NFL Playoff Preview: A Wild Wild Card Weekend Awaits
Wild Card weekend is here in the National Football League, and after a wild regular season, things are certainly going to get crazy.
For the second straight season, the NFL’s newly instituted 14-team playoff format will be tested as the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers, both seventh seeds, will travel take on the representatives of last year’s Super Bowl: the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, respectively.
On top of that we got two inter-division clashes: the Buffalo Bills vs. the New England Patriots, and the Arizona Cardinals vs. the LA Rams; a throwback to the 1990’s when the Dallas Cowboys host the San Francisco 49ers, and a playoff game nobody thought we’d see when the season began in the Las Vegas Raiders visiting the Cincinnati Bengals.
Mike Cohen’s Fox Sports New Jersey Pick Six (playoff edition)
Last week: 4-2
Regulars Season: 52-26
Las Vegas Raiders (10-7) @ Cincinnati Bengals (10-7) – Sat. 4:30 – NBC. The Raiders roll into Cincinnati riding a lot of momentum into this playoff after that crazy 35-32 OT win over the LA Chargers. Had the Raiders just accepted the tie, they would have traveled to Kansas City instead to face a Chiefs team that had blown them out twice. Instead the Raiders will try to slow down Joe Burrow and Ja’Mar Chase in their first playoff game with the Bengals. A lot of people will bring up the Bengals checkered history in the playoffs, and for good reason. The franchise hasn’t won a playoff game since 1991, and haven’t been to the divisional round since they lost to … you guessed it … the LA Raiders that same season in ’91. Oh the irony! This is a different Bengals team with a lot of toughness. PICK: BENGALS 27 – RAIDERS 24.
New England Patriots (10-7) @ Buffalo Bills (11-6) – Sat. 8:30 – CBS. Third meeting between these two in over a month. The Patriots return to the postseason for the first time in the post-Tom Brady era. The Patriots need quarterback Mac Jones to get back on track if they are going to make a run.
The Buffalo Bills runs with the ball during the fourth quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars at New Era Field on November 25, 2018 in Orchard Park, New York. Buffalo defeats Jacksonville 24-21. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
The rookie has thrown five interceptions in his last four games, and Bill Belichick is a coach who hates turnovers. The last time Jones and Co. went to Buffalo, Jones threw only three passes in New England’s 14-10 win. That won’t be the case this time. Look for Buffalo to blitz the Patriots with reckless abandon — they are the number one scoring defense in the NFL for a reason. Expect Josh Allen to do just enough to keep Buffalo plotting along. PICK: BILLS 20 – PATRIOTS 16.
Philadelphia Eagles (9-8) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (12-5) – Sun. 1 p.m. – FOX. On paper a total mismatch. The Eagles are a young, up and coming team, while the Bucs are the same veteran team that won the Super Bowl a year ago. Tom Brady has looked like an MVP candidate all season at the age of 44, but there are questions about whether this Bucs team can get back to the Big Dance.
They are littered with injuries to key guys: Star reciever Chris Godwin is out after knee surgery. Running backs Ronald Jones and Leonard Fournette are out. Cyrill Grason, who caught the game winner vs. the Jets, is out for this game. And there concerns about Jason Pierre-Paul’s health at defensive end. The Bucs might have enough fire power to outlast the Eagles, but after that it will get dicey. PICK: BUCCANEERS 25, EAGLES 19.
San Francisco 49ers (10-7) @ Dallas Cowboys (12-5) – Sun. 4:30 p.m. – CBS. The best game of the weekend. A total throwback to the good old days of the 1990s when the Cowboys and Niners met three straight years in the NFC Title game.
While that isn’t at stake in this one, and there is no Troy Aikman or Emmitt Smith on Dallas. Nor is there Steve Young or Jerry Rice on San Fran., this game be incredible.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS – NOVEMBER 07: Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys scrambles with the ball during the first quarter against the Denver Broncos at AT&T Stadium on November 07, 2021 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Dak Prescott and company lit up the Eagles last week in their final tune up after some struggles in prior weeks. Meanwhile, the 49ers are starting to feel their oats after winning seven of their last nine to get to the playoffs. While a lot focus will be on Prescott and the Boys offense, don’t fall asleep on the 49ers. Running back Elijah Mitchell averages 4.7 yards per carry, and Deebo Samuel has done everything at wide receiver lately. This could come down to a coaches mistake, and both Cowboys’ coach Mike McCarthy, and 49ers’ coach Kyle Shanahan have been known for perplexing decisions in big spots in the past. PICK: COWBOYS 34 – 49ERS 31.
Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7-1) @ Kansas City Chiefs (12-5) – Sun. 8:30 – NBC. This feels like it’s all set up for Ben Roethlisberger good bye tour. You have the Steelers, who dramatically got into the playoffs, thanks to a thrilling win over Baltimore last week, combined with the Raiders OT classic over the Chargers that allowed Pittsburgh to get to the playoffs. The Steelers are the 7th seed, and are looking to be the first 7th seed ever to advance in the playoffs.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – JANUARY 09: Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers throws a pass during the fourth quarter in the game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on January 09, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images)
People will wonder if Big Ben and the Steelers can finally slay Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, who beat up the Steelers 36-10 earlier this season. Would love to see the Steelers win here. Nobody plays the disrespect card better than head coach Mike Tomlin, but the Chiefs were coming into their own down the stretch. Expect Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce to have solid nights as the Chiefs survive. PICK: CHIEFS 23 – STEELERS 21.
Arizona Cardinals (10-7) @ LA Rams (12-5): Two teams that are extremely hard to figure. Both lost in Week 18. Both have had their good moments and their really bad moments this season. The key here is can Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford prove that Head Coach Sean McVay was right to trade for him last winter. Stafford, the former Detroit Lions quarterback has never won a playoff game. If Stafford has a good day, he needs only to look toward Cooper Kupp, who has 16 receiving touchdowns this year. On the flip side, there will be pressure on the Cardinals and Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury to get things turned around after dropping four of five to end the season. The one positive for Arizona is JJ Watt is expected back. PICK: RAMS 28 – CARDINALS 24.
