NFL Playoffs: Wildcard Round Predictions

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 The road to Super Bowl LIX officially begins on Saturday afternoon. Here are our predictions for the first round of this year's NFL Playoffs:

1. Denver Broncos @ Buffalo Bills

  This game seems like an easy pick for the Bills, but it will be closer than expected. Look for the Broncos defense to come out strong in the first half, but for Josh Allen and the Bills to slip away in the second. Denver's got a better defensive unit and as a team, they played really well through the final weeks of the season so momentum is definitely on their side. It won't be enough to stop the Bills though, who just have too many ways to score points.

Final Score: Bills win 27-17

2. Pittsburgh Steelers @ Baltimore Ravens

  As much as I like the Steelers defense, they just aren't going to be able to keep up with the Ravens. I think it ends up being closer than expected, but there just isn't enough talent on the offensive side of the ball for the Steelers to put up enough points here. 

Final Score: Ravens win 24-13

3. Los Angeles Chargers @ Houston Texans

  This one has the potential to be a really close game, but I do think Houston is out of their league here. They've had a lot of issues on the offensive side of the ball here in the second half of the season and I don't think they're going to get away with much against this sturdy Chargers defense. 

Final Score: Chargers win 24-10

4. Green Bay Packers vs. Philadelphia Eagles

  Although Jalen Hurts' health is concerning me a bit, I do think Philadelpha still has a very clear edge here. They've got a top 10 defense in our book and there's enough firepower on the rest of the offense that regardless of who plays QB for them, the Eagles are going to put up points. The Packers have been good, but not great down the stretch. The very intelligent play of Jordan Love has elevated his team to a better position than they deserve. Some of those weaknesses will be exposed in this game.

Final Score: Eagles win 28-14

5. Washington Commanders vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  This will be an extremely close game. The Buccaneers have been extremely productive on offense all season, but their defense is on the softer side. The Commanders have all the chaotic excitement of a young team playing way above expectations and that can get you pretty far in this league, but the buck stops here. Or, rather, the Bucs stop them here.

Final Score: Buccaneers win 31-28

6. Minnesota Vikings vs. Los Angeles Rams

  There was a time when the Rams looked like they were doing everything right, but that time ended 5 weeks ago. This is a team that got off to a slow start, started playing great when they finally found their rhythm after their Week 6 bye, but they look like the gas has run out again. After their surprise upset of the Bills back on December 8th, the Rams failed to hit 20 point scored in a game 3 times in a row, they just happened to be playing teams that played even worse. This isn't a team that deserves to be in the playoffs, and the Vikings will see to it that they aren't in them for much longer.

Final score: Vikings win 24-14

See you in the 2nd round.

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