NFL Playoff Preview- Wild Card Weekend

The playoffs are set! A wild Week 17 left Miami, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh out of the playoffs in the AFC, while Arizona was knocked out in the NFC.

The AFC Wild Card Weekend pits two great match-ups:

(5) Kansas City at (4) Indianapolis: This is a Week 16 rematch, as Indy beat KC 23-7. The Colts are AFC South champions, while KC slipped to the 5 seed. Expect the Chiefs to play physical football on defense, while Indianapolis needs to win the turnover battle.

Prediction: Kansas City 20, Indianapolis 17

(6) San Diego at (3) Cincinnati: Cincinnati was 8-0 at home this season, including wins over Green Bay, Indianapolis, and Pittsburgh. The Chargers come into the playoffs with a 4-game winning streak. San Diego needs to contain Andy Dalton and defend AJ Green to win. Cincinnati has to slow down Philip Rivers. The Bengals won these teams’ regular season meeting in San Diego.

Prediction: Cincinnati 31, San Diego 24

NFC Wild Card Weekend match-ups:

(5) San Francisco at (4) Green Bay: The 49ers won the regular season meeting with the Packers at Candlestick, 34-28. Green Bay has Aaron Rodgers back and better than ever after the comeback win over Chicago. San Francisco dominates both lines of scrimmage consistently.

Prediction: San Francisco 35, Green Bay 21

(6) New Orleans at (3) Philadelphia: The Saints will have to play in uncomfortable weather at Lincoln Financial Field against an Eagles team coming off of a fantastic finish, culminating in Sunday’s win over Dallas. The Saints defense has to draw up a plan to stop Philly’s dynamic rushing attack if they want to win.

Prediction: Philadelphia 31, New Orleans 27

 

Sunday Night Kickoff- Bears at Eagles

Tonight’s Chicago- Philadelphia game has high playoff implications, with the winner of this game likely to make the playoffs. Both teams come into the game with division leads and 8-6 records.

If Chicago wants to win, the defense must step up. The Bears’ ground defense is statistically the worst in the NFL, while Philly’s rushing offense is the best in the league, setting up a complete mismatch. Chicago must contain LeSean McCoy and Nick Foles tonight.

For Philadelphia to win, their defense has to slow the aerial attack by Jay Cutler. Cutler has two key targets in Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery, and if the Eagles can stop the passing offense, they are in business because of the Bears’ mediocre rushing offense.

Special teams will also be a key. Both teams have two accurate kickers- Robbie Gould (CHI, most accurate kicker in NFL history) and Alex Henery (PHI). Devin Hester (CHI) will also be a threat returning punts and kickoffs.

Colin’s Prediction: Chicago 24, Philadelphia 17

Wednesday Sports Recap- December 18th

What a Wednesday in sports!

In college basketball, Texas upset No. 14 North Carolina in Chapel Hill, 86-83. The question is, is North Carolina overrated? Underrated? Both? Impossible to tell?

Stanford also upset No. 10 Connecticut, limiting the Huskies to just 13 second-half points, while No. 12 Baylor narrowly cleared Northwestern State in overtime.

In the NBA, the Heat rallied past the Pacers, 97-94, the Knicks beat the Bucks in overtime, and Toronto fell to Charlotte on a buzzer beater.

In hockey, the Penguins held off the NY Rangers in a shootout, 4-3, with Brandon Sutter scoring the overtime goal.

Talk about an exciting Wednesday! I can’t wait to see what Thursday brings us!

Monday Night Reaction- Ravens at Lions

Last night’s Baltimore- Detroit game lived up to the hype, as the Ravens stole an 18-16 win over the Lions to move to 8-6 and slip ahead of Miami in the AFC wild-card race with two weeks left.

Detroit’s inability to move the ball consistently caught up with them despite holding a lead in the final minutes.

The obvious MVP of the game, who scored all of Baltimore’s points, was kicker Justin Tucker. He made 6 field goals, and became the first NFL kicker to make field goals from the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s in a single game. His 61-yarder, a Ravens franchise record, gave Baltimore the win with :38 seconds left.

Detroit’s defense played well, but that is an understatement knowing the Ravens’ offense. Matthew Stafford played fine, but threw a costly interception on the first play after the 61-yard field goal. The loss crimps the Lions’ hopes of an NFC North championship, trailing the Bears by one game. But, the Lions can win the division if they win out and if the Bears lose one of their remaining games.

NFL Playoff Picture

Week 15 was among the craziest weeks of NFL football that I’ve seen in a long time. The top three teams in the AFC- Denver, New England, and Cincinnati, all lost. Also, two of the top three NFC teams lost- New Orleans and Philadelphia. Kansas City also gained ground on the Broncos in the AFC West, but will need help in order to win the division.

There are only 18 teams still logically alive for the playoffs- 8 AFC, 10 NFC, but tonight’s Lions-Ravens game could eliminate a few of those teams. For the AFC, there are 3 teams still vying for a wild-card spot- Baltimore, Miami, and San Diego. Clinching scenarios:

MIA: Clinches with win + BAL losses next two weeks + CIN loss

BAL: Clinches with 2 wins + MIA loss + SD loss/tie

Pittsburgh, San Diego, and NY Jets cannot clinch in Week 16.

The NFC is wide open, with the 49ers and Panthers holding the 5 and 6 spots. Arizona, Dallas, Green Bay, Detroit, and Chicago will chase them. Here are the scenarios:

PHI: Clinches playoff spot AND division title with: Win + DAL loss/tie OR Tie + DAL loss

CHI: Clinches playoff spot with: Win + 2 DET losses + GB loss

CAR: Clinches playoff spot with: Win OR Tie + ARZ/SF loss OR SF loss + ARZ tie

SF: Clinches playoff spot with: Win OR Arizona loss

Dallas cannot clinch in Week 16

Sunday Night Kickoff- Bengals at Steelers

This week’s edition of Sunday Night Football is a critical game in the AFC North. Cincinnati is 9-4 and could reach the cusp of clinching the division title with a win, while the Steelers are trying to avoid their first losing season since 2003. Pittsburgh cannot win the division, but must win out to have any shot at a wild-card berth.

The key for Cincinnati is Andy Dalton. His performance has affected the outcome of important games this year, including a 22-20 loss at Miami in which he was sacked in the end zone to end the game. There was also the win against Indy last week in which he threw 3 touchdowns and ran for another. If Dalton plays well, the Bengals will win the game. If he doesn’t the Steelers will have a good chance at winning.

The key for Pittsburgh is execution. The Steelers are near the bottom in the NFL in red zone touchdown percentage. Pittsburgh also cannot run the ball, ranking 31st in rushing yards. If the Steelers’ offense is balanced tonight, they will pick apart the Bengals’ defense. The Steelers also must play defense, and the secondary must step up to slow down the dynamic duo of Dalton and AJ Green.

Colin’s Prediction: Bengals 27, Steelers 24

Chargers-Broncos Game Analysis

San Diego upset the Broncos, 27-20 in Denver on Thursday, shocking the AFC and rocking the playoff picture. Assuming the Patriots beat Miami on Sunday, New England would hold the top seed in the AFC with two weeks to go. So, Denver must hope that the Pats lose one of their last three, and the Broncos must win out also.

The football game went differently than expected by most of America, as Denver struggled to move the ball. They gained just 295 yards offensively, including 18 on the ground. That will not get the job done against San Diego. Manning played fine, but his fourth-quarter interception inside his own 40 trailing by 7 with 5 minutes left cost the Broncos a shot at a comeback.

San Diego dominated the ground game, racking up 177 yards against a Denver D that came into the game 13th in the league in rushing defense. Running back Ryan Mathews helped the cause with his second straight 100-yard game.

As for Denver, their hopes of guaranteed home-field advantage were crimped, but if New England loses one of their last three, the playoff push will be much more interesting.

Thursday Night Kickoff- San Diego at Denver

This week’s Thursday Night Football game has high implications for the playoffs. San Diego, at 6-7, trails Baltimore by 1 game for the final playoff spot in the AFC. Denver, at 11-2, leads New England by 1 game for the top seed in the AFC, which also comes with guaranteed home-field advantage.

The Chargers come into the game having beaten the Giants on Sunday afternoon, 37-14. Quarterback Philip Rivers had another outstanding game, completing 75% of his passes, throwing over 200 yards, and throwing 3 touchdowns. Running back Ryan Mathews also had a stellar performance with over 100 yards on 29 carries with one touchdown. If Denver is going to stop San Diego’s offense tonight, they must create turnovers. San Diego is known to make critical mistakes at the wrong time.

Denver struggled early with Tennessee last week, but regrouped for a second-half blowout, on the way to a 51-28 win. Peyton Manning completed 39 of his 59 passes for 4 touchdowns and 397 yards with zero interceptions. Eric Decker had an outstanding week again, catching 8 passes for 117 yards and 1 touchdown. If San Diego wants to stop the wrecking ball of the Broncos’ offense, they must apply pressure on Manning. When these teams met in San Diego, the Chargers brought pressure frequently, including a sack-fumble that set up a touchdown and the hit that hurt Manning’s ankle.

Colin’s Prediction: Denver 42, San Diego 21- The Chargers will score early and often, but the Broncos will turn around in the second half.