NFL Wild Card Weekend: Predicting the Winner of Each Game

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The NFL regular season is over, and it's it time for wild card weekend, which is my favorite round of the playoffs.  Before week 12, I predicted the winners of every division, and I got six out of eight right.

The wild card round has many great games, and only true contenders will emerge and continue on to the divisional round.  So without further ado, here are my picks for all four wild card games!

 

Here is the link to the Week 12 article:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/526995-nfl-week-12-predicting-each-division-winner 

6. NY Jets @ 3. Indianapolis

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The Indianapolis Colts have spent the last few weeks fighting for their playoff lives, which is something uncharacteristic of a Peyton Manning-led team.  

The Jets come into Indy needing Mark Sanchez to limit his mistakes in order to give them a chance to win.

It will be interesting to see how Peyton Manning will play against a tough Jets defense that should shut down an already practically non-existent running game.  

Jets X-Factor: Mark Sanchez.  He needs to have a big game and not turn the ball over for a Jets win.

Colts X-Factor: The edge rushers, Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis.  If they get pressure and can slow down the running game, it will be a long day for the Jets.

The Verdict: The Colts have enough left in the tank to win a fairly close one.

5. Baltimore @ 4. Kansas City

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The Chiefs were unable to secure the third seed on Sunday, so they will welcome the Ravens in to Arrowhead Stadium for a wild card showdown.  The Ravens are winners of four straight and are hitting their stride at the right time.  

Matt Cassel is quarterback of one of the worst passing offenses in the league, but he has the No. 1 rushing offense in the league and will need to take advantage of that if the Chiefs want to get a huge playoff game.  

Ravens X-Factor: Anquan Boldin.  Although I'm tired of people obsessing over the trade for him, it was a great trade and he is the key to take the pressure off of Flacco and open up the running and screen game for Ray Rice.  He can also stretch the field.

Chiefs X-Factor: Jamaal Charles.  Charles is the biggest home run threat on the Chiefs and the Ravens need to focus on containing him.

The Verdict: The Ravens win comfortably and move on to the divisional round.

6. Green Bay @ 3. Philadelphia

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In my opinion, this is the most intriguing of the wild card games.  The teams met in the first week of the season and the Packers came out on top 27-20.  

Since then Michael Vick has played lights-out and all MVP conversations have basically been limited to him, Tom Brady and Philip Rivers.  Both offenses are explosive and we should be in store for a very entertaining shootout.

Eagles X-Factor: DeSean Jackson.  He can impact the game in so many ways, from getting YAC on short passes to bombs to return TDs.  

Packers X-Factor: Aaron Rodgers.  Rodgers has the ability to light it up and he has a great receiving corps to throw to.

The Verdict: The Eagles edge one out in a game where both offenses get over 30 points.  Hopefully, it will be as entertaining as the Cardinals-Packers game last year.  

5. New Orleans @ 4. Seattle

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The New Orleans Saints begin their run to the Super Bowl coming off of a loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  

The Seahawks are astonishingly (well, not really, anything is possible in the NFC West) hosting a playoff game with a record below .500, which has brought up a lot of questions about playoff qualification and seeding.  This game will show us whether a subpar team deserves a shot at the Super Bowl.

Saints X-Factor: Drew Brees.  He was great in the playoffs last year, leading the Saints to a Super Bowl, and he will need to be great again.

Seahawks X-Factor: Marshawn Lynch.  The ex-Bill had a good game against the Rams and should look to build on that to slow down a Saints pass rush that the Seahawks line will have a tough time dealing with (The Seahawks can't stop any pass rush.)

The Verdict: The Saints win the game with ease and get ready to face the Bears in the divisional round.

Conclusion

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The wild card weekend should eliminate the pretenders for the Super Bowl championship.  If all my predictions are correct, these will be the divisional round matchups:

5. Baltimore @ 1. New England

3. Indianapolis @ 2. Pittsburgh

5. New Orleans @ 1. Atlanta

3. Philadelphia @ 2. Chicago

As you can see, those would be some GREAT matchups.

Thanks for reading and feel free to comment.