Just a quarter of the NFL remains fighting for a championship, and the 8 teams we have left are some good ones. Wild Card Round separated the measly, middle of the road teams from the great ones, and it has set up some great matchups this weekend. We’re going to continue to learn a lot about these teams, and with so much on the line, anything can happen. These are some of the best matchups that I can remember in a long time for this round, and I’m having such a hard time picking these games. I can’t wait to see it all go down. I went 4-2 in Wild Card Weekend, bringing my season total to 154-75-1. Let’s get into this week’s picks:
Packers 27-23 Rams 
To put it plainly, the Rams can run the ball and they can suffocate you on defense. That’s enough to compete in any playoff game. It was their formula to beat Seattle last week and get to this point, thanks to some subpar QB play from an injured Jared Goff. While I think they can excel at executing that gameplan, it might be a little bit difficult to overcome the challenge that is the Green Bay Packers. They got last week off and are very well-rested coming into this game, and have the advantage of the frozen tundra on their side as a SoCal team rides into town. But all weather and home-field and superstition aside, when you simply compare these teams side by side, the advantage has to go to the Packers. LA’s defense is incredible, but so is Green Bay’s offense. QB Aaron Rodgers has been in this situation so many times before, and he won’t be phased by the challenge. I think it will be very, very close throughout, but I just don’t see the Rams offense being able to keep up with the Packers’, and it will be their downfall.
Ravens 23-21 Bills 
This is easily the toughest game to pick this week. How could it not be? These teams match up almost perfectly with one another, and it makes this matchup impossible to break down and predict. Both of these teams played some great football last week to get here, and they won their games by playing their style of football. The Bills took the top off of the Colts defense all game long, and the Ravens ran circles around the Titans while suffocating them with their elite defense. If you ask me, Baltimore absolutely has the better roster, and the better identity offensively. Just like I said above with the Rams, if you can run the ball and play defense in January, I like you to win some games. The Ravens have also been here before, as much of this roster was here last year for the heartbreaking loss in this very round. The Bills are still new to this, and although QB Josh Allen has bloomed into quite the young talent, I don’t know how much faith I can put in him to win this big of a game. These are two of the hottest teams in football, but only one of them can continue the streak and head to the AFC Championship Game. I think it will be Baltimore. Experience plays a huge factor in a game like this, and they have it in bunches. It wouldn’t shock me at all if this game goes the other way, but my gut is telling me to pick the Ravens, so that’s what I’m going to stick with.
Chiefs 38-31 Browns 
This is probably the wackiest matchup of the weekend for a multitude of reasons. For one, it’s the Browns playing football this late into the season, something that we haven’t seen in decades. Second of all, the spread on this game is HUGE. Even after dismantling the Steelers last week, the Browns are 10-point dogs in this game. Yes, the Chiefs have been the best team in football all year long and are coming off 2 weeks of rest, but that just seems crazy to me. Now, I do think the Chiefs will win this game, but it won’t be easy. They somewhat stumbled into the playoffs, as they didn’t play their sharpest football in the month of December. I do think the weeks off will benefit them, and HC Andy Reid is notoriously great after byes. The Browns are a great team and deserve to be here, but this challenge might be a bit too big for them. I think they can hang around for a while and score a lot of points, but to overcome the modern-day Goliath of Kansas City will be difficult. In a spot like this, you have to put your faith in QB Patrick Mahomes and the bunch, who have already been here and done that. Take the over in this one, but also take the Chiefs. Maybe not against the spread.
Saints 30-24 Buccaneers 
The final game of the weekend is the third matchup this season between the Saints and the Bucs. In each of the first 2, New Orleans dismissed Tampa out of hand, winning both games convincingly, especially the second one. Intuition would tell you that, by now, the Bucs have to have come up with some way to be competitive in this game. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt on that one and say that they will be. But I’m not sure I liked what I saw out of them last week. While the Saints used a dominant defense to blow out the Bears, the Buccaneers struggled against a Washington team starting a backup QB, and needed everything to go their way to come out with a win. Now, they face one of the most loaded rosters in the league that’s already dominated them twice. While I think this game will be the closest of the three this season, I cannot pick against the Saints. This team has been far too dominant on both sides of the ball to be easily picked against. I do think the Buccaneers are playing their best football of the season, but I just don’t think it’s enough. That seems to be the case with so many of these games. While it’s very difficult to bet against Tom Brady in the playoffs, this is a situation that warrants it.
Raza Talks Sports 