The regular season in the NFL is officially over and now comes either the best time during the season (for fans of teams still pushing for a Super Bowl) or just another season looking to come to an end (for fans of teams not in the playoffs). 12 teams are fighting for a chance to hold the coveted trophy at the end of the season, eight of those teams will start that journey this weekend.
Out of those eight teams, three of them have former Super Bowl winning quarterbacks who are looking for a chance to get another ring, and the other five are looking to capture their first championship.
Only four of these teams can move on to the next round and make it one step closer to the Super Bowl.
With the teams playing this weekend these four games have the potential to be one of the wildest wild-card weekends in recent memory. Since the games start to kick off tomorrow it is once again time to make playoff predictions.
Saturday, Jan. 4
No.5 Bills at No. 4 Texans, 4:35 p.m. ET (ESPN)
The first matchup of the weekend puts two of the league’s top young quarterbacks in the league against each other in Josh Allen and Deshaun Watson. Although both of these quarterbacks have the potential to grow into greats, one is clearly closer than the other right now, Watson is the main reason that the Texans are in the position they are in right now. The Bills on the other hand are there mainly on the strength of their defense.
Watson may be the better quarterback as of right now, but he will have to go against a much tougher defense, his biggest advantage is that he has home field. Home field might only mean so much though for the Texans, even with star defender J.J. Watt returning for this game. The Texans are still vulnerable on the defensive end in both the run game and the pass game. Watt will help a little bit due to his ability to penetrate the line and get in the backfield, but if Allen can get a couple deep throws to connect early it might be over early.
This game comes down to the Texans offense vs. the Bills defense and understandably so, the best matchup will be between WR DeAndre Hopkins and CB Tre’Davious White on the outside. Two of the best at their respective position will put up a great battle all throughout the game, so Watson will need to get the rest of his pieces involved.
Although that will be the biggest matchup, the key will be whether or not the Texans defense can create enough pressure. If they are able to get pressure on Allen it will be enough to keep the Texans in the game since scoring might be tough to come by. Allen will need to prove that he is the real deal to give the Bills a real chance to win this game and going against this defense it could easily happen, giving the edge to the Bills.
Prediction: Bills 23, Texans 17
No. 6 Titans at No.3 Patriots, 8:15 p.m. ET (CBS)
On paper this matchup seems like it should be the easiest to decide, the three seeded dynasty of the Patriots at home against the Titans, the Patriots should easily win, right? Not exactly, thePatriots have clearly not been the same this season as they have in seasons past. However, this does not mean that we can just discount the Patriots in this game, they still are the Patriots, the best franchise over the past decade.
The bad news for the Patriots is that they drew probably the toughest matchup out of any AFC team in wild-card weekend in the Titans. The Titans match up very well with the Patriots with their excellent run game and the superb play of Tannehill under center. We know that the Patriots are great pass defenders, but they struggle once quarterbacks get out of the pocket, Tannehill has shown he can do that. They also struggle against the run; Derrick Henry is a force running the ball and has had a great season.
Although the Titans offense matches up well against the Patriots defense, the Patriots offense might be too much to handle. I know they have looked stagnant the past couple of weeks, but when they get in a rhythm, they are hard to stop.
This game could potentially bring an end to the Patriots dynasty with a Patriots loss because that would most likely imply that Brady is finished in New England. Brady hasn’t been the same player this season, but now is Brady’s true season. The Titans will give them a battle in the first half but then the Patriots will put an end to it in the second half.
Prediction: Patriots 27, Titans 17
Sunday, Jan. 5
No. 6 Vikings at No. 3 Saints, 1:05 p.m. ET (Fox)
Drew Brees is still as accurate as ever and he has his clear favorite receiver in Michael Thomas. Thomas is excellent in finding an opening on the defense and finding a way to catch any ball thrown his way. This will continue to be the game plan for the Saints as it has been all season long. Offense should be no problem for the Saints, the problem occurs on the defensive side.
The Vikings have some of the best weapons on the offensive end, however, they don’t seem to utilize them to their full potential. Sure, their rushing game is top 10 in the league, but they have a bottom third pass offense with a very capable quarterback in Kirk Cousins and two big threat wide receivers in Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs. As proven in the past, Cousins is not a big game quarterback, this game should be different while going up against a beat-up defense.
Although the Saints defense is beat up, they are still a very good rush stopping defense, ranking in the top 5. This means that the best part of the Vikings offense could be stopped due to the front seven. Then you have to look at what the offense will have to do to match the Saints offense, the Saints are going to score, therefore the Vikings will need to be able to stay in it early and not force Cousins to be the hero.
If the Vikings can just play their game and not have to play hero ball, they should have a very good chance against the Saints, but in the end the Saints offense will be too much for them. They will lead an opportunity for the Vikings to make a last possession lead, but there will not be enough time and Cousins will try to force too much.
Prediction: Saints 33, Vikings 31
No.5 Seahawks at No. 4 Eagles,4:40 p.m. ET (NBC)
First of all, let me say the Eagles do not deserve to have a home game in the playoffs just because they won their division. That being said, the Eagles are not a team to overlook in this matchup, especially at home. The Eagles may have won in one of the worst divisions in NFL history and had a dismal record outside of the division, but they are riding high right now.
The Eagles have been on the correct side of good fortune in the past month, but the Seahawks have also been on that side through most of the season. Now, the Seahawks are struggling, losing their previous three games. These two teams also met during the season in Philadelphia when the Eagles won in a 17-9 defensive battle.
This matchup has all the makings of a great one, but not because these are two great teams, more like these may be two of the most evenly matched teams in the playoffs. The Seahawks will need to get more production out of their roster, but it all starts with Russell Wilson. Wilson was at one time an MVP frontrunner during the season, he has fallen hard from that, in the past seven weeks he has thrown 9 TDs and 3 interceptions. This isn’t bad by any means, but Wilson is the offense, he will need to play well in order to win.
The Eagles have dealt with so many injuries this season it is amazing how they made it this far. Right now, they are fighting to prove to everyone that they belong in the playoffs, they will prove that they belong in the playoffs by barely beating the Seahawks in an ugly victory.
Prediction: Eagles 14, Seahawks 13