Here we are, the NFL playoffs. What really could have been a weekend of misery with all of my “Panthers-should-have-been-in-the-playoffs-but-got-robbed” ranting, it’s really not as Carolina honestly wasn’t going to do anything this postseason, even if they did make it. The good news, however, is there’s still plenty of good football to watch and it’ll still be an exciting weekend. With that, it’s time to recap my Regular Season statistics and make the picks for the wild-card.
Regular Season Statistics
LAST WEEK: ( 7 – 9 ) .438
OVERALL REGULAR SEASON RECORD: ( 150 – 106 ) .586
Wild-Card Weekend Picks
Seattle Seahawks over Washington Redskins
Did anybody miss that Redskin pounding of the Dallas Cowboys that final week of the season? That game showed us two things: that Washington is a legit wild-card team (wild-card for a reason) and that Dallas will probably get shocked in its first game. What it fails to mention is that Dallas was not at full strength and really had no reason to play that game and the Redskins had everything to play for. But after seeing the Carolina Panthers going up to Seattle two seasons ago and hearing that crowd over the TV, it’s clearly a home advantage, and I don’t think the ‘Skins have enough to get by it. Seattle by 7.
Jacksonville Jaguars over Pittsburgh Steelers
This is the team that everybody is picking to win this game and it gets me incredibly nervous to pick them as well. The Steelers, being vast underdogs despite a spread of a FG, should have all of the fight within them to come out and kick the Jags’ butts. The problem, however, is that Jacksonville absolutely annihilated the Steelers in Pittsburgh during the regular season. That game simply said that the Jags are going to be too much for the depleted Steelers. Jacksonville by 10.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers over New York Giants
I believe the New York Giants were the better team through most of the regular season; they even played hand-in-hand with the New England Patriots just last week. Yet this is a very difficult game to accurately predict and for two big reasons: Jeff Garcia and Eli Manning. Eli has consistently tanked in the playoffs and until he proves me otherwise, I don’t see that changing, while Jeff is an astute veteran and will bring his A game. That, and there has always been an NFC South team in the NFC Championship game since 2002, when the division was created. Karma baby. Tampa Bay by 3.
San Diego Chargers over Tennessee Titans
The Browns would have made a sexier matchup as the Titans just feel like they snuck into the playoffs, despite winning out. The only problem the Chargers could possibly have is if Philip Rivers tanks. But with how he played the rest of the regular season, I don’t see that happening. Yet. Vince Young has yet to show that he can truly carry this team and should just be proud that he got this young squad this far. Chargers by 14.
PLAYOFF OVERALL RECORD: ( 0 – 0 ) .000
