There is no better time in sports than right now. Really from the January 1st Bowl Games till the Super Bowl, this is the best 30(ish) day stretch of sports. Between the NHL and NBA seasons nearing the halfway point and a boatload of football on, well January is truly the best time to ignore your girlfriend/wife, reconnect with your buddies who you didn’t see over the holidays and gain 5-10 pounds. That’s why Valentines Day is in February, it’s our way of trying to make up with our now alienated better half.
The best thing about Wildcard Weekend is no one can say with 100% confidence who is going to win any of these games. I’ll try my best.
New York Jets @ Cincinnati (-1)
Reasons why the Jets will win:
-They currently posses the leagues #1 rushing attack & #1 rush D.
-Darrell Revis will shutdown a limping Chad Ochocinco and the rest of the Bengals WR couldn’t score on a below average CFL secondary.
-They absolutely killed the Bengals in Week 17, even when Cincinnati had their starters in for the first half.
Reasons why the Bengals will win:
-Running the ball is overrated; you need to pass to win in the playoffs. The Giants won in 2007 because of Eli Manning, not because of Brandon Jacobs and Co.
-The team will be motivated with both the tragic passing of Chris Henry and the fact that they’re only a one point favourite at home.
-Mark Sanchez, a West Coast kid, a rookie, a turnover machine will win on the road in Ohio in January? Really???
My Prediction: Cincinnati: 17 – NY Jets: 10
Philadelphia @ Dallas (-3.5)
Reasons why Philadelphia will win:
-There is no way they play that bad again after getting embarrassed in the final week against the Cowboys.
-Say what you want about never winning the Super Bowl but the Andy Reid/Donovan McNabb combo just owns Wild Card Weekend. They never lose.
-Deep down is anyone really ready to trust Romo and Wade Phillips at this time of year?
-DeSean Jackson could pull a Larry Fitzgerald 2009 Playoffs and carry the Eagles through a couple rounds.
Reasons why Dallas will win:
-Injuries to the Eagles O-Line means that Jay Ratliff (A Top 3 Defensive Player this season, makes at least one jaw dropping play every game) will be spending most of the game in Philadelphia’s backfield.
-Their secondary proved against both Philly and the Saints that they are capable of controlling a high powered passing attack.
-Tony Romo will be playing much looser now that he has that “Can’t win in December and beyond” stigma off his back.
My Prediction: Philadelphia: 27 – Dallas: 21
Baltimore @ New England (-3.5)
Reasons why Baltimore will win:
-No Wes Welker means the Ravens below average secondary only has to deal with Randy Moss. Still no easy task but Moss can be shut down.
-Tom Brady’s cracked ribs … just how effective will he be on Sunday?
-The Patriots don’t have an answer to Ray Rice. He easily could have 150-200 totally yards against that defense.
-The best game New England played this year was their loss to the Colts. They really didn’t have that season defining win.
Reasons why New England will win:
-Tom Brady doesn’t lose at home in January, it just doesn’t happen.
-Instead of coming in as a prohibitive favourite the Patriots can enjoy being that team that people are counting out. Much less pressure than being that juggernaut team that everyone expects to win.
-Joe Flacco’s road QB rating is just 75.8 compared to 101.5 at home. He has been up and down all season and I don’t think anyone would be surprised if he threw up a dud in New England.
My Prediction: Baltimore: 21 – New England: 20
Green Bay @ Arizona (-1)
Reasons why Green Bay will win:
-Top to bottom they have better talent.
-Their will be no home field advantage for the Cardinals. Expect at least 8,000 Packer fans in attendance.
-Aaron Rodgers has been on fire in his last three games and has a QB rating of 120 playing indoors. Again, so much for the Cards so called home field advantage.
-Anquan Boldin is banged up and Larry Fitzgerald has been relatively quite in the big play department this year.
Reasons why Arizona will win:
-If the refs call a tight game than the Packer secondary will take a high number of pass interference penalties (They are the most physical unit in the league) leading to easy scoring drives for Kurt Warner.
-The same team that upset everyone along the way to the Super Bowl has a better defence and running game this season.
-They easily handled a Vikings team (30-17) that just murdered the Packers twice this season. That has to count for something, doesn’t it?
My Prediction: Green Bay: 31 – Arizona: 27