The wild-card weekend of the 2019 NFL season is over, and it is pretty safe to say that the action on the field lived up to the hype. All four games ended up being within one-score and looking like any team could move on to the next round in the quest for the Lombardi Trophy.
In those four games, three of them were won by the wild card teams—meaning the road teams dominated the weekend, with four teams now eliminated from the playoffs, the field is now down to eight.
Action kicks off this Saturday in the NFC where the six seeded Vikings march into San Francisco to face the top seeded 49ers in a battle of offense vs. defense. The Saturday matchups conclude in the AFC with the six seeded Titans going into Baltimore against the top seeded Ravens in a matchup of ground and pound teams.
The Sunday matchups starts in the AFC with the four seeded Texans going into Kansas City to face the two seeded Chiefs in a quarterback duel, then the finale of the weekend will be in the NFC with the 5 seeded Seahawks squaring off against the two seeded Packers in Green Bay.
Can Kirk Cousins overcome a ferocious front seven in the 49ers? Can the Titans ride their momentum another week to make it to the AFC championship? Which quarterback will win an offensive showcase: Deshaun Watson or Patrick Mahomes? Will Russell Wilson be enough to outduel the dangerous offense in the Packers?
A week ago, in the wild card round I went an abysmal 0-4 in my picks, the good news is I can’t do much worse than that. No matter what my picks are, if the action can compare to last week’s action then we will be in store for a show all weekend long.
Saturday
No. 6 Vikings at No.1 49ers, 4:35 p.m. ET (NBC)
The Vikings in my opinion were the most dangerous wild card team in the entire playoffs, all they had to do was make it past the Saints, and they did. Now they have to go into San Francisco and deal with one of the best defenses in the league. Not only do the 49ers have one of the best defenses in the league but they also have a dangerous, albeit inconsistent offense.
The strategy that Kyle Shanahan has brought to the 49ers is a great one, but they are a hit and miss offense. In order to make it past the Vikings, who played great against the Saints, they will have to be on target. The Vikings on the other hand will need to take advantage of every opportunity they are given on offense.
Dalvin Cook looked very good against the Saints defense but going up against the 49ers front seven will be a different story. Yes, Cook may need to have a good game, but this game will rest solely on Cousins on the offensive end.
Cousins has three elite targets in Diggs, Thielan, and Rudolph, they will all need to be utilized effectively for the Vikings to possibly pull of an upset. The key for the 49ers will be Jimmy Garoppolo who will be playing in his first playoff game. Not all good quarterbacks can transfer that play over to the playoffs, Garoppolo will need to relax and not let the moment get the best of him. He has a great defense that he can lean on if needed, but with the way the Vikings played last week he will need to put some points on the board.
I went against my gut last week and chose the Saints over the Vikings, I will not make the same mistake this week even if it entails another loss, I like the Vikings to take this in a squeaker.
Prediction: Vikings 24, 49ers 21
No. 6 Titans at No.1 Ravens, 8:15 p.m. ET (CBS)
The Titans did what very few teams have been able to do in the Tom Brady era, beat Brady in Foxborough. This is already a great feat and has helped prove that the Titans are the real deal but going up against the most effective offense in the league will present another problem. Derrick Henry will need another monster game to help control the clock and keep the ball out of the Ravens hands.
The key for Henry is to be consistent and run off tackle, Henry is a big runner who is most consistent running straight up the gut, but Baltimore has two of the best run stoppers in the league in Williams and Pierce. We saw Tannehill struggle against the Patriots defense, so Henry will be their key much like the rest of the season.
Although the Titans are good at eating clock, the Ravens are even better. Lamar Jackson’s ability to run—and as he has proven this season, throw will all be on display against the Titans defense. Jackson is not the only threat on the ground though, Mark Ingram is a threat on the ground but there is a chance that he will not play, this will bring Gus Edwards as the main running back. This is not necessarily a bad thing; Edwards is a work horse much like Henry and paired with Jackson will do wonders.
The thing that worries me with the Titans is their offensive ability outside of Henry. Yes, the Patriots have a good defense, but the Titans only scored 14 offensive points last week. They will need to be more productive on that end against the Ravens who have not scored less than 20 points all season. This game should be closer than we think but the Ravens will move onto the AFC championship.
Prediction: Ravens 31, Titans 21
Sunday
No. 4 Texans at No. 2 Chiefs, 3:05 p.m. ET (CBS)
Even though the Texans were the higher seed in the wild card round many people, including myself were riding with the Bills to beat the Texans in the first round. However, Watson stopped overthinking in the second half and started to play like we all knew he could to lead the Texans to a win.
Things may be a little tougher against the Chiefs who can put up points at will and a team whose defense is getting hot at the right time. Although their defense is getting hotter, it is still not near the level that the Bills defense was, and Watson proved he could outmaneuver the Bills defense. Watson needs to play with a clear mind against the Chiefs in order for the Texans to advance.
This has all the makings of an offensive shootout with Watson and Mahomes, but since returning from his knee injury Mahomes has not looked the same. In seven games since returning from injury Mahomes has only eclipsed 300 yards twice and has been held under 200 yards three times. Obviously, yards don’t mean everything as we have seen through Lamar, but for Mahomes it has meant a lot. However, even with Mahomes not at his peak the Chiefs are still finding ways to win pretty easily.
This could be exactly the strategy that the Chiefs will want to use against the Texans as they look to make it to back-to-back AFC championship games, but Mahomes will need to have a good game against a weak secondary. This is Patrick Mahomes we are talking about so I would not be surprised if he has one of his best games, but I don’t trust it so I am going with the Texans in an offensive shootout.
Prediction: Texans 32, Chiefs 29
No. 5 Seahawks at No. 2 Packers, 6:40 p.m. ET (Fox)
The final matchup of the weekend has all the potential to be the best game of the four. This will not be the best game because these are the best teams, but this could be the best game, much like the Seahawks – Eagles because these teams are the most evenly matched. Yes, the Packers can be a very dangerous team, but they have had their struggles which says they are too inconsistent.
For the Seahawks DK Metcalf had a breakout game against the Eagles in their victory and he was Wilson’s favorite target. The Packers are definitely going to take this into account and cover Metcalf much tighter. Wilson was their offense against the Eagles, but it will be much tougher against a good pass rush in the Packers.
Aaron Rodgers has always been a very good quarterback as the leader of a great offense, but the defense has always been the weak part of the Packers teams. This year’s team has a chance to bring something new to the Packers, they have a good defense matched up with a good defense. Inconsistency has been the only problem on the offensive end, but with Davante Adams, and Aaron Jones to go along with Rodgers might be just enough to match the greatness of Rodgers.
I expect this game to be close, but it won’t be like the Seahawks – Eagles game where one offense struggles against the other. The Packers have a much-improved defense which might be able to slow the Seahawks offense down. I think the Packers will do just enough to get the win before playing a defensive battle.
Prediction: Packers 20, Seahawks 14