NFL Picks - Wild Card Round

Saturday 

Tennessee @ Kansas City

The 2017 season ended with four AFC teams at 9-7 and somehow the two worst ones made the playoffs. I’m not saying the Ravens and Chargers are top notch squadrons, but c’mon, they could beat the Titans and Bills. And I guess this would be in some sort of tag-team match? The TenneBuff team could do some cool trick plays with Mariota and Taylor, whereas the BaltAngeles team’s QBs would be decidedly less athletic. But since Phil Flacco is only a fantasy, I suppose we should move forward to focusing on the actual game at hand. This is an intriguing match-up between ... no it’s not. I don’t see any way that the Titans go into Kansas City and win this game, and if they do? It’d be the first time I’ve been wrong all year. 

Chiefs 26-13

Atlanta @ Los Angeles Rams

It’s the first playoff game in Los Angeles since January of 1994, and it promises to be a scene this Saturday night. One man who will be right in the thick of things is NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth. Let’s see what he thinks of this match-up:

To be fair, any analysis that doesn't weave in the Sixth Sense is inadequate.

Rams 27-24 

Sunday

Buffalo @ Jacksonville

I can almost guarantee Trump already has a tweet drafted for Monday about how much lower the playoff ratings are because of him. Well it ain’t you pal, it’s that we’re getting games like Bills/Jags. However, I for one am fairly jazzed for this match-up. Come on, it’s Bills/Jags and it’s a playoff game! This is like when Butler and VCU played in the Final Four, I’m not totally sure how we got here, but I don’t wanna go back. Well yes I do, but I’ve grown to accept the restraints of our known, linear timeline. I’d say that Buffalo doesn’t have much of a shot in this one, but they’re playing against Blake Bortles in the playoffs. We don’t know exactly what that will look like and I couldn’t be more excited to find out. Ok, I suppose I could be more excited, but then it would be apparent to those around me and when they ask what I’m so excited about I’d have to reply “Blake Bortles starting a playoff game.” So to save some embarrassment I’m going to dial it back a bit.

Jaguars 24-12

Carolina @ New Orleans 

Can the Saints beat the Panthers three times in one season? I’m not so sure. I mean there’s no way Cam Newton will allow himself to be demoralized by two previous losses, he never let’s anything get him down. Except for losses, and turnovers, and incompletions, and rushes of less than four yards ... Ok so maybe Carolina is screwed. New Orleans may have had one of their most productive losses in years last week at Tampa, because it made them the 4 seed instead of the 3, and now if they get the win on Sunday they at least have the chance to travel to Philadelphia in the Divisional Round instead of automatically going to Minnesota. Of course, that’s a big if. It would mean the Saints would have to rattle Newton with an early incompletion this Sunday, but after that he should be crestfallen enough that he's easy to prey upon.

Saints 28-19