With the NFL season coming to a close we’re left with 12 teams looking to punch a ticket to Allegient Stadium in Las Vegas for the Super Bowl. The playoffs begin with Super Wild Card Weekend kicking off Saturday afternoon, a weekend that features six games played through Monday night. We’ll preview each matchup with keys to victory along with broadcast information and we’ll make some game picks. Before we get to each game, I wanted to compare preseason predictions to the playoff field we have today.

Never a good sign when your Super Bowl Champion is eliminated before the playoffs even begin but my Bengals pick was always in trouble once Joe Burrow got injured in training camp. I wound up overestimating the New York teams and didn’t give the Packers or Ravens enough credit. The Rams weren’t even in the hunt for me, but I don’t think I’m alone on that front. Patriots in the hunt and no Dolphins…less said about that the better. You win some you lose some folks. Now, let’s get to the Wild Card Round!

5 Cleveland Browns at 4 Houston Texans

Where & When: Saturday January 13th at NRG Stadium at 4:30 PM

Network & Broadcast Crew: NBC Broadcast, Play by Play: Noah Eagle, Analyst: Todd Blackledge, Sideline Reporter: Kathryn Tappen

The Line: Browns -3

The Preview: The first game of the weekend pits two quarterbacks that couldn’t be more different against one another. 38-year-old Joe Flacco takes his fairy tale story to the space city to face a Cinderella of their own, the worst to first Texans, led by offensive rookie of the year to be CJ Stroud. The Browns come in as favorites and rightfully so, as Kevin Stefanski’s group finished the year in fine form. I think Stroud can keep the Texans in this one, but his offense has been depleted by injury and the Browns defense is an absolute nightmare to face. Houston’s front will have to step up against a physical Browns rushing attack to stop Cleveland from dictating tempo.

The Pick: Browns 27 Texans 17 – Houston will hang around at home and could have been more of a threat with all their weapons in place, but without them it’s hard to see Cleveland’s defense not taking control of the game.

6 Miami Dolphins at 3 Kansas City Chiefs

Where & When: Saturday January 13th at Arrowhead Stadium at 8 PM

Network & Broadcast Crew: Peacock Broadcast, Play by Play: Mike Tirico, Analyst: Jason Garrett, Sideline Reporter: Kaylee Hartung

The Line: Chiefs -4

The Preview: The second game on Saturday sees two of the best teams from early in the season limp into the wild card round after bad second halves. The Chiefs will host what may be their only home playoff game this year against a Dolphins team that threw away a gift-wrapped AFC East crown. While Mahomes and the Chiefs offense haven’t been their usual high-octane selves, their defense has been terrific and will have to be for them to go on a run this year. Meanwhile Miami arrives for this nasty weather game in the Arrowhead tundra ravaged by injuries to several key players. They have struggled to beat good teams this year, but now’s as good a time as any to buck that trend.

The Pick: Dolphins 17 Chiefs 31 – Tua has struggled against top end defenses, and I expect the same to happen here, especially with how banged up Miami is. The Fins have been fraudulent against the best of the best this season and the Chiefs defense should force a few turnovers that will gift their sputtering offense short fields that they can capitalize on.

7 Pittsburgh Steelers at 2 Buffalo Bills

Where & When: Sunday January 14th at Highmark Stadium at 1 PM

Network & Broadcast Crew: CBS Broadcast, Play by Play: Jim Nantz, Analyst: Tony Romo, Sideline Reporter: Tracy Wolfson

The Line: Bills -10

The Preview: The first game on the Sunday slate sees two teams that were left for dead few weeks ago lock horns as the Steelers head for upstate New York to face the Bills. The Steelers saved the season after switching to Mason Rudolph under center, who got the offense running at a “passable” level. Meanwhile Buffalo took the momentum Kadarius Toney made for them and won out to capture the East division for the fourth straight year and the two seed. Josh Allen is still and erratic roller coaster at quarterback, but Buffalo’s defense has put it together. The biggest story in this one is that TJ Watt will be out for Pittsburgh, a tough break to not have one of the game’s best players on the field in the playoffs.

The Pick: Steelers 24 Bills 28 – The Bills are so accident prone they don’t have much business being ten-point favorites against anyone given how many mistakes they make each week, but I think they find a way to win this one. Not having TJ Watt will be a bit too much for the Steelers to overcome, but don’t bet against Mason Rudolph scoring on this Bills defense, after all, Skylar Thompson did last year.

7 Green Bay Packers at 2 Dallas Cowboys

Where & When: Sunday January 14th at AT&T Stadium at 4:30 PM

Network & Broadcast Crew: Fox Broadcast, Play by Play: Kevin Burkhart, Analyst: Greg Olsen, Sideline Reporters: Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi

The Line: -7.5

The Preview: The second game on Sunday’s slate sees a long time NFL rivalry renewed, as the Packers travel to “Jerry World” to battle the Cowboys. The Packers young and exciting offense is led by Jordan Love and a talented set of receivers that can give the best defenses trouble. But they’ll have their work cut out for them against Micah Parsons and the Cowboys stop troops. The concern for Green Bay comes in their defensive struggles, as their young and talented unit seems to struggle under “vanilla” Joe Berry’s mediocre play calling. Dallas offense is a different beast at home and if Dak Prescott and Ceedee Lamb are clicking, it could be a long night for the Pack.

The Pick: Packers 20 Cowboys 31 – A fast start is critical for Green Bay in this one, as an early lead would settle this inexperienced group down on the road. But even if they get it, it’s hard to see their defense being able to slow down the Cowboys offense. Look for Prescott to have a big day and Micah Parsons to make a critical play late to seal the win.

6 Los Angeles Rams at 3 Detroit Lions

Where & When: Sunday January 14th at Ford Field at 8:15 PM

Network & Broadcast Crew: NBC Broadcast, Play by Play: Mike Tirico, Analyst: Cris Collinsworth, Sideline Reporter: Melissa Stark

The Line: Lions -3

The Preview: The most compelling game of the weekend schedule, at least in my opinion, sees two quarterback that were traded for each other face off in the Motor City. Matt Stafford leads an upstart Rams team into his old house to battle Jared Goff and the Lions, who have risen to the occasion all year long. I expect there to be lots of points in this one as both teams feature high flying offenses that could have a big night in the dome. Both sides weapons are electric, despite the Lions being without star tight end Sam LaPorta following a week 18 injury. This should be a back-and-forth thriller to cap off Sunday.

The Pick: Rams 31 Lions 35 – I left out the defenses for a reason folks, these two have most of their stars on the offensive side of the ball and I think they will show off in this contest. I expect a shootout right down to the finish, but I’ll stand by the Lions keeping their special year going for another week.

5 Philadelphia Eagles at 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Where & When: Monday January 15th at Raymond James Stadium at 8:15 PM

Network & Broadcast Crew: ESPN Monday Night Broadcast, Play by Play: Joe Buck, Analyst: Troy Aikman, Sideline Reporter: Lisa Salters

The Line: Eagles -3

The Preview: The final game of Super Wild Card Weekend sees the Eagles travel to Tampa Bay to face an upstart Buccaneers team. Baker Mayfield has had a surprisingly strong year, slinging it around the yard to a host of dynamic weapons, saving Todd Bowles job in the process. Meanwhile the Eagles went from the top team in the league, to one of the league’s biggest trainwrecks in a short span. Nick Sirianni failed to adequately replace last year’s outgoing assistants and compounded the problem with a mid-year change on defense to…Matt Patricia? Jalen Hurts and the rest of the Philly offense is pretty banged up going into this game, while their defense looks utterly lost.

The Pick: Eagles 17 Buccaneers 34 – This to me was the worst possible matchup for a reeling Eagles team. While many of my friends who support The Birds have told me, it wouldn’t matter who they play right now, the Buc’s are the toughest of their potential matchups out of the South. This is due in large part to their weapons to Tampa’s weapons being too much for the Eagles to defend. That combined with Philly’s offensive injuries spells doom for the defense NFC Champs.

Let me know your picks for this week’s playoff games and stay tuned for more content coming this week! You can find me on Twitter @YNWA9623 and subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. We’ll be back with more soon!