Here we are, week 18 of the NFL season. There are only 12
teams left with a shot to hoist the Lombardi trophy, walking off into the
sunset with confetti reigning down upon them. Let’s dive into the Wild Card
weekend match ups.
Kansas City Chiefs (11-5) at Houston Texans (9-7)
Unless you have been living under a rock, you know about the
Chiefs. They come into the playoffs scorching hot, winning ten straight
contests including wins against the Pittsburgh Steelers and number one seed
Denver Broncos. Alex Smith has been more than a game manager during the streak,
spreading the ball around with some mastery of this offense. He is finally
showing off the ability everyone saw when the 49ers drafted him. Andy Reid is
continuing proof that the Bill Walsh coaching tree is alive and well, as all
Eagles fans sigh and miss the days of the big guy manning their sidelines. They
started the season 1-5 but that one win came in the opening weekend against the
Texans. There is very little either team can actually draw from that first
game, since on this day they both look completely different. The Texans come in
the champs of a dismal AFC South division, but a team who can compete with anyone
due to their defense still being very serviceable. Things on offense are on the
opposite end of that spectrum. They have started 4 different quarterbacks this
season, none of which lit up the scoreboard. Brian Hoyer has been the most
effective of the bunch, even though one could argue that Brandon Weeden has
looked better, but just hasn’t been on the team long enough for the Texans to
pull the trigger and let him keep the job. While the Texans have a decent
defense, they sport the worst defensive efficiency in the league against the
play-action pass; a staple of the Chiefs offense.
Chiefs stay hot: 34-17 Kansas City
Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6) at Cincinnati Bengals (12-4)
An ugly week 16 loss to the Ravens nearly erased the
Steelers from the playoffs, but some luck followed them into week 17 with a win
over the hapless Cleveland Browns, and more importantly a Bills upset of the
New York Jets. Even though Pittsburgh backed into the playoffs they are not a
team to be taken lightly. Their offense is a perfect mix of high flying passing
and ground and pound running. Ben Roethlisberger is once again looking like the
QB who will carry a team on the road all the way to the promise land like he
did in Super Bowl XL. Even though the ground game has much to contribute, this
receiving corps that Big Ben is throwing to is going to be a match up problem
for every team they face, should they advance. Antonio Brown leads the attack
after leading the league in receptions with 136, but the real stat that will
matter in this game is Brown was second in the league in first down receptions,
with 84. Moving the sticks against this Bengals defense is going to be a major
key. These two teams are not short on disdain for each other, considering the
last time they played there were fights and skirmishes from pregame warm up to
the last whistle. With the Bengals starting A.J. McCarron because of Andy
Dalton still being sidelined with a broken thumb, they lose a little bit of the
edge they might have had on the offensive side of the ball. One positive from
McCarron starting is that he isn’t afraid of the big game, which he was a part
of plenty while at Alabama. He has played pretty well to finish out the season,
getting more comfortable with the offense as he continues to play in it. The
deciding factor in this game is going to Roethlisberger facing the Bengals
defense for the 3rd time. They split the season series, but the game
the Bengals won saw Roethlisberger throw 3 interceptions. If they can force the
Steelers into turnovers again, expect the Bengals to move on.
A.J. McCarron continues to win big games: 24-16 Cincinnati
Seattle Seahawks (10-6) at Minnesota Vikings (11-5)
Those damn Seahawks. Do you all remember early in the season
when everyone was writing off the Seahawks? Nobody could figure out what was
wrong. They showed the reason why you play all 16 games. They have weathered a
few injuries and are now coming into the playoffs healthy. Marshawn Lynch says
he is good to go, which will be a huge lift to the offense, which has leaned a
little bit more on Russel Wilson than in past years. Wilson has stepped up and
proven all the critics who said he wasn’t worth the big contract wrong. The
team really changed and started its upward trend when Kam Chancellor ended his
holdout. His return to the defense really brought the team’s identity back to
the Legion of Boom. On a defense full of talented players, Chancellor is the
quarterback and soul of that group, his leadership and playmaking ability put
the league on notice in game one. Wilson has the offense humming along as well,
actually looking more scary and effective than the past two years they have
made it to the Super Bowl. They go up against a Vikings team that looks vastly
different from years past now that they have a more than capable QB to pair with
Adrian Peterson. For years, the knock on the Vikings was the lack of consistent
quarterback play, leaning on Peterson to do all the heavy lifting while
defenses stacked the box to try and slow him down. I have long been a fan of
Mike Zimmer leading a franchise, and he has been an amazing fit in Minnesota.
His defense has quietly been one of the most improved groups in the league.
Zimmer is a big believer of hard-nosed football, run the ball and stop the run.
Teddy Bridgewater’s development has blossomed, with a running game to help open
up the offense and allow him to show off his arm. This team is much improved
and pretty young, the future is bright. The unfortunate part is they are going
up against the hottest team in the NFC, whom they lost to once already. And
that loss was ugly, 38-7 with Minnesota’s only score coming on a kickoff
return.
Seattle has the Legion of Boom back: 27-10 Seahawks
Green Bay Packers (10-6) at Washington Redskins (9-7)
Many analysts and fans have been looking at this game as a
wrap for the Green Bay Packers. I haven’t found it that easy, actually, this
was my hardest game to pick. The Packers have been up and down all season.
Jordy Nelson’s absence has been a factor that a lot of Rodgers apologists have
looked at as a major reason for the offensive drop off. But I just can’t buy
that. You can’t have it both ways Packers fans. If you are going to talk about
Rodgers at the top of the league with Manning, Brady, and Brees, you need to be
able to win with no name wide outs catching the ball. Or you need to admit
Rodgers, while great, is dependent a bit on scheme and talent surrounding him.
When he is on, he looks every bit the part of a great, but this season he has
looked pedestrian. Rodgers needs to let the running game be the focal point of
the offense this week. At times this season the Redskins defense has looked
dominate, but at other times they look
like a floor mat being walked on. Which defense is going to show up for them?
But the biggest matchup is going to be the Packers defense against the
Washington offense. Kirk Cousins isn’t just having a break-through season on
accident, this team has a legit talent pool on offense that is continually
getting better and better the more they are on the field together. When DeSean
Jackson came back they really took off. His ability to stretch the field really
opened up routes for tight end Jordan Reed to exploit, coupled with the ability
to run the ball whenever they want. Jay Gruden was brought in to try and fix
RGIII, but he is coming out proving his offensive acumen weekly without him. I
expect the Redskins to run the ball a lot, try and control the time of
possession, keeping Rodgers off the field.
I can’t fake the funk here, my heart says Redskins: 38-31 Washington
