Wild Card Weekend Picks

FILE – In this January 6, 2016, file photo, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman talks to reporters before NFL football practice, in Renton, Wash.

As the National Football League playoff picture started to come into focus, there was one game in the Wild Card weekend that screamed of intensity. However, poking around at this winning run – like a new-born baby – we find that there are few soft spots. I like them more than the Chiefs. Adrian Peterson had his worst game of the season when he faced the Seahawks last month, rushing for just 18 yards on eight carries.

In eight of the Steelers’ wins in which Roethlisberger took a snap this season, the Steelers scored 28 points or more.

The Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs begin with the AFC on Saturday and the NFC on Sunday. Sure, Houston took on cupcakes as well, facing Indianapolis, Tennessee and Jacksonville in the final three contests. The Bengals have lost seven consecutive playoff games since their last postseason victory in 1991 at the old Riverfront Stadium.

The Bengals have now made it to the playoffs every season since Andy Dalton was drafted out of TCU. Williams’ smash-mouth style has stirred up memories of Jerome Bettis, especially when Pittsburgh enters its opponent’s 20-yard line, scoring six of his 11 touchdowns inside the red zone. Luckily for them, Marshawn Lynch, who has missed several weeks recovering from sports hernia surgery, is slated to play on Sunday. I didn’t have half of these wild card teams even making the playoffs. (Bengals) I’m taking Andy Reid and the Chiefs with Alex Smith as the difference maker.

The Steelers are going to score.

It was a dramatic way to finish the regular season but Pittsburgh’s win at Cleveland combined with the New York Jets’ defeat in Buffalo was enough to put them in the playoffs. Those numbers get slimmer inside Paul Brown Stadium.

Jeremy: Steelers 31, Bengals 17. But weather could be an equalizer, as the game is expected to be played in extreme cold.

The highest cost wideouts this Wild-Card Weekend are Antonio Brown ($9600), DeAndre Hopkins ($8400), AJ Green ($7500) and Doug Baldwin ($6700).

This game features the league’s most efficient home quarterback against one struggling to manufacture any consistent offense. While the Pacific Northwest has plenty of rain, it is one of the warmer annual climates in the country, putting the two-time NFC champs out of their element.

This year the Steelers are in that familiar No. 6 slot again as are the two-time defending NFC champion Seattle Seahawks. During those previous four chilly road games, the Seahawks have been outscored 149-74.

And I could see the Chiefs’ offense getting very conservative and running into some stymie-ness and barely scraping out a 1- or 2-point win or even losing somehow. “There’s no simulating zero degrees”, Seattle CB Richard Sherman told the media this week.

“I’m going to go out and do what I’ve been doing”. Fans are certainly more used to seeing Green Bay in the playoffs, and constant betting has forced the line to shift toward the road team. Add the fact that the defense in the regular season only allowed 17.3 points to opposing teams (lowest in the NFL), and you have a tough team to beat. While it can be assumed that the victor of this game is only here to then be destroyed by either the Panthers or Cardinals, reaching the Divisional Round would still be a huge positive for the winning franchise.

Both of these teams are impossible to figure out. The Texans have compiled their own streak heading into the postseason, winning three in a row.

Kansas City beat Houston in the first week of the season, but it’s safe to say, these teams are far different now. He also returns punts, so you could pair him up with Seattle Defense and hope for a punt return TD for double the points.