By Jacob Sanders
We are here. One of the most
exciting times of the year. The NFL playoffs have started and unlike some
Wildcard Weekends we have seen in the past, we have some great matchups to go
over. We even have some all-time QBs playing today in Tom Brady and Drew Brees.
Just that is enough to tune in to what should be a wild weekend. So, let’s get
right to it.
Sanders went 11-5 last week putting
him to a grand total of 163-95-1 on the regular season. Playoffs start this
weekend and everyone starts 0-0. Here we go!
BUF Bills vs HOU Texans
A case for the Bills:
The Bills are arguably the toughest
team in the AFC to play. Yes, the better teams like the Ravens and Chiefs play
in the AFC as well, but no other team wants to punch you in the mouth like the
Bills do. Their rough-and-tough style of play wears opponents down and let’s
the Bills defense close out the game nice and well. Their task this week,
however, is to stop Will Fuller. The Texans becomes one-dimensional when Will
Fuller is either out injured or not having a good performance. If you stop
Deshaun Watson, and his two best receivers, Hopkins and Fuller, then you shut
down this entire Texans team. One other thing the Bills need to do that they
have going for them: Utilizing Josh Allen’s big arm. It’s not like the Texans
secondary is very strong. If you can get John Brown to take the top off and
Cole Beasley to work the middle, the Bills have a recipe for winning.
However…
A case for the Texans:
J.J. Watt is returning to the
defensive lineup which gives the Texans all sorts of hope that they can hit
Josh Allen and throw him off his game. Josh Allen has played his worst this
season when the pass rush is breathing down his neck. Josh Allen will get
better at this over time, but with him only being a 2nd year player,
it can be easy for the Texans to ruin his day. In addition to this, we all know
the Texans have a great WR core in Hopkins, Fuller, and Stills. Can the running
game get going? Can Carlos Hyde get this engine rolling? We don’t know for sure
but the Bills have a strong run defense. Take care of that and you open up the
passing game for one of the most elite WR duos in football when healthy.
Final Prediction:
Man, the Bills are tough. As a
Ravens fan, I don’t want to play them again. I don’t think anybody wants the
Bills coming to town. The Bills have a great defense and a phenomenal head
coach who knows how to put his team into positions to win. However, both Josh
Allen and Sean McDermott are entering their playoff debut as a HC-QB combo.
Bill O’Brien and Deshaun Watson have been here before. No, they didn’t win in
their first playoff appearance, but experience matters here. When two teams are
good and they both seem even talent-wise, you gotta go with the coach and
quarterback who have more experience and know what they have to do in a playoff
atmosphere. Texans grab a tough win at home.
Bills 20 Texans 27
TEN Titans vs NE Patriots
A case for the Titans:
The Titans have become a high
flying offense with the rise of Ryan Tannehill and the continuous pounding of
Derrick Henry. Other players like A.J. Brown and Delanie Walker all contribute
as well to the points the Titans have been putting up. The best part is, the
Titans haven’t had a dud performance offensively either. They are consistently
scoring points which is key when facing a top-flight defense that the NE
Patriots have. What the Titans need for them to happen though, is they need the
defense that can hold off Patrick Mahomes and Drew Brees (for the first half)
to show up. If the defense that caved into Houston in their first matchup, or
gave up a 14-0 lead to the Saints in the second half of the game, then the
Titans are in trouble. I recognize they aren’t facing a top-flight
defense, but
do you really want to take any gambles against Tom Brady?
Speaking of Tom Brady…
A case for the Patriots:
Does anyone reading this realize
this will be Tom Brady’s 41st playoff start? Crazy. Insanity. Wild.
Unheard of. I could go on with adjectives to describe just how impossible 41
playoff starts is. We’ll never see that again and people won’t appreciate it
till long after he has retired and his bust has been enshrined in the Hall of
Fame. I am getting ahead of myself though, let’s get back to this game. The
Patriots have a lock-down defense that can certainly score points for the team
when the offense can’t. They are one of the best in takeaways and constantly
give Brady and Co. great positioning to score. Despite the great field position
the defense gives, the Patriots offense is just not working. It’s beyond
flawed, and if Tom Brady weren’t the engineer behind this offense, I don’t think
this team even achieves 11 wins. The Patriots need their rookie WR to step up.
James White needs to be an asset in the passing game. Sony Michel and Julian
Edelman must continue what they’ve done to help Brady, if they hope to keep up
with the Titans offense. If not, the Patriots could soon find themselves in a
hole they can’t recover from.
Final Prediction:
I am not a prisoner of the moment
in believing the Titans are peaking and because of that, they will win. I am
also not a prisoner of the Brady-Bellichick aura. Yes, the Titans are peaking
and yes Brady-Bellichick always figure it out when things are going wrong. That
being said, neither of these things should be considered when you pick this
game. Instead, think about the fact this game is being played in the cold, at
night, in one of the hardest stadiums to win in for opposing teams. Think about
the fact that Brady has more playoff experience than any other player (and even
Titans coaches) on the field. Game conditions matter. Playoff experience
matters. Mike Vrabel, as a coach, and Ryan Tannehill as the quarterback all
lack experience in the playoffs. Everything I mentioned above favors New
England. Yes, I think the hotter team is the Titans. But the better coached and
better overall team, is still New England. And the better defense lies with the
home team in cold conditions. It’s an upset if the Titans win. And what a
fantastic upset it would be.
Titans 14 Patriots 17
MIN Vikings vs NO Saints
A case for the Vikings:
Dalvin Cook’s return is massive.
The Vikings offense is just better and far more functional when Cook is the
game. This is no disrespect to Cousins, Diggs, or Thielen who are fantastic
playmakers in their own right as well. But given the state of the Vikings
offense, Cook’s return is just that important. That being said, his return isn’t
the most important thing that needs to happen for the Vikings to win. The Vikings
defense NEEDS a vintage 2017-2018 performance. Matter of the fact is, you aren’t
going to stop the Saints offense. It just doesn’t happen. But you CAN slow them
down enough to score more points than them and beat them. This is a must. Mike
Zimmer is a fantastic head coach (despite what some others say) and can create
a gameplan that allows this Vikings defense to take
over the game.
But when it comes to creating
gameplans…
A case for the Saints:
No one does it better offensively
than Sean Payton. The man is a mastermind who can gameplan for anything that comes
his way and can adapt his offense mid-game like no other. His work with Teddy B
this last season was incredible and his ability to get Drew Brees back without
missing a beat is exactly the type of coaching that can lead your team to a
Super Bowl. But Sean Payton isn’t the only person that needs to make a
difference. To me, if the Saints want to frustrate the Vikings, it won’t be
through the offense but through the play of Marshon Lattimore. To me, it doesn’t
matter if he covers Diggs or Thielen. Either way, you must shut that receiver
down. If Lattimore does his job, the Vikings offense will be handicapped. From
there, you let Drew Brees and Co. do their thing.
Final Prediction:
It’s very rare that I ever
confidently pick a Vikings game. History says I’m wrong everytime I pick a
tough Vikings game. Luckily for me, I don’t think this game is all that tough
to pick. The first thing I look at when picking a team is the overall roster
and performance of the team. While the Vikings have a great roster, they have
not performed to their ceiling and the Saints have this year thus the disparity
in seeding and record. The Saints, I’ll say it, also have the better head
coach. The Saints, as a team, are willing to pull out all the stops and open
the entire playbook to win the game if they have to. We just haven’t seen this
type of effort from the Vikings this season. And at some point, you gotta
accept a team for what they are. The Vikings are a 10-6 team who simply haven’t
reached their ceiling this year, and it doesn’t look like they ever will this year.
Vikings 23 Saints 31
SEA Seahawks vs PHI Eagles
A case for the Seahawks:
I’m keeping this one simple because
the way the Seahawks win is relatively simple. Wilson and Pete Carrol have been
here done that. Enough said on that. What needs to happen though, is everything
else. This team is somehow 11-5 with a bottom 10 defense and relatively little
to work with on offense. This just speaks to how good Carrol’s coaching is and
Wilson’s MVP campaign. However, as of late, the Seahawks haven’t looked like a
team ready to win in playoff conditions with losses to both AZ and SF in the
last two weeks. The Seahawks NEED a Russel Wilson MVP performance and they need
either the defense to final figure it out or Marshawn Lynch to have a throwback
performance. If neither of these things happen, the Seahawks may be too hurt to
rely on a regular performance to win.
On the note of injuries…
A case for the Eagles:
The Eagles are, quite literally,
rolling out wide receivers from the streets. Props to Carson Wentz for carrying
this team to 3-0 the last three weeks to pull of the NFC East title. It earned
them a home playoff game which is massive. What’s even bigger, is that the
Eagles are NOT favored in this game. This lets the crowd throw it back to the “underdog”
mentality they had in the Super Bowl. Once again, the Eagles are set to play
with everything against them. Doug Pederson has been here done that. This is
Wentz’s first rodeo. With the Eagles getting healthy on defense, it’s go time
for the Eagles and they gotta get it together to beat an MVP candidate in
Wilson.
Final Prediction:
Give me the underdogs in this game.
The Eagles are the inferior team and the Seahawks are the better team. However,
in this case, I am taking the hotter team. The Eagles are surging into the
playoffs with a home crowd ready to support their franchise QB in his first
playoff start. The Seahawks, on the other hand, both metaphorically and
physically are limping into the playoffs. Factor in the fact this crowd isn’t
going to be nice to them at all, and I just don’t see them pulling it off. It’s
hard to doubt a Pete Carrol led team, yet here I am.
Seahawks 17 Eagles 27
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