NFL Wild Card Weekend Picks
The 2017 NFL Playoffs are set to kick off in just a little over an hour, so without further ado, here are the picks for the upcoming wild card games:
Oakland @ Houston (-3.5)
Houston comes in as a small favorite in this one, solely due to the Raider’s loss of Derek Carr. It’s a tragic situation the Raiders are in. They went from having Super Bowl aspirations to hoping they can win just one playoff game. The Raiders future is bright, and you can bank on them making many playoff runs in the future as long as Derek Carr remains their quarterback. However, with Pro Bowl Left Tackle Donald Penn also expected to miss today’s game, I think it will be a rough day for Connor Cook and the Oakland Raiders. Expect DeAndre Hopkins to feast on this Raiders secondary. Houston pulls it out. Houston 20 Oakland 13
Detroit @ Seattle (-8)
This is an interesting game. After Detroit went on a run winning 8 of 9 games, they lost their final three games going into the playoffs. Seattle has been up and down all year. They went into New England and beat Tom Brady and the Patriots, and then the next week looked extremely dysfunctional in an embarrassing loss to Tampa Bay. In other words, these two teams are a mystery, and you never really know what to expect from them. Seattle’s defense hasn’t been the same since Earl Thomas went down, and Matthew Stafford, who may be having his best season in the NFL, could certainly take advantage of that. But in Seattle, I think Russell Wilson puts together a nice game and leads the Seahawks to victory. Seattle 27 Detroit 23
Miami @ Pittsburgh (-10)
Big Ben has been suspect in the playoffs recently losing three of his last four playoff games. The Steelers defense has some holes, but with the status of Miami Quarterback Ryan Tannehill in question due to his health, I think the Steelers big three of Big Ben, Bell, and Brown carry the Steelers to a win. Pittsburgh 28 Miami 17
New York Giants @ Green Bay (-4.5)
Aaron Rodgers is a stud. 18 touchdowns to 0 interceptions in the final six games to carry the Packers to the postseason. The Packers defense has problems, they used a wide receiver as there running back for the second half of the year due to injuries to Eddie Lacy, and were consistently mixing up the depth chart with various players due to injuries or players underachieving. None of that mattered to Rodgers who put together a season in which he threw 40 touchdowns to just 7 interceptions. The Giants possess one of the top defenses in football however, as well as a two time super bowl champion in Eli Manning who has as many wins (2) at Lambeau Field in his playoff career as Aaron Rodgers does in his playoff career. I see the Giants taking advantage of some of these flaws the Packers have as a team, and I just simply believe the Giants are the better overall team. Giants 24 Packers 21
