Even with a global pandemic occurring, the NFL was able to play every single game scheduled, which is quite a feat considering what happened to some of the other sporting leagues. This year, for the first time ever, we will have six games on Wildcard Weekend. Instead of the top two seeds of each division having a bye, only the top team has a bye. Home field advantage will not have the same effect this season, with only some of the teams in the playoffs being able to host fans, and even those who are can only have such a small number. There was not that much drama heading into the final week of the regular season about playoff spots, and there was not much of a shocker team that no one expected to make the playoffs that did. Many of the games this weekend will be rematches, but hopefully the games will be exciting.
Byes:
Chiefs
Packers
Colts at Bills:
The Colts snuck into the playoffs with a win over Jacksonville last week. Buffalo has won six straight and their quarterback Josh Allen has been making a case for MVP. The New York governor approved the Bills to have limited fans during the playoff games, so the Bills Mafia will be attending this game. They will be very eager to see a win, especially since the Bills have not won a playoff game since 1995 (they can’t be complaining though, they could be Bengal fans). Meanwhile, the Colts have not looked that great in their last few games. They have fallen in the cycle of playing super well in the first half then crumbling in the second half. Against this Bills high powered offense, they can’t afford to do that. I think the Colts will try to keep the Bills offense on the sideline as long as possible. This will mean that Phillip Rivers will not be throwing the ball as much, and they will likely be giving rookie running back Jonathan Taylor a lot of carries. Taylor is average five yards a carry and has scored 11 touchdowns this season. Even if the Colts can keep Josh Allen and company off the field, I do not think they have enough to pull off the upset. Their defense has not been that stellar, and I do not think they will be able to limit the Bills offense to enough points where Phillip Rivers can put up more.
Rams at Seahawks:
This will be the third matchup between these two teams, as they have already met twice during the regular season, each winning one game. There is a lot of uncertainty ahead of this game with injuries on both sides. Rams quarterback Jared Goff had thumb surgery at the end of December and his status for this game is still uncertain. If he doesn’t play, the Rams quarterback will be John Wofford, who made his first NFL start last weekend. Wofford proved that he could be more mobile than Goff usually is, but he was not very accurate. The Rams defense is one of the best in the leagues and has given up the fewest amount of total points. A big part of the Rams defense is tackle Aaron Donald who has had 13 sacks this season and will be out for Russel Wilson. The Seahawks started off the season strong, but slipped off a little bit during the second half, mainly due to Russel Wilson’s not so great play. Wilson needs to get back to the way he was playing at the beginning of this season in the playoffs. The Seahawks have started running the ball a lot more recently, but it has distributed their offensive flow. I think that this game will be pretty low scoring, but the Seahawks have a history of winning playoff games at home, and with how banged up the Rams are, the Seahawks should get this win relatively easily.
Buccaneers at Washington:
Can the Washington Football team be only the third team ever with a losing record to win a playoff game? Tom Brady is looking for his first playoff win without Bill Bellichick, who will be watching from home this season. Washington has had lots of drama with the quarterback position, having a new starter almost every week. As of now it appears that Alex Smith will be the starter, but Ron Rivera said he will likely also play Taylor Heinicke if Smith’s calf is still giving him issues. Washington’s offense has one of the worst efficiencies in the league and has only scored more than 23 points with Smith as the starter once this season. What has kept them in games is their impressive defense. Rookie Chase Young has been very impressive, recording 44 tackles and 7.5 sacks. Young said this week that he “wants Brady”. Tom Brady has had an up and down season in his first year out of New England. It is clear that Brady is aging and is no longer as good as some of the younger quarterbacks in the league. His top receiver Mike Evans is still questionable after getting injured last week. As much as I don’t like to see Tom Brady succeed, I think the Bucs will win this game. I do not think Washington will be able to score enough points to keep up with Brady’s offense.
Ravens at Titans:
Last year Tennessee shocked the world by upsetting the Ravens in Baltimore in the wild card round. Roles are reversed this season, as Tennessee is the higher seed and will be playing at home. Between Tennessee’s Derrick Henry and Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson and JK Dobbins, this game includes some of the top rushers in the league. The Ravens have won five straight games, and last week against the Bengals had their offense firing up, with JK Dobbins able to run the ball really well. Their defense has also been playing better and they have been pretty good at stopping the run this season. The defense will need to play really well in order to stop Derrick Henry. He killed them during last year's matchup, and will be a huge key for Tennessee again this year. As good as Lamar Jackson has been, he has yet to win a playoff game, but I think that will all change this year. I believe this will be a really close game, but Jackson and the Ravens will come out on top.
Bears at Saints:
The Saints have three consecutive years of heartbreaking playoff exits and will look to reverse that fortune this year. Luckily for them, it looks like their three best players might all be returning for this game. Drew Brees is back from his rib injury, wide receiver Michael Thomas is expected to be back, as well as running back Alvin Kamara. This will likely be Bree’s last playoffs before he retires, and he will look to earn his second Super Bowl Ring. The Bears defense has worn down in past weeks, especially their pass rush, which will give Brees plenty of time. Mitchel Trubisky has gotten the offense together a little better after being named the starter again, and will be playing for his job as he heads toward free agency. The Saints defense is one of the best defenses, and I think they will be able to shut Trubisky down. I expect the Saints to win by a lot if Brees, Thomas, and Kamara all play.
Browns at Steelers:
Last weekend the Browns squeaked past the Steelers (who weren’t playing all their starters) to clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 2002. The Browns have been deeply affected by COVID this week, with head coach Kevin Stenfasnky out and not being in the practice facility at all this week, meaning they have not practiced since before last week's game. Baker Mayfield has improved a lot this season and has one of the highest quarterback ratings in the league, but will likely face pressure from the Steelers tough defense. He will also be under a lot of pressure to lead Cleveland to a playoff win, especially without his head coach who has been calling many of the plays. The Browns will need running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt to help the offense. Ben Rosethburger did not play last weekend, but has been pretty good this year. He has lots of receivers that are able to make big plays, like JuJu Smith-Schuster and rookie Chase Claypool. JuJu Smith-Schuster has been famous for dancing on opponents logos before the games, and said of the Browns this week: “they’re just the same Browns team we play every year”. I think these comments will give fuel to the Browns and they will likely target Smith Juster, like Vonn Bell of the Bengals did. Although the Steelers have not looked that good their last five games, I think the Browns do not quite have enough to overcome them. The Browns barely beat the Steelers last weekend without Big Ben playing, and the fact that they did not get to practice this week and will be without their head coach, just does not make the Browns chances of upsetting very good.
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