Talkin' NFL Playoffs Wild Card Weekend

by Eric Fulton & Julian Spivey

Julian: The NFL Playoffs begin this Saturday (Jan. 15) with two games, followed by three on Sunday and the first ever Monday Night Football playoff game after that. The first game on Saturday sees the AFC's fifth seeded Las Vegas Raiders travel to Cincinnati to take on the fourth seeded Bengals, who haven't won a playoff game since 1991. It's hard to believe this will be Raiders QB Derek Carr's first career playoff game and interim head coach Rich Bisaccia is the first coach in the Super Bowl era to ever lead a team to the playoffs while not beginning the season as the coach. So, Eric, how do you see Raiders/Bengals playing out?
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Eric: Las Vegas vs. Cincinnati could have the makings of a shootout featuring teams who have not had much experience in the playoffs. It will be an interesting game.

Julian: Joe Burrow has had a great season in his second year with the Bengals with some even saying he's already a top-5 QB in the league. How do you think he'll perform in his playoff debut?

Eric: I think he will rise to the occasion. Just a couple of years ago he was leading LSU to a national championship. I don't the big stage will intimidate him.

Julian: The Raiders have been on a hot streak winning four straight games to barely slip into the playoffs, but I think this will finally be the year the Bengals snap that playoff losing streak. What's your prediction for the first of Saturday's two games?

Eric: Raiders are a hot streak. They have really played well on the road. Won at Dallas and Indianapolis. Love Hunter Renfrow with Darren Waller. But again, Burrow will not be nervous at home. He makes one more play than Carr. Bengals win 35-31.

Julian: The second playoff game on Saturday is the sixth seeded New England Patriots at the third seeded Buffalo Bills, two AFC East foes that are very familiar with each other. The two teams split the season matchup with the Patriots winning 14-10 on Dec. 6 and the Bills winning 33-21 on Dec. 26. The Patriots have been something of a surprise this season with Mac Jones taking over at quarterback and doing just well enough to get by. How do you see this matchup playing out?

Eric: Each team winning on the road in the two matchups. New England has the head coaching advantage, but to me, Buffalo is the better team. They have unfinished business after making it to the AFC Championship game. I don't know what to expect from Mac Jones making his first playoff start. Bills win 24-17. It will be a battle until the very end.

Julian: I feel kind of the same way about this matchup. I'm predicting the Bills because they are the most talented team of the two - and could be one of the favorites out of the AFC in a year where there doesn't seem to really be a true favorite. It's probably the Chiefs because of past success and overall talent.

Eric: I agree with the AFC playoff picture. There is not one dominant team in that conference. You think about the Titans who claimed the one seed and did without Derrick Henry. I look at Kansas City, can they win on the road to get to a Super Bowl, same with Buffalo, and I would not count out either the Raiders or Bengals with their offenses.

Julian: The first NFL Playoff matchup on Sunday is the noon game between the second seeded Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the seventh seeded Philadelphia Eagles at noon on Fox. Buccs QB Tom Brady is still out there playing like an ageless wonder and a MVP candidate at 44, which is one of the most unbelievable things I’ve ever seen in any sport. Tampa Bay feels like one of the two favorites in the NFC, along with the top seeded Green Bay Packers who get a bye in the first round of the playoffs. The Eagles were the final team in in the NFC and it would seem like a pretty big upset if they were to beat the Buccs. Eric, how do you think this one plays out?

Eric: This is an easy decision for me. Tampa Bay, even though they have injury issues with Chris Godwin out. But I am not going to bet against Tom Brady. He works around the chaos, and he is simply the best at it.

Julian: If the Eagles were to pull off an upset what would they have to do?

Eric: Philadelphia has been one of the best running teams in the NFL. They would need to depend on the running game led by Jalen Hurts.

Julian: The second game on Sunday should be the closest of the three games that day and it’s the San Francisco 49ers, the six seed in the NFC, traveling to Texas to play the third seeded Dallas Cowboys. I’ve been saying for weeks that I felt like the Cowboys were going to be eliminated in the first week of the playoffs, but that was when I thought they’d be playing the Arizona Cardinals. Now that they’ve drawn the 49ers, I feel like they have a great chance at sticking around for the second weekend. Dallas has the most talent in this matchup, but sometimes Dallas has a way of losing games they’re supposed to win. What do you think?

Eric: Dallas has talent. We know what they are capable of offensively. The defense has been the most improved unit in the NFL this season, but we have seen this before, especially this year. Yes, they won 12 games, but they probably could have (or should have) won more. They could have been a 13 or 14 win team. The matchup against the 49ers is better for the Cowboys, but I feel like people are taking San Francisco in this one because they have been in the Super Bowl more recently and I am going to say 49ers will win in overtime 37-31.

Julian: The final playoff matchup on Sunday is the most lopsided NFL Wild Card matchup ever based on the odds. The seventh seed Pittsburgh Steelers, who slipped into the playoffs simply because the Indianapolis Colts couldn't beat the worst team in the league the Jacksonville Jaguars in the final week and the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers failed to tie despite trying their damndest travel to Kansas City to play the two seeded Chiefs. The Steelers are a 12.5 underdog according to BetMGM. Even Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger seemingly isn't giving his team much of a shot telling the press on Wednesday: "We don’t have a chance, so let’s just go in and play and have fun." He was probably being coy when he said that, but "Big Ben" has never seemed like much of a jokester. Eric, does Pittsburgh stand a chance in hell at winning this game?

Eric: We have seen this before from the Steelers. Go back to the 2005 season. Jerome Bettis' final year. Last seed to get into the playoffs. What happened? Went on the road three times in a row and won them all enroute to the Super Bowl. Bottom line is I will not count the Steelers out. I know they did not play well in Kansas City a couple of weeks ago, but when Pittsburgh plays inspired, that is when they are usually at their best.

Having said that, I think it will be a closer game than people expect. Pittsburgh's defense will play a lot better than what they did. TJ Watt will be the Defense Player of the Year. He will have a great game. The Chiefs will struggle a bit on offense, but they will figure it late. Chiefs win but still Pittsburgh will play inspiring football for Big Ben. 27-20 Kansas City is score prediction.

Julian: This year we’re getting our first Monday Night Football playoff game ever when the Arizona Cardinals take on NFC West division rival Los Angeles Rams. I’m not really a fan of weekday NFL games because they don’t fit well into my personal schedule so I’m not really over the moon about a MNF playoff game. How do you feel about it?

Eric: It is fine but whoever wins the game, they are going to have a disadvantage going into the next round. Whether it is going to be Green Bay or Tampa Bay, it will be tough for Rams or Cardinals to win then turn around and play 5 or 6 days later.

Julian: The Rams and Cardinals split the season series this year. The Cardinals won 37-20 in Week 4 and then the Rams won 30-23 in Week 14. How do you see this one playing out?

Eric: It's going to come down to the quarterbacks in this game. Who will make the bigger plays and who will make the fewest mistakes? Neither Kyler Murray nor Matt Stafford has many playoff experiences under the belt.

I do think the Rams defense is better than the Cardinals defense and they will make Kyler uncomfortable. I am going with the Rams 28-24.

Julian: I think this will be one of the closest games of opening weekend of the NFL playoffs, if not the closest game. Matt Stanford has been in the league an awful long time to have never won a playoff game and I think he’ll be determined to get the job done. Like you said, the Rams have the better defense and that includes one of the two best defenders in the league in Aaron Donald. The rams also probably have the best offensive player of the season who is not a QB in receiver Cooper Kupp. So, I’m going to give the advantage to the Rams too.