It’s NFL Wild Card Weekend, baby – an event that kicks off the official road to Super Bowl 50. While we’re at it, why do we have official “kickoffs” to “roads” and stuff? Aren’t we always on some sort of road to something? The road to retirement? The road home? The road to a casket?
What’s more – I’m confused as to when these roads start. Wasn’t the beginning of the regular season the kickoff to the road to Super Bowl 50? Shouldn’t the end of Super Bowl 49 be the beginning of the road to Super Bowl 50?
How do you even kick off a road?
Are there sub-roads on top of actual, existing roads? Is there only one road you can take to the Super Bowl?
So many questions, so little time. Anyway, let’s break down this weekend’s action:
The line: KC -4 @ HOU
Stoney says: Take Houston at +4
Kansas City is without question the hottest team in the AFC and is probably the rightful favorite to win this game, but uh oh – this is a horrible matchup for the Chiefs. Houston has a stout defensive front that is going to disrupt Alex Smith’s timing and the overall offensive rhythm of the Chiefs’ intermediate passing game. Who is going to make a play downfield against this Houston defense?
On the other side of the ball, Kansas City is allowing a lot of production from opposing wide receivers. Covering DeAndre Hopkins isn’t going to be an easy task, and he should have plenty of yardage and at least one touchdown Saturday afternoon.
When you look at both rosters, these two teams are surprisingly evenly matched. I’m not saying Houston wins the game outright, but the Chiefs will not cover a four-point spread.
This game will be a football purist’s dream – plenty of field position and defensive battles. Ultimately, it’ll be decided on a late Brian Hoyer turnover.
Houston 16, Kansas City 17
The line: PIT -3 @ CIN
Stoney says: Take Cincinnati +3
In terms of talent, it’s almost impossible to give one team the edge in this matchup. Both have rosters loaded with talent on both sides of the ball.
While Pittsburgh was my initial pick to win the AFC in the offseason, and they seem to be media darlings to make a run at the Super Bowl here, I’m not on board with that talk. Pittsburgh’s inconsistent play is travelling to Cincinnati, where it’s matched up against a Bengals team that is fed up with being postseason one-and-done’s.
Ben Roethlisberger has been throwing a lot of interceptions lately, and the Steelers don’t have anyone that can cover AJ Green one-on-one. If they focus too much on stopping the deep ball, the Bengals would be content in turning the game into the Tyler Eifert show.
If the Steelers are able to find success, it’ll be from Antonio Brown catching short to intermediate passes and making people miss after the catch. If Pittsburgh can’t get a defensive score like they did in the last meeting with Cincinnati, I don’t know that they’ll be able to pull ahead on the scoreboard.
The big x-factor in this game is Cincinnati’s quarterback situation. If Andy Dalton can’t play, don’t discount AJ McCarron’s big-game experience from his college days at Alabama. He may be rattled by one of Pittsburgh’s solid linebackers, but not by the “size of the game.”
The Bengals are in a good spot here.
Cincinnati 34, Pittsburgh 31
The line: SEA -6 @ MIN
Stoney says: Take Seattle -6
This Seattle team isn’t just winning games as of late – they are dominating opponents. The Seahawks are 6-1 in their last 7 games, with the only loss coming at the hands of the St. Louis Rams.
In those 6 wins, Seattle is winning by an average of 22 points per game. That is absolutely absurd in the NFL. Keep in mind, one of those dominant wins took place in Minnesota, where the Seahawks walloped the Vikings 38-7 five weeks ago.
As much as I like the direction Minnesota is heading in, this is a total mismatch in favor of the Seahawks defense – with minimal big-play potential to begin with, Minnesota will not be able to keep up with Russell Wilson and the potent Seahawks offense.
Minnesota 17, Seattle 35
The line: GB +2 @ WAS
Stoney says: Take Washington -2
Aaron Rodgers is 17th in the NFL in passing yards, 10th in passing touchdowns, and 15th in total QBR. Leading receiver James Jones is 33rd in the NFL in receiving yards (his 8 touchdowns are good for 20th), and the Packers aren’t committed to Eddie Lacy or James Starks running the ball.
Green Bay is 23rd in total offense and 15th in points per game. Pair that with a 15th ranking in total defense and 12th in points allowed, and we’re forced to call it what it is: we’re talking about mediocre defense with a below average offense.
The Packers, regardless of who their starting quarterback is, are a not-so-great football team.
After starting 6-0, they finished 4-6 – they’re 5-3 on the road this season, but only boast one significant road win: a 30-13 trouncing of the Minnesota Vikings. Mind you, Minnesota travelled to Lambeau Field last week and defeated Green Bay to win the NFC North.
Meanwhile, Washington has won 4 games in a row by an average of 9.5 points per game. They went 6-2 on the back half of their season and scored 28.75 points per game in the process. They’re also 6-2 at home on the season. This game happens to be in Washington.
Kirk Cousins has 14 touchdowns and 1 interception in his last six games – this team also has an underrated corps of receivers in DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon, Jamison Crowder, and stud tight end Jordan Reed. They’re going to score some points.
Green Bay 24, Washington 31
Stoney Keeley is the editor of the SoBros Network, Tennessee Titans Featured Analyst for Pro Football Spot, and covers the WWE for WrestlingNews.co. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley, @PFSpot, @WrestlingNewsCo
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