It seems like a distant memory wondering if there would be
an NFL season this year. A quick 6 months later, after a record-setting 17
weeks of great football- it’s time for this year’s edition of the NFL Playoffs.
First on the agenda: Wildcard Weekend. There are 4 great
match-ups on the schedule for this weekend with two games Saturday and two on
Sunday. The Patriots, Ravens, Packers, and 49ers will enjoy watching these
games from the comfort of their own homes as they all earned byes. Lucky them?
Well, it all depends how you look at it. Since the NFL expanded it’s playoffs
to 12 teams in 1990, only 6 Super Bowl Champions have played (and won) on Wildcard
Weekend (i.e. haven’t had a bye). That’s roughly 29% of the past 21 Super Bowl
Champions. However, those 6 Super Bowl Champs have all come in the last 14
seasons, which equals roughly 43% of the past 14 champions. Not too shabby if you ask me. Wonder Why? Well, the word Parity has been consistently thrown
around when debating the competitive nature of the NFL, and Parity is alive more
than ever if you ask me. This NFL playoff field is arguably the most wide open it’s
ever been. That being said, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we see a team
playing on this Wildcard Weekend make a more than wild run to become the Super
Bowl XLVI Champ.
Wild trends on Wildcard Weekend:
Not only have the Cincinnati Bengals been cursed in recent
regular season history, they’ve been equally cursed on Wildcard Weekend. The
Bengals are 1-2 playing on Wildcard Weekend, have lost two in a row in this
opening round of the playoffs, and are looking for there first playoff win
since ‘91. That’s a perfect example of a trifecta of playoff misery. Their
opponent, the Houston Texans, are making their playoff debut and come in riding
another wild trend; since the NFL expanded it’s playoff to 12 teams, the 3
expansion teams (Panthers, Jaguars, and Ravens) are a whopping 10-3 playing on
Wildcard Weekend. On top of that, the two that made their playoff debuts in
this first round of the playoffs (Jaguars, Ravens) are undefeated. History and
numbers look to be pointing in the direction of the Texans in this one.
If I didn’t decide to write these trends based on the times
of each game, I would’ve went with this trend first. Reason being: the only
team that triumphs the Bengals in the cursed category, the Detroit Lions. Since
the playoff expansion the Lions are 0-5 playing on Wildcard Weekend, the only
thing good about that stat is that it’s consistent with their overall success
in the past two decades. Consistency has to count for something. No? Anyways, the
Lions are looking for their first playoff win since George H. W. Bush was in
office (’91), and the Lions have a trend that could help reverse the dark spell
cast over Motor City Sports. Their opponent, the New Orleans Saints, haven’t had
much luck on Wildcard Weekend either, going 1-4 since the 1990 playoff
expansion. I’m sure the Seahawks upset over the Saints last year is still
fresh on everybody’s minds; I know I’ll never forget that game for the simple
fact of Marshawn Lynch’s performance.
The Atlanta Falcons come into their match up with the New
York Giants at a standard .500, going 2-2 on Wildcard Weekend since the 1990
playoff expansion. The only trend that follows, the Falcons are 0-2 in the
Divisional round following a Wildcard Weekend victory… The Giants limp into
this game with a 2-4 Wildcard Weekend record since the 1990 playoff expansion.
And like the Falcons, not too many trends follow. Except one very positive one;
the last time the Giants won on Wildcard Weekend they took one wild ride en
route to being crowned Super Bowl XLII Champions, a.k.a. David Tyree’s 15
seconds of fame (as Patriots fans cringe everywhere).
This weekend’s final game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and
Denver Broncos is the clear-cut David vs. Goliath of the first round. That’s
problematic for the Steelers seeing as Tim Tebow is the last person you want playing the role of the underdog, let alone David. The Steelers are 3-2 when
playing on Wildcard Weekend since the 1990 expansion. However, they too are one
of the 6 teams in the last 21 years that have won on Wildcard Weekend and gone
on to become Superbowl Champions. The kicker, the Denver Broncos are one of
those teams too. How much weight you put on that is up to you, John Elway
quarterbacked that Denver
My Picks:
Texans 24 Bengals 20
•
Battle
Saints 45 Lions 42 OT
•
I’m predicting this as an instant classic. Shootout city written all of this; prolific
offenses, Two 5K yard passers, multiple freakish athletes. The Saints squeak
this one out on the leg of John Kasay in OT
Falcons 38 Giants 27
•
This game has a few interesting match-ups to look at. Both teams pass offense
and receiving core cleary edges the opposition's secondary. Who has the bigger
field day? Matt Ryan or Eli Manning? I give the Falcons the edge and think they
have the ability to get a better ground game going. However, this to me is the
toughest game of the weekend to pick. If the Giants D-Line comes out firing,
they could present problems all day and in turn give themselves the best chance.
Broncos 23 Steelers 21
•
Call me crazy because this week I’m in the minority backing the Tebow-lead
Broncos. I had to do it, I have a gut feeling and there are a few indicators that
write UPSET in capital letters all over this. Just run through the Steelers
timeline as of late: Big Ben get’s banged up and clearly isn’t 100%, Starting
RB Rashard Mendenhall out for the season, Starting Safety Ryan Clark out for
this game due to a blood condition, Starting Center Maurkice Pouncey out for
this game with an ankle injury, Running Backs coach Kirby Wilson was burned in
a house fire and will not attend this weekend’s game. Take all that and add it
to the fact that Denver is 12-3 all time in home playoff games, add that to the
fact that they’ve been under dogged all season and have come from behind
multiple times, and you get another "Tebow Time" victory. Which then leaves everybody
talking about him, the Broncos, and religion for even longer, and I love every
second of it!
Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed, and hope you enjoy
this weekend’s action as well!
