Hello readers! Another week of National Football League action is coming upon us yet again. The regular season is over and the pretenders are now at home while the contenders are now playing in the 2nd season, playoff season. The 14 teams that remain now will play for a chance to go on to a win the exclusive Super Bowl Championship. The sad thing is only 13 of them won't hoist the trophy in the end. In this post I'll do a preview of the weekend and Monday's games and my picks for the games. Let's get to work!
Super Wild Card Weekend Preview
The Super Wild Card Weekend will start in Cincinnati, Ohio and finish up in Inglewood, California. There will be 12 teams playing in the six games. The week features two games on Saturday, three games on Sunday and one game on Monday. The Saturday games will be on NBC and CBS. The Sunday games will be on FOX, CBS, and NBC. For the Monday night game, it'll be on ABC/ESPN/ESPN2. Let's get to the picks!
Super Wild Card Weekend Picks
Note: TW is me and CV is Cardinal Viking, my former roommate. All game times are in US Eastern.
Las Vegas (10-7) @ Cincinnati (10-7) (NBC; 4:30 pm): TW: Bengals; CV: Bengals
The Raiders beat the Chargers and the Bengals lost to the Browns last week. It all starts in Cincinnati where the worn out Raiders take on the better rested Bengals. It'll be a shorter week for both teams but the Bengals did rest Joe Burrow and had Joe Mixon on COVID protocol. They'll be ready to go. Las Vegas had to literally go to the final seconds of overtime to beat the Chargers to just get to the playoffs. The Bengals haven't won a playoff game since 1990 when Sam Wyche's Bengals beat Jerry Glanville's Houston Oilers. Maybe the weight of the drought could affect them but I don't think so. I really am risking a lot by going with the Bengals but I'll take them.
New England (10-7) @ Buffalo (11-6) (CBS; 8:15 pm): TW: Bills; CV: Bills
The Patriots lost to the Dolphins and the Bills beat the Jets last week. The primetime game on Saturday features two AFC East heavyweights in the Bills and Patriots. Both teams have beat each other on the road. The Patriots were tabbed to be the representative for the AFC in the Super Bowl. I just have to say is "not so fast" as my preseason pick to represent the AFC was the Buffalo Bills. The playoff experience could be a bit much for Mac Jones to handle. Buffalo is the more experienced team to handle the pressure. I'll go with the Bills.
Philadelphia (9-8) @ Tampa Bay (13-4) (FOX; 1:00 pm): TW: Buccaneers; CV: Buccaneers
The Eagles lost to the Cowboys and the Buccaneers beat the Panthers last week. It's a rematch of a Thursday night game that happened on October 15th. The Eagles gave the Bucs some fits but the defending champs would beat the Eagles 28-22. Sunday's game will have a different feel to it as the Eagles are a different team that has a solid offense going for them. Tampa had some fits in the previous matchup as Tom Brady had an interception. Tampa also doesn't have some key players in Antonio Brown is gone and their running game is a bit limited. The game could have the feeling of an upset but I wouldn't count out Tom Brady like ever.
San Francisco (10-7) @ Dallas (12-5) (CBS/Nickelodeon; 4:30 pm): TW: 49ers; CV: 49ers
The 49ers beat the Rams and the Cowboys beat the Eagles last week. The old 49ers-Cowboys rivalry renews as the two franchises meet for the 8th time since 1970 in the playoffs. The Cowboys somewhat hold the edge at a 7-2 advantage over their rivals. So far I have been picking the home teams and if there was a potential upset it would be this one. San Francisco has quite a plethora of weapons to them. Dallas does as well but their head coach is not known to be a quality one at that. I'll go bold and take the 49ers to beat the Cowboys.
Pittsburgh (9-7-1) @ Kansas City (12-5) (NBC; 8:15 pm): TW: Chiefs; CV: Chiefs
The Steelers beat the Ravens and the Chiefs beat the Broncos last week. Pittsburgh got through the regular season with a little luck on their side. What they face next is the lions den. Kansas City is looking to make it back to the Super Bowl and still have a solid team to do it. Their defense is better than last year's team. The Steelers will need to really play error-free football to have a shot to win this game. That meaning not to turn the ball over and to sustain drives. That and only then will they have a shot to win. I don't see it happening sadly but a upset would be interesting.
Arizona (11-6) @ LA Rams (12-5) (ABC/ESPN; 8:15 pm): TW: Rams; CV: Rams
The Cardinals lost to the Seahawks and the Rams lost to the 49ers last week. The first round of the playoffs finishes up with a NFC West clash between the Cardinals and Rams. Matthew Stafford hasn't had a lot of luck in the playoffs as he is 0-3 in his career. Granted he was with the Lions at those three losses. The Rams will need him to play great as this is their "Super Bowl or bust" season as a lot of talent has been invested into both sides of the ball. Arizona has no DeAndre Hopkins as the wide out is out for the rest of the season while going through surgery. The one upside is that the Cardinals will be getting JJ Watt back. If he can be a factor in the game and not be limited the Cards could be interesting team to keep an eye on to see if they can slay their bigger brother. I don't see it happening but it is any given football game.
2021 Pick'em Records:
My record:
Week 1: 7-9
Week 2: 10-6
Week 3: 10-6
Week 4: 9-7
Week 5: 12-4
Week 6: 11-3
Week 7: 10-3
Week 8: 7-8
Week 9: 7-7
Week 10: 5-8-1
Week 11: 8-7
Week 12: 8-7
Week 13: 10-4
Week 14: 10-4
Week 15: 13-3
Week 16: 12-4
Week 17: 13-3
Week 18: 11-5
Total: 173-98-1
Cardinal Viking's record:
Week 1: 6-10
Week 2: 12-4
Week 3: 13-3
Week 4: 10-6
Week 5: 10-6
Week 6: 12-2
Week 7: 10-3
Week 8: 7-8
Week 9: 8-6
Week 10: 5-8-1
Week 11: 10-5
Week 12: 9-6
Week 13: 7-7
Week 14: 9-5
Week 15: 10-6
Week 16: 11-5
Week 17: 10-6
Week 18: 8-8
Total: 167-104-1
Previous Picking Records:
2017: 167-89
2018: 156-98-2
2019: 151-104-1
2020: 163-92-1
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