NFL Picks - Wild Card Round

Saturday

Cincinnati @ Houston

It's the rematch America deserves, but not the one that it needs right now. So we'll watch it, because it's a playoff game, not a great game; that's why it's been relegated to the shadows of Saturday afternoon, because if this were given the primetime kickoff that would surely be a dark night (when I saw this match-up it was just screaming for a Batman reference). But seriously, this is a rematch that no one asked for. In last year's Wild Card round the Texans creamed the Bengals 31-10 with T.J. Yates at the helm. Perhaps Yates should get the start this year as well, seeing as how Matt Schaub's performance has been uninspiring for the past month (and normally Schaub inspires me to no end). Opposing defenses stumped the Schaub for most of December, as he was only able to amass one touchdown pass in the last four games. And now he heads into his first career playoff start to face an above average Cincinnati pass defense. So to be clear I have serious concerns about the Texans' offense. But I'm not crazy about the Bengals' O either. They've won seven of their last eight, but I feel like the home field advantage will help key the Texans' defense, and their effort will be the difference.

Texans 19-16


Minnesota @ Green Bay

It's the rematch America wants to see! Can the Packers respond after falling one week ago to the Vikings who were led by Adrian Peterson's virtuoso performance (not only at running back, he performed during the halftime show and cooked the postgame meal as well)? The move from the HHH MetroDome to Lambeau Field will definitely work in Green Bay's favor; the Vikings are normally protected from the elements by a roof that only occasionally collapses. I'm expecting the wind chill to make temperatures in the low teens come kickoff; I have no basis for this belief, nor have I done any research into the matter, it's just what I expect. I suppose finding out the truth would be as easy as going to weather.com and simply looking at the forecast for Green Bay, Wi at 5:30pm (Pacific, 7:30 local time) and finding the temperature; in fact, just typing this hypothetical has probably taken me longer than it would to actually do what I'm describing ... fine I'll do it! Aright, it looks like 21 degrees, so I'll probably be just about right. Good, I'm glad we got this figured out. So, to recap, the Packers are at home, and a better team, and it will be cold, so I think they'll win.

Packers 31-20


Sunday

Indianapolis @ Baltimore

Well it's January and Joe "Flac Man" Flacco is playing football, what else is new? Homeboy has made the playoffs every season he's been in the league, and what's more, he's had at least one win in every postseason. Say what you will about Flac Man (I can't believe you just said that about Flac Man!), but that's pretty impressive. Now the Ravens have an added edge with Ray Lewis's announcement that he will retire at the end of the season. You can bet that the rest of that defense will want to give him at least one more opportunity to put on the pads, unless they all secretly hate him and now they've finally been presented with a chance to end his career. If you think that's the case then bet heavily on the Colts. I, however, believe there's only about a 20% chance that that's true, so I'll go with Baltimore. Don't let me down Flac Man.

Ravens 27-22


Seattle @ Washington

Here. We. Go. A lot has been made about the similarities between these teams, but let's focus on a big difference instead. All you need to know is that the Seahawks have the 12th man, and with their crowd making noi ... what's that? It's a road game!? That's just not fair; teams with a worse record should NEVER get the home field advantage in a playoff game. Well, that will make things a bit tougher for the Hawks, of whose road struggles much has been made. But a 3-5 mark away from home isn't catastrophic, and the Redskins' 5-3 home mark is hardly dominant. Besides, in the Hawks' first four road games RussellMania was not yet running wild on the NFL. The last two times Washington has been in the playoffs ('05 & '07) they've been eliminated by the Seahawks, and I can't think of one variable that would make the result any different Sunday. Oh shit, that's right, they're on the road, I keep forgetting. While that is an important variable, the Hawks have the ultimate variable, and his name is Russell Wilson.

Seahawks 21-17