Wild Card Weekend Preview & Picks

Haz Bey

I'm looking for the AFC road teams to pull out victories on the road while the NFC home teams protect their respective turfs.  I do not think this Wild Card Weekend will be very memorable, but it does have intriguing match-ups.  I will give you my brief take on all four games to get you ready for this huge weekend.




AFC Wild Card Games

Bengals @ Texans
Look for Andy Dalton and the Cincinnati Bengals to win a tough game on the road against the AFC South Champion Houston Texans. With Houston down to their 3rd string quarterback T.J. Yates, the Texans will have difficulty moving the football up and down the field causing Houston not to put up enough points on the board to win the franchises 1st ever playoff game. Houston will stay in the game, because of their elite running attack and superb defense, but look for the Bengals to get the lead early with the combination of Dalton to fellow rookie A.J. Green and then pound the ball late with veteran running back Cedric Benson. 
Bengals Win 20-10

Steelers @ Broncos
The Pittsburgh Steelers are not even 1 year removed from losing to the Green Bay Packers in the Super Bowl and the Denver Broncos are 3 weeks removed from their last win.  The mentalities of these 2 teams are on 2 different levels.  Denver's goal is to try to compete with a struggling Tim Tebow at quarterback and Pittsburgh's goal is to move on the next round for their next step in their quest to get back to the Super Bowl.  I can talk about how arguably the league's best defense will dominate arguably the league's worst offense, but there's no need. There will be no "Tebow-Time" this week.
Steelers Win 24-0


NFC Wild Card Games

Lions @ Saints
Shootout, straight shootout, but the New Orleans Saints at home against the Detroit Lions will not lose Saturday Night.  I expect both teams to light up the scoreboard, but the pressure that Matt Stafford will have to try to keep up with Drew Brees will be too much to bare.  Drew Brees has more weapons at his disposal with the addition of Darren Sproles and he runs his offense like a well-oiled machine, while Mathew has to find ways to get Calvin "Megatron" Johnson the ball through double and triple teams.  Easy choice for me.
Saints Win 45-34

Falcons @ Giants
The Atlanta Falcons are a decent football team.  The have a good young quarterback in Matt Ryan, an elite running back in Michael Turner, a 1st ballot hall of famer at tight end in Tony Gonzales & a good receiving core led by Roddy White.  With that being said, there is no way they will have will and the resolve to come in to East Rutherford and knock off the "G-Men" at home.  It's not happening.  The Giants are a physical, proud bunch.  They still have 17 players in uniform from the 2007 team that won the Super Bowl.  Eli Manning has set an NFL record with 15 touchdowns in the 4th quarter this season.  The defensive line is flat-out scary with Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora & Jason Pierre-Paul wreaking havoc.  Too much of an hostel environment for the Falcons to steal a win.
Giants Win 31-17