Wild Card Weekend

This is the most excited I have been in a long time over Wild Card Weekend. All of these teams are evenly matched. We have a divisional game, a game between a franchise and their old city (the Colts used to play in Baltimore), and a game featuring the two best rookie quarterbacks in the history of the NFL. 

All of these games should be nail biters until the end, and we have a chance at a whole bunch of upsets. Let's take a look at each of these games.

While Adrian Peterson deserves all the recognition he
receives, it might be the Packers' receiver Randall Cobb
who makes the difference in this rematch of last week's game.

Austen's Eight-Point Pick - @Green Bay over Minnesota

Austen: The Vikings are a great story. Adrian Peterson is, in my mind, the unquestioned MVP of the league. However, this team does not have much outside of him and Jared Allen. This pass defense is still questionable to me because of the lack of playmakers on the back end. Injuries to Antoine Winfield and Christian Ponder could completely cripple this team. Adrian Peterson might need to run for 300 yards to match what Aaron Rodgers can do with all his receivers, who are all healthy for the first time since Week 4.

Score Prediction: Green Bay 31, Minnesota 20


Stally: I said that this Minnesota team, most notably Adrian Peterson, was on a mission to make the postseason this last month.  However, the train might stop here for AP and Co.  Minnesota was an impressive 7-1 at home, but just 3-5 on the road.  Not to mention, It's tough to win at Lambeau, unless you're the Packers of course, and the Vikes last loss was Dec. 2 in this building by a score of 23-14.  This is the time of season that Rodgers does his discount double-check and realizes that the discount that got Minni into the playoffs last week was a mistake.

Score Prediction: Green Bay 38, Minnesota 27

Andrew Luck might get a lot of credit for taking his team
to the playoffs, but he could not have done it without the
leadership of coaches Bruce Arians and Chuck Pagano.

Stally's Eight-Point Pick - @Baltimore over Indianapolis

Stally: Despite being a guy who's viewed the Colts as the biggest rival to my Patriots for the last 10 years, I got into the Colts this year.  Andrew Luck was, in fact, everything that was advertised and the whole Chuck Strong movement was fun.  However, Indianapolis was a statistical anomaly whose success defied the numbers.  Entering Week 17, FootballOutsiders.com ranked them as the 28th-best team in the league, based on stats.  Sooner or later, the Colts should regress to the mean.  The Ravens are no great shakes this season, but they're 6-2 at home and four of Indy's five losses came on the road, so this is Baltimore's game to win.

Score Prediction: Baltimore 24, Indianpolis 17

Austen: This pick surprised me. To me, this game is a complete toss up. As good as Joe Flacco looked against the Patriots in the AFC Championship last year, he has been the reason the Ravens have not made the Super Bowl in years past. Throw in the fact that the Patriots had the worst pass defense in the league last season, and I simply cannot trust Flacco in any game, let alone the playoffs. Ray Lewis's comeback is huge for this team, even if he was not all that good early in the season. I've been flip flopping all week over this game, but I'm siding with the all-star rookie. Andrew Luck will make the plays to win this game, whereas Flacco will make the plays to lose it for his team.

Score Prediction: Indianpolis 34, Baltimore 27

Russell Wilson and Robert Griffin III are the top candidates
for Offensive Rookie of the Year, but only one will leave the
Nation's Capital with a win and a shot at a serious playoff run.

Austen's Four-Point Pick - Seattle over @Washington

Austen: The league has never seen two rookie quarterbacks play at such a high level as Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson. These two are almost mirror images of each other. RG3 has the bigger arm, but Wilson has the better football IQ. They both have similar offenses that rely heavily on two of the best running backs in the NFL. So looking at this matchup, I see both of these offenses as a wash. However, when it comes to defense, the Seahawks clearly have the advantage. Washington has one of the best run defenses in the league, but their pass defense is pretty hard to watch. While the Seahawks do not have a number one receiver, they have a receiving corps that brings a lot of differing skill sets to the table. Russell Wilson has been as good as any quarterback in the league since the midway point of the season. I think the Seahawks should be the clear favorite in this one.

Score Prediction: Seattle 38, Washington 28

Stally: The NFL is saving the best for last.  Two of the most electric rookie quarterbacks in recent memory go head-to-head in the form of Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson.  While the public is riding the Seahawks' bandwagon, and with that defense, it's hard to blame them.  I'm still comfortably at the front of the RG3 bandwagon.  He was drafted second overall, Wilson was taken 75th.  Comparatively speaking, both have been of similar value, but RG3 has been a mark of consistency all season.  The Seahawks were a great 8-0 at home, but they're only 3-5 on the road this year.  Take into account that the D.C. crowd hasn't seen a home playoff game since 1999, and I think Seattle is going to learn what it's like to play against the 12th Man.

Score Prediction: Washington 23, Seattle 20

Geno Atkins might not get the recognition that
other defensive lineman get, but that will not stop
him from having a say in how this game turn out.

Stally's Four-Point Pick - @Houston over Cincinnati

Stally: I like this Bengals team, to be honest.  They sport youth on both sides of the ball, including a phenomenal tandem of sophomores Andy Dalton and AJ Green.  With the Ravens and Steelers both starting to show their age, Cincy is poised to become the best team in the NFC North.  I also am not stating anything other than the obvious when I say that Houston has been in a tailspin of late.  All this said, I think the Bengals are still a season away from being great, I think the Texans are the better team, and I think they find a way to win this one at home, just like they did last season when they won this same game 31-10.

Score Prediction: Houston 24, Cincinnati 20

Austen: I love the Texans, but something is seriously wrong with them. They cannot get anything going on offense. Even Arian Foster looks like a shell of himself recently. The defense is letting up big plays all over the place. The injury to Brian Cushing coupled with the inexplicable offseason trade of DeMeco Ryans has slowly crippled this defense. Matt Schaub is not the leader this franchise expected him to be, leaving the entire team without direction. The downward spiral of this team shows a total lack of leadership on both sides of the ball and I am not sure it is something they can bounce back from.

The Bengals are much better than the Colts, who just gave the Texans a rivalry beat down. I have been saying it all year: the Bengals are a dangerous team. Dalton and Green should have a big day against this struggling defense. Geno Atkins is the most underrated defensive lineman in the league and he has more talent around him than J.J. Watt does. Foster will have to put this entire team on his back for the Texans to come out of this one with a W.

Score Prediction: Cincinnati 17, Houston 10