“They’re more patient, they’re careful with the ball _ no turnovers”, Chiefs standout linebacker Justin Houston, who plans to return from a knee injury that cost him the last five games, says of the Texans. They have one of the top defenses in the league and an offense that does enough to win. The conference championship weekend is very tough with just two games to choose from.
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One franchise’s history is filled with postseason success and Super Bowl triumphs: six Lombardi Trophy celebrations. The Vikings were able to shake off their worst loss of the season and won the season’s final three game to claim a surprising NFC North crown. It’s like Aaron Rodgers and Kirk Cousins have switched places, with Cousins now seemingly far superior on paper. Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Peters had 8 INTs, tied for the most in the NFL. The Packers are not a great football team, and their flaws are clear.
The Texans are 2-8 straight-up and 4-5-1 against-the-spread in their last ten games as home underdogs. Houston lost in the divisional round each time.
Games Matching this Criteria: Redskins (-1) vs. Packers. Meanwhile, the Texans survived despite using 4 different starting quarterbacks, and now have the best of them all, Brian Hoyer, available for the postseason. The Chiefs followed that opening-day win with a five-game losing streak. Vontaze Burfict had three personal-foul infractions in that game.
Prediction: Chiefs remain hot.
The Bengals have now made it to the playoffs every season since Andy Dalton was drafted out of TCU. The other eight games were against Pittsburgh (21st), Detroit (18th), San Diego twice (20th), Buffalo (19th), Oakland twice (22nd), and Cleveland (27th).
PITTSBURGH -3, over Cincinnati. Ryan comment: Even with Andy Dalton, the 25-year playoff victory drought would be hard to overcome. On the other hand, the Steelers were uneven from the start, combining brilliant games with questionable losses, including a season sweep by the 5-11 Ravens that nearly knocked Pittsburgh out of the playoffs.
In November, the Bengals went into Pittsburgh and shocked the Steelers 16-10.
Green Bay’s offense has been out of sync, as the defense has had to carry the team.
The Atlanta Falcons are sitting at home during the playoffs for the third straight year.
The Bengals have failed to cover in seven straight playoff games. Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson has been insanely productive of late and led the National Football League overall in passer rating (110.1).
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS at Minnesota Vikings – The Vikings are good, but the Seahawks are about 10 times better. I’ll take it. Here’s hoping I don’t embarrass myself trying to pick these four intriguing wild-card games. What’s more, the Seahawks won earlier this season in Minnesota, 38-7.
The regular season is over, and it’s time for one of the funnest weekends known to man: NFL Wild Card Weekend.
Oddsmakers from the MGM Mirage in Las Vegas have Kansas City as a 3-point favorite to beat Houston on Saturday afternoon. The Green Bay Packers have not been the same dominant team which they have been in years past. The Vikings offense is primarily the product of Adrian Peterson and the run game. Kelce averaged 12.2 yards per catch and six targets per game. The Vikes also gave up 18.9 points per outing, fifth best in the league. Seattle 20, Minnesota 10. And after a 1-5 start, I was feeling pretty good about Kansas City missing out on the big dance. Despite Green Bay’s acumen, they have sleepwalked for the past two months and are still short on weapons that can make Rodgers look good.
Doesn’t matter, Texans star receiver DeAndre Hopkins said. The Packers’ season got off to a tough start when receiver Jordy Nelson was lost in the preseason to a torn ACL. Randall Cobb has stepped up to do a decent job (79 receptions and 6TDs) this year. If the Packers can get their running game going then watch out! Green Bay is 23rd in total yards (335) and 15th in scoring (23).
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The Redskins are coming off a four-win season and struggled to find stability at the quarterback position before this season. Also, it has been well documented that west coast teams suffer when playing in the 1 ET time slot, so it’s important to also consider this variable. They managed to be the third-ranked offense with Ben Roethlisberger out of the lineup for 4.5 weeks. Washington has yielded an average of 258 yards through the air, 30 more than the Pack gave up. The Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals locked up the top two seeds, and Washington is locked in at No. 4.
