It is wildcard weekend, and in order to make the games a little bit more fun to watch, since the fantasy season is over, I am going to make my game predictions. I really haven’t decided who will go to the Super Bowl yet, but I am beginning to sense that the Packers may get upset by one of these other teams. The Saints offense has definitely been the hottest in football, and it would probably not be wise to bet against them, but I’m not so sure I am feeling the Saints either. So, I will not make an NFC prediction before the playoffs actually begin.
As for the AFC, I would have to pick the Patriots. I am not a Patriot fan, and I would rather see any team in the AFC in the Super Bowl than Tom Brady and the Pats. However, that offense has been pretty much unstoppable, and unless someone can slow them down by controlling the ball on the ground and keeping Brady off the field, they will not be beat. The Ravens are probably the only AFC team that can do that.
Game 1 – Cincinnati at Houston
Cincinnati is a very young team. They start a rookie QB (Andy Dalton) and their biggest offensive threat is a rookie WR (A. J. Green). They started the season pretty solid with some big wins, but lately they have played a little weak, and they didn’t lock in a wildcard spot until week 17, thanks to losses by Denver and Oakland.
They face they Houston Texans who are also depending on a rookie QB (T.J. Yates) who did not play last weekend due to injury, and was replaced by veteran Jake Delhomme. That game didn’t mean much to them in advancing their playoff position, and several stars rested as they lost to the Tennessee Titans who were fighting for a wildcard spot. This week they will be at full strength with RB Arian Foster and WR Andre Johnson participating.
This game should easily go to the Houston Texans. RB Arian Foster and his backup Ben Tate combined for the second best running game in the NFL at 153 yards per game. The Bengals Defense was 10th in the NFL in Rushing D giving up 104.7 yards per game, as well as 14 TDs. Last week against the Ravens they gave up TD runs of 70 and and 51 yards to Ray Rice. Rice had 191 yards total in that game. Foster and Tate should have similar success against the Cincinnati Defense. Expect 2 rushing TDs.
Cincinnati rushed for an average of 110 yards per game during the season with veteran RB Cedric Benson leading the way. The group was able to combine for more than 100 yards and 1 TD on the ground last week against the Ravens D who only gave up 92 yards per game on the ground. The Houston Texans are not much easier to run on as they only gave up 96 yards per game on the ground and even fewer TDs. Don’t expect Cincinnati to have a lot of success. They will probably get behind in the first half and go to the passing game in the second.
Both Defenses are good against the pass, but the Texans are 3rd in the league in Passing YPG and have only allowed 18 TDs to 17 INTs. Expect Dalton to have about 200 yards with a TD to A.J. Green. The Cincinnati D gives up just over 200 YPG in the air, and will have problems stopping the run. This will allow a big play or two to WR Andre Johnson and company. Expect Yates to throw for 2oo and a couple TDs.
Final Score: Houston 28 – Cincinnati 17
Game 2 – Detroit and New Orleans
Two of the hottest offenses in football. Brees set passing records this season, and his team seems to score at will over the last 8 weeks. Last week, in a loss, Matthew Stafford threw for 520 yards and five TDs. Neither of these team’s Defenses have been really good lately so this should be an exciting game. Hopefully, it will be like watching Madden NFL on the Playstation 3.
New Orleans is the number one ranked offense in the NFL averaging 467 yards per game. Detroit is number five averaging 396 yards per game. Brees spreads the ball all over the field, and they rely on many weapons including all purpose yardage leader Darren Sproles. Stafford also shares the ball with several receivers, but his main target is WR Calvin Johnson who can’t be stopped by any one man, and often attracts triple coverage.
Defensive rankings do not mean much in this game, as the New Orleans Saints don’t have a lot of teams running on them because their opponents are often left playing catch up. However, the best chance the Lions have is to establish a running game, and control the ball a bit. The more opportunities you give Drew Brees to throw the further behind you get. Kevin Smith has been running well, and should be able to gain around 80 yards and a TD against the Saints. On the other side, if New Orleans chooses to run the ball in the second half, expect Ivory and Sproles to pick up big yards on a few carries, as Detroit will be looking to stop Brees.
This one will be fun. I expect Brees to throw for 350 yards, and 4 TDs, and Sproles will score on a return or a second half run. Matthew Stafford will have a big game. New Orleans will do everything they can to stop Calvin Johnson, but he will still have 150 yards receiving and 1 TD. Stafford will finish with over 400 yards passing.
Final Score: New Orleans 41 – Detroit 35
Game 3: Atlanta at New York
This game is very difficult for me to predict. The Giants are unpredictable. Eli Manning may come out and throw 3 picks in the first half or he could be great. The Giants had to fight for their life to get to the post season, but now that they are here, they know how to turn up the intensity.
The Giants are 5th in the league in passing yardage at 295 YPG. Eli should have good success throwing against the Atlanta D ranked 20th against the pass giving up 236 YPG and 26 TDs. Manning has thrown 16 INTs as well, so he must take care of the ball, but he should have some success. On the running side of the ball the Giants are last in the league with 89 YPG, and don’t expect them to have a huge game on the ground against Atlanta. However, if they get down around the goal line, Bradshaw and Jacobs know how to get into the end zone.
Matt Ryan has had his best year passing for over 4,000 yards and 29 TDs. He has weapons all around him in WR Roddy White, Rookie WR Julio Jones, and RB Michael Turner. Ryan is facing 29th ranked Defense against the pass. He should have good success. Turner should also have a good game while the Giants try and figure out how to stop Ryan. Turner rushed for over 1,400 yards this season and scored 11 TDs on the ground. The Giants Defense gives up 121 YPG on the ground.
If Eli gets hot, and gets a few big plays from Cruz the Giants may be able to pull this one off. For some reason they seem to find a way to play better when the season is on the line. Atlanta hasn’t won a playoff game since 2004, but they have played really good lately. This one is hard to call.
Final Score: Atlanta 27 – New York 28
Game 4: Denver at Pittsburgh
Denver has lost 3 straight games. Tebow has been awful. Pittsburgh has the leagues best Defense. This game should be easy to call. However, for a few reasons, the Broncos may be able to surprise a few people this Sunday.
Reason 1 – Rashard Mendenhall is out. This leaves the Steelers Running game to Isaac Redmon and John Clay. Denver’s Defense isn’t spectacular against the run, as they give up 126 YPG. However, they have only gave up 11 TDs on the ground this season. Redmon did rush for a TD last week, but also had two fumbles. If the Broncos can keep these backup RBs out of the end zone and force a few of those fumbles they will keep this game close.
Reason 2 – Ben Roethlisberger. Big Ben is limping on that sprained right ankle. He is not going to be very mobile, and he was sacked 40 times this year. The Denver Defense has 41 sacks this season, 10th most in the NFL. They will be coming after Big Ben. The Pittsburgh starting center is out with an ankle sprain, so Roethlisberger will be in even more trouble. Since hurting his ankle he has not been very effective. We will have to see how much he has healed since last week at Cleveland, where the Steelers only beat the Browns by a score of 13-9. Ben was 23 of 40 in that game for 221 yards, 0 TDs, and was sacked twice.
Reason 3 – The Steelers have struggled against weaker teams this season. Against Cleveland they won 14 -3 and 13-9. Against Indianapolis they won 23-20. Against Jacksonville they won 17-13. Against Kansas City they won 13 -9. This is five games against non playoff teams where they won by 4 points or less. Denver is a fourth quarter team, and Prater may be the best kicker in the league. This could be one of those very close games, where Prater gets a chance at the end.
Reason 4 – Denver is the top rushing team in the NFL. Denver may not have the best RB in the NFL but because they can’t depend on Tebow to throw the ball accurately for a whole game, they are very creative in the running game. Willis McGahee will be healthy and has showed that he can still have big games. Teams that rely on the run have also had good success against the Steelers who rank #1 in Pass Defense but #8 against the run. San Fransisco was able to break just over 100 yards against them. St. Louis rushed for 165 yards against them. Cincinnati 103 yards in week 13 and 109 in week 10. Jacksonville for 133. And Arian Foster scorched them for 155 yards in week 4.
Pittsburgh can be run on, and they also allow QBs to pick up large chunks of yardage at times. So, with Denver’s run first, pass as a last resort offense, I think they will have some success moving the ball. Tebow will have to make at least a few plays through the air, but that can’t be asking too much. Can it?
Of course, Pittsburgh is a playoff team. They are experienced, and they play hard this time of year, so it is hard to expect a Denver miracle. But just for fun, I am going to call it.
Denver 16 – Pittsburgh 14
