You Like That: NFL Wild Card Round Preview

Well, I hope you like it, anyway.  The NFL Playoffs are finally upon us, and that means two of the best weekends on the sports calendar are upon us as well.  Wild Card Weekend and Divisional Playoff Weekend are coming, and with those come eight NFL playoff games.  Those eight start with four this weekend, each providing unique intrigue and scintillating storylines.

This post will only examine the Wild Card games.  Other playoff game previews will be potentially saved for other entries.  So let’s get right to it.  Here are previews for each Wild Card Game.

Kansas City Chiefs at Houston Texans

The Kansas City Chiefs enter January as the NFL’s hottest team, having won their last nine games after a disappointing 1-5 start. Against what team did the only win in their first six games come?  The Houston Texans, the same team they have to play on Saturday.

Both teams, however, are far different than they were in that September 13 meeting, one that resulted in a 27-20 Chiefs victory. Different in the sense that they both lost their star running backs to season-ending injuries and both started their seasons in sub-par fashion before figuring things out toward a run to the second season.

While the Chiefs started 1-5 and looked done with ten games to play, the Texans started 2-6 and looked buried after a 44-26 loss to the Dolphins (Houston was down 41-0 at halftime).  Now, they’re unbelievably matching up in a playoff game.

The matchup to watch this time around would definitely have to be the Chiefs’ altered running game against the defensive line of the Texans.  Can some combination of Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware make strides against a Texan defense that ranked top 10 in the league in rushing yards allowed?  More importantly, can the Chiefs’ offensive line find a way to handle J.J. Watt and his disruptive ability to get to the quarterback?  And can Watt and the Houston defense make vastly underrated Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith look like a Red Ryder BB Gun?

While the Chiefs are on a ten-game winning streak and the Law of Averages says that this must end eventually, they’re still as hot as any team in the NFL.  The Texans used four quarterbacks over the course of the season, but they have theirs healthy.  However, Brian Hoyer doesn’t make the same impact on the game as Smith.  The Texans need a lot of different things to happen to win this game, too many to put faith in them to win it.

The Pick: Chiefs 24, Texans 14

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals

Speaking of quarterback problems, the Bengals have their own quasi-quarterback issue brought about by injury.  Andy Dalton went down with a broken thumb in the team’s December 13 game against- you guessed it- the Steelers.  In his place stepped notoriously arrogant but wildly efficient backup A.J. McCarron, and the team has won two games under his leadership, and a third in Denver went to overtime. McCarron still has yet to throw an interception in any of his starts, and his ability to protect the ball will be huge, especially considering the offensive firepower the Steelers possess.

Pittsburgh, however, comes into January decimated.  Arguably the team’s best player, running back Le’Veon Bell tore his MCL against the Bengals on November 1 (parallels, again).  Backup running back DeAngelo Williams has been effective in his stead but he suffered an ankle injury in last week’s game against the Browns.  He was ruled out for this game, and the Steelers will lean on the combination of Fitzgerald Toussaint and Jordan Todman on Saturday night.  We all know about the greatness of Antonio Brown and Ben Roethlisberger, but the task of stopping the Pittsburgh offense will undoubtedly be easier without Bell or Williams.

Sure, the Bengals are using a backup quarterback.  But the Steelers secondary is… not that good.  Ranking 30th in the league in pass defense, the Cincinnati offense can move the ball against it if they don’t commit turnovers and have a balanced attack.  The Pittsburgh rush defense is much better (5th in the league) but the story here will be the passing game. If McCarron can move the ball (and I think he will), it could spell death for the Steelers.

So while Pittsburgh boasts an amazing, albeit decimated, offense and a solid defense in areas, this will be the upset of Wild Card Weekend.

The Pick: Bengals 26, Steelers 21

This game might be the most interesting one of the weekend.  The Seattle Seahawks are coming off of their usual second-half run to end the regular season, while the Minnesota Vikings just won their first NFC North championship since 2009.  Oh, and its going to be really cold.  Like, zero degree cold.

In any event, task number one, two, three, four, and five for the Minnesota Viking defense will be stopping Russell Wilson.  The Seahawks’ quarterback is coming off the best season of his young career and was playing about as well as any quarterback in the league (even Cam Newton) to end the season.  The Vikings are going to have to contain his running and passing, a tall task for a defense that is middle of the road in both categories.

As for the Vikings’ offense, it’s going to have to run through Adrian Peterson.  Also, a good, mistake-free game from quarterback Teddy Bridgewater wouldn’t hurt, either.  But, they’ll be going against a Seahawks defense that ranked second in passing and first in rushing this year.  Good luck.

Even though there will be no Beast Mode for the Seahawks on Sunday, I still like them to win.

The Pick: Seahawks 20, Vikings 12

Green Bay Packers at Washington Redskins

The Green Bay Packers are broken.  After a 6-0 start, the team finished 4-6 and lost out on a division crown last week in a frustrating loss to the Vikings.  Aaron Rodgers hasn’t had a 300-yard game since mid-November.  Since then, the team has had losses at home to the Bears, last week’s game and a road thrashing at the hands of the Cardinals in week 16.  They’re actually pretty good on the road, with an even record at home as on the road.

But they’re going to need to have a great game on Sunday to beat the Washington Redskins, and that team is going in the opposite direction.  Since an excruciating week 13 loss to the Cowboys, Washington has won four games in a row and come into the playoffs at 9-7 and hot.  Kirk Cousins has played exceptionally well since week 7.  That game against Tampa Bay is now known for this:

Since “You like that”, Cousins has thrown for 23 touchdowns and three interceptions.  He’s also made us forget about Robert Griffin III.

If the Packers are going to beat the Redskins on Sunday, they need more from Rodgers against a defense that can be had.  The Skins’ defense ranks 28th in yards this season, while the Packers are 15th.  If the Packers can move the ball consistently through the air, they can and probably will win this one.  If not, take the Redskins.  That’s what I’m doing, and I like that.

The Pick: Redskins 28, Packers 17

As always, enjoy the games and have a great Wild Card Weekend!