It’s time. Time for the select few to battle out for the most coveted prize in the NFL: the Lombardi Trophy. The playoffs begin today with the Wildcard round. I’m so excited I can’t even finish this introduction! Let’s just get right to these games, shall we?
(9-7) Cincinnati Bengals at
(10-6) Houston Texans
4:30 PM ET, NBC
As has become tradition in the NFL, the opening game of the Wildcard round is sorta… crappy. The Bengals are a slightly above average team that defied their lowly preseason expectations. Andy Dalton started strong as a rookie, but his production has certainly fallen off in recent weeks. A.J. Green will be healthy enough to make a difference, but I don’t think Dalton has enough developed talent around him to light up the scoreboard. Cedric Benson is a workhorse running back, but he’s never been explosive. Cincy’s offense is decent, but I’d give the edge to Houston’s defense in that match-up. They’re fast and aggressive and can slow down the Bengals enough to give their own rookie quarterback a chance.
Speaking of, we’ve got freaking T.J. Yates starting a playoff game with FREAKING Jake Delhomme backing him up. So if Yates’ shoulder isn’t completely healthy or hinders his play, the Interception Machine will be coming on the field. The thought alone gets me all excited. For the rest of Houston’s offense, Arian Foster and Andre Johnson will both be healthy (ish) for the first time in forever, giving Yates a full complement of weaponry at his disposal. After the Cincy defense gave up two giant runs to Ray Rice last week, Foster will be licking his chops. They won’t be a juggernaut, but that offense should be able to get 21-24 on the Bengals’ D, which will be enough to get the win.
The Odds:Houston is a 4 point home favorite.
The Prediction:I’ve been back and forth on this one all week…ugh. I think the Bengals will cover that four.
(10-6) Detroit Lions at(13-3) New Orleans Saints
8:00 PM ET, NBC
Who ISN’T ready for this game? Everyone’s predicting shoot-out, and I can’t argue that prognostication. Drew Brees and Matthew Stafford both threw for over 5,000 yards this season, setting the stage for fireworks Saturday night. Stafford has Calvin Johnson on his side (which is awesome), but not much else. They won’t convert third downs at a high percentage and they won’t be able to run the ball and keep Brees off the field. Their defensive front four is good, but not good enough to make up for the lapses in the secondary, which allowed back-up Matt Flynn to pass for 480 yards and six touchdowns. Now they get Drew Brees. (Not a back-up.) Can you say trouble?
For Brees and company, this plays right into their hands. Their defense (which isn’t stellar) just needs to get one or two turnovers from the undisciplined Lions and their offense should have no problem staying ahead of Detroit. Where Stafford has one go-to receiver, Brees has several. Jimmy Graham can exploit any match-ups from the tight end positions. Marques Colston is lengthy and can go over the middle. Darren Sproles is a nightmare out of the backfield and on special teams. But where can the Saints can really expose the Lions? In the running game. Behind two of the best guards in the league, the Saints can absolutely blow-up the Lions up the middle. I expect a large dose of hand-offs to Pierre Thomas, Sproles and Chris Ivory. This should still be a blow-out, but maybe not through the air…
The Odds:New Orleans is favored by 11 points.
The Prediction:“That is a lotta wood,” as my boss would say. I’m not scared. (B.S.) This is a classic “garbage score by the underdog late to cover and anger millions of betting addicts” game. I’m cautiously taking the Saints to beat the Lions by more than 11. Sorry Detroit. Enjoy New Orleans while you can.
Game on America. Game on.
Keywords: Andre Johnson, Andy Dalton, Arian Foster, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, Drew Brees, Houston Texans, Matthew Stafford, New Orleans Saints, NFL, NFL Playoffs, T.J. Yates
