Woods, Higbee, Jefferson and Beckham.
Pick: Rans 28, Cardinals 17
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