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Four road favorites, and it's kind of difficult to see any of the homeboys coming away with victories this weekend. Should be a fun one...
Let's get to the picks!
WILD CARD PICKS
Kansas City (-3) at Houston
Alex Smith and company ride into the playoffs as arguably the hottest team in the league. It may have been the quietest 11-game winning streak in league history, just kind of sneaking up on people with dominance since basically October. In fairness, they haven't beaten a team with a winning record since mid-November. But on the other side, they already marched into Houston in Week 1 and took out the Texans once. Some might say that it's tough to beat a team twice in one season, but that game was so long ago that it may as well be another season. On top of that, the Texans will march out Brian Hoyer - for real - in a playoff game. Game may end up a push, but I don't see any way the Chiefs don't win by at least a field goal. Everything the Texans are good at, the Chiefs are as good or better in the same area. Kansas City may not have J.J. Watt, but Watt and Hopkins are kind of all the Texans DO have at this point.
Pick: Chiefs
Pittsburgh (-3) at Cincinnati
This is the toughest game of the week in my opinion, and it's entirely Steeler-based. Will the team that shredded Denver in the second half a few weeks back show up, or will it be the team that pooped the bed against the hapless Browns? The A.J. McCarron inexperience/shakiness factor is high, but is it enough to offset the leaky Pittsburgh defense? And what of Pittsburgh's questionable (at best) running game? I'm just trying to wrap my head around the fact that Andy Dalton was supposedly the reason why Cincinnati would never win a Super Bowl. Yet now his absence is supposed to be the biggest detriment to them winning a playoff game. Prit-tay interesting, to say the least. At the end of the day, if this turns into a high-scoring game like I suspect it will, the Steelers just have gobs of firepower that I don't know the Bengals can quite match. But I wouldn't be shocked if this turns into a 3-point Cincinnati victory either.
Pick: Steelers
Seattle (-4) at Minnesota
This line can't get too high for me. The Vikings are a nice story, and have retold the story of the franchise this season. The collapse of the Packers coincided nicely with their rise, and there were enough significant strides made that this season is already a success. But the Seahawks are about ready to rampage the entire league again, and it wouldn't be shocking in the least to see them pull off three road victories followed by a revenge win over the Pats in the Super Bowl. For the record, my official Super Bowl picks are Pats over Broncos and Cardinals over Panthers, with the Cards beating the Pats in the Big Bowl.
Pick: Seahawks
Green Bay (-1) at Washington
I totally understand not wanting to give the Redskins any credit. They were the default winners of one of the worst versions of the NFC East we've ever seen, perhaps THE worst. They're led by a journeman quarterback. There hasn't been a sustained run of success by these guys since the Refrigerator Perry era. They lack any area of dominance. They're playing against a former Super Bowl champion QB and one of the most historic franchises in the history of the league. None of that matters though, because the Packers...actually...STINK!
Pick: Redskins
BEST BETS: All
LOCK: Seattle Seahawks
LAST WEEK
Overall: 6-10
Best Bets: 1-3
Lock of the Week: 1-0
YEAR TO DATE
Overall: 118-137 (46%)
Best Bets: 28-40 (41%)
Lock of the Week: 9-8 (52%)
POWER RANKINGS
1. Panthers 15-1 (2)
2. Cardinals 13-3 (1)
3. Broncos 12-4 (4)
4. Patriots 12-4 (3)
5. Bengals 12-4 (5)
6. Chiefs 11-5 (6)
7. Seahawks 10-6 (8)
8. Vikings 11-5 (10)
9. Steelers 10-6 (11)
10. Packers 10-6 (7)
11. Jets 10-6 (9)
12. Redskins 9-7 (13)
13. Texans 9-7 (14)
14. Bills 8-8 (16)
15. Rams 7-9 (12)
16. Raiders 7-9 (15)
17. Falcons 8-8 (17)
18. Eagles 7-9 (19)
19. Lions 7-9 (22)
20. Colts 8-8 (21)
21. Saints 7-9 (23)
22. Bears 6-10 (18)
23. Giants 6-10 (20)
24. Dolphins 6-10 (28)
25. Ravens 5-11 (24)
26. Bucs 6-10 (25)
27. Jaguars 5-11 (26)
28. Chargers 4-12 (27)
29. 49ers 5-11 (31)
30. Cowboys 4-12 (29)
31. Browns 3-13 (30)
32. Titans 3-13 (32)
