NFL Playoff Schedule 2016: Postseason Picture Predictions for Wild Card Round
After a long four-month slog, the 2015-16 NFL regular season is finally over and the playoff field is set. Twelve teams remain in the quest for the Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl 50. Eight of those get right back at it in the Wild Card Round of the 2-16 playoffs.
Minnesota pipped Green Bay for the NFC North title in Week 17 but now must take on the dangerous Seattle Seahawks. The Packers don't get a home game, but they do get the less frightening Washington Redskins.
In the AFC, the Pittsburgh Steelers bullied their way into the playoffs with a win over Cleveland and some necessary help from Buffalo. They will take on AFC South champions the Houston Texans. The Kansas City Chiefs, winners of 10 straight, will look to crank up that streak to 11 in the AFC Wild Card Round. They take on a Cincinnati Bengals team dealing with uncertainty at the all-important quarterback position.
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Here's the full playoff picture and schedule for the wild-card games, followed by quick-hit predictions for each of the first four postseason contests.
| Time (ET) | Away | Home | TV |
| 4:35 p.m. | Kansas City Chiefs | Houston Texans | ESPN/ABC |
| 8:15 p.m. | Pittsburgh Steelers | Cincinnati Bengals | CBS |
| Time (ET) | Away | Home | TV |
| 1:05 p.m. | Seattle Seahawks | Minnesota Vikings | NBC |
| 4:40 p.m. | Green Bay Packers | Washington Redskins | FOX |
Seattle Seahawks vs. Minnesota Vikings
After a one-week hiatus against St. Louis, the Seattle offensive juggernaut came back in a big way in a 36-6 trouncing of rival Arizona.
Russell Wilson threw for 197 yards and three touchdowns—all three of them coming in the first half—while Christine Michael picked up 102 yards on the ground. The Seahawks defense ground Arizona's potent attack to a halt, making the defending NFC champions the scariest team heading into the postseason.
Minnesota has the great misfortune of playing them in the Wild Card Round. While they'll have the home fans at TCF Bank Stadium to back them up, it's difficult to see the Vikings slowing down the Seahawks offense enough to where their own offense can keep the pace.
This is especially true if Marshawn Lynch can make his way back to the gridiron.
ESPN.com's Sheil Kapadia reported on Friday that Seahawks coach Pete Carroll hopes to see Lynch practicing on Monday. "I have an expectation of that," Carroll said. "Let me say I'm anticipating that."
Instead of signaling a breakthrough, Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater's four-touchdown game against Chicago in Week 15 looks purely anomalous from this vantage point.
The second-year man threw for just 99 yards in his side's 20-13 win over Green Bay on Sunday. Terrible decision-making on this left-handed interception certainly didn't help his team's cause, as Bleacher Report noted:
Minnesota only got the win thanks to another sterling performance from its defense and a workmanlike game from Adrian Peterson.
Unless Bridgewater and his underwhelming targets in the passing game somehow figure out the key to silencing Seattle's Legion of Boom secondary, the Vikings will likely depend on Peterson to shoulder the load.
This probably won't work out well for them, either, as Seattle's allowed just 74.3 rushing yards per contest over the last three weeks. The Seahawks really put the brakes on Arizona rookie David Johnson (11 carries, 25 yards), who was surging toward the postseason.
With Wilson in imperious form and the rest of the team doing its best to play up to his level, this game is the sixth seed's to lose.
Prediction: Seattle 27, Minnesota 16
Green Bay Packers vs. Washington Redskins
It's something not even the most ardent Washington football fan would've dared dream up even up just a few short months ago: Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins was a far more effective passer than Green Bay's great Aaron Rodgers over the latter half of the regular season.
| Cousins | 6-2 | 173/235 | 73.62 | 2,212 | 9.41 | 19 | 2 | 126.1 |
| Rodgers | 4-4 | 184/320 | 57.50 | 1,884 | 5.89 | 12 | 5 | 80.5 |
Cousins even managed to fix his road woes, throwing seven touchdowns without a pick in two away contests to end the season. Rodgers perked up for 291 yards against Minnesota, but much of that was due to the team's abandoning the run game and any form of caution when down 20-3 in the second half.
Despite being tied with Houston for the weakest record of any of the playoff teams, Washington should come into this game with plenty of confidence. Rodgers' subdued play suggests Cousins might be able to go tit-for-tat with him in this contest.
Bleacher Report's Cian Fahey noted that Rodgers doesn't have the help around him necessary to succeed:
"Supporting cast matters so much that Aaron Rodgers is struggling in a league where QBs are being more productive than ever.
— Cian Fahey (@Cianaf) January 4, 2016"
The Vikings sacked Rodgers five times on Sunday, a week after Arizona got to him eight times in a 38-8 beatdown. The receiving corps has been thin all season.
If there is a team susceptible to allowing a Rodgers resurgence, it would be Washington. The Redskins rank 25th in passing yards allowed, 22nd in passing touchdowns allowed and 22nd in quarterback rating against, according to ESPN.com.
Rodgers should be able to cobble together a strong game against the Redskins. He'll need the defense to hold up its end of the bargain, which is no easy feat with the Redskins playing with such bravado.
The Redskins rushing game has been a complete mess for much of the year but seems to have gained a bit of stability with Alfred Morris rushing for 233 yards in his last three games, including 100 against Dallas on Sunday. Green Bay's rush defense has softened in recent weeks after a strong start to the season.
Cousins has the team firing on all cylinders as he enjoys the best football of his young career. He set the Redskins all-time single-season record for passing yards with 4,166 by Sunday's end.
"We definitely wanted to set it for him,” tight end Jordan Reed said, via ESPN.com's John Keim. “He’s a hard worker; he deserves it. He’s a humble person, good guy. He definitely deserves all the accolades and all the records. We wanted to get that done for him."
His play and the confidence he's inspired in his team will lead to a narrow Redskins win over the Packers.
Prediction: Washington 24, Green Bay 21
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Houston Texans
Kansas City will look to make it 11 wins in a row when they take on the Houston Texans. Though they haven't overwhelmed teams in recent weeks, they certainly have the pieces in place for a deep wild-card run.
Even without Justin Houston healthy for much of the past month or so, the Chiefs have managed to hold each of their last four opponents to under 20 points. Tamba Hali and Dontari Poe do well to create havoc both up the middle and on the edge and the former will certainly put pressure on Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer.
Hoyer made a winning return to the team in Week 17 following a spell on the sideline under the league's concussion protocol, throwing for 249 yards, one touchdown and one interception against Jacksonville. As every quarterback who has suited up for the Texans has done all season, Hoyer will look the way of DeAndre Hopkins often in this one.
This game could be a proving ground for rookie cornerback Marcus Peters. He's worked wonders in his first year in the league, quickly establishing himself as a dangerous cover man. Perhaps he's a quick study. Check out how well he did after the Chiefs' bye week, per Pro Football Focus:
Optimum Scouting's Eric Galko also relayed his excellent Pro Bowl-worthy numbers:
The Texans will need the likes of Jaelen Strong and Nate Washington to step up if they are to be successful in this one, as Hopkins could have his hands full.
When on offense, expect Kansas City to work the same balanced attack they have all season. Alex Smith will keep the mistakes to a minimum as he gets the ball out to wide receiver Jeremy Maclin—eight touchdowns this year, which are Scrooge McDuck numbers for Kansas City wideouts—and tight end Travis Kelce.
The tandem of Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware gives the Chiefs a bit of thunder and lighting in the backfield. A steady ground game can at least go a little way toward neutralizing all-world defensive end J.J. Watt. Houston has the home-field advantage and will make it close, but the Chiefs will grind out a win in this one and keep on marching.
Prediction: Chiefs 24, Texans 20
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Nothing like an AFC North rivalry game for an opening-round playoff game. Pittsburgh travels to Cincinnati Bengals, a storied franchise with four Super Bowl rings looking to yet again bounce a team starved for a postseason victory. It could also be the the end of a season of torment for the Bengals, as the Steelers beat them in both of their regular season matchups.
Cincinnati head coach Marvin Lewis is 0-6 in postseason play. Despite coaching one of his more talented outfits, he could again get tossed out of the postseason promptly, as his quarterback situation is murky coming into the wild-card round. Andy Dalton is hoping to return Sunday, but the team is working under the assumption second-year pro A.J. McCarron will helm the team.
"We have to go into the week, obviously, regardless of Andy's status, right now we're going to into at least the early part of the week preparing with AJ," Lewis said, via Cincinnati.com's Jim Owczarski.
McCarron has performed well in Dalton's stead, throwing six touchdowns against two interceptions. Still, he's not much of a dynamic passer. A healthy Dalton would have a much better chance of taking advantage of the Steelers' mediocre secondary.
With points potentially at a premium, one can only wish the Bengals luck in keeping up with the Steelers high-octane attack. Sports Illustrated's Andy Benoit described how quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has done so well this season spreading the ball around to his various targets:
"In Roethlisberger’s first Super Bowl (’05 vs. Seattle) he was essentially a caretaker for a power-running team. In his second (’08 vs. Arizona) he was a more balanced signal-caller capable of getting hot for certain stretches. In his third (’10 vs. Green Bay) he was a subtly ascending dropback passer who still made his living on unparalleled impromptu playmaking. Entering what could very well be a fourth AFC title run, Roethlisberger remains all of these things but has also become a cerebral point guard for a dynamic spread passing attack. It’s a passing attack that features lethal speed and quickness at all four wide receiver spots, plus a stalwart possession tight end (Heath Miller) who remains adept between the field numbers.
"
It's no fun covering a murderer's row of talent like Antonio Brown, Heath Miller, Martavis Bryant and Markus Wheaton in the passing game.
There is a chance that the Steelers' attack could struggle a bit on the road, especially if it becomes predictable. Running back DeAngelo Williams left the Steelers' Week 17 win over Cleveland with an ankle injury. Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Monday that his chances of playing in the game are slim:
"Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams does not have a fracture or any major damage in his right ankle and has an outside chance, albeit a small one, of playing Saturday night in a wild-card playoff game in Cincinnati, a team source confirmed to the Post-Gazette."
The 32-year-old's tough, effective running has been hugely important to Pittsburgh's success on offense. Fitzgerald Toussaint struggled in his stead on Sunday, carrying the ball 12 times for 24 yards. If the Bengals' passing game isn't at peak form with McCarron at the helm, it's possible that a flat Steelers ground game running into the teeth of a Geno Atkins-led defense keeps the playing field level.
Even so, Pittsburgh comes into this game with all kinds of momentum, while the Bengals' recent form has been choppy. They've lost to the Bengals in a choppy, low-scoring game early in the year but came back to beat them by 13 on the road in Week 14, in the game Dalton picked up his thumb injury. The Steelers have the firepower to do it again.
With the Steelers and Seahawks both looking extremely dangerous coming into the playoffs, this could very well be the year of the sixth seed.
Prediction: Steelers 28, Bengals 20
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