2015 Playoff Pickoff- Wild Card Edition

Greetings and welcome back! It's playoff time in the NFL, and at long last it's time to offer up some picks that are sure to lose but sure to simultaneously be a whole lot of fun! First, a quick look back at my preseason playoff picks and how they fared during the regular season in 2014:

Predicted AFC playoff squads:
1. Broncos
2. Patriots
3. Bengals
4. Texans
5. Chargers
6. Colts

Real AFC playoff squads:
1. Patriots
2. Broncos
3. Steelers
4. Colts
5. Bengals
6. Ravens

Not an albatross! Texans were a big whiff and I didn't foresee the AFC North dominance, but the Chargers blew it on the last day when they had a playoff spot in the palm of their lightning bolts. But what can ya do? I'm grasping for as many straws/taking as many pats on the back as I can for the AFC picks because, the NFC on the other hand...

Predicted NFC playoff squads
1. Seahawks
2. Bears (twitching)
3. Eagles
4. Saints
5. Packers
6. Cardinals

Real NFC playoff squads
1. Seahawks
2. Packers
3. Cowboys
4. Panthers
5. Cardinals
6. Lions

Just 3 outta 6, and anybody on the planet could have predicted two of those correct teams (Seattle and Green Bay.) And those Bears....oy.

So the regular season may not have gone as planned, but that's nothing a perfect playoff pickoff (PPP) can't heal! It all starts with the four wildcard games this weekend, which all bring something great to the table and should be a real treat. Let's do this dance:

SATURDAY 1/3
No. 5 Arizona Cardinals (11-5) at No. 4 Carolina Panthers (7-8-1)
Kickoff: 4:30pm
The Line: Carolina by 6.5
The Lowdown: Things start off with the NFL playoff's version of the Land of Misfit Toys. There is no misprint in the records above- Carolina lost more games than it won this year, but was still able to capture the NFC South crown. The Cardinals, meanwhile, got off to a scorching 9-1 start before losing both their starting quarterback AND backup quarterback. Arizona stumbled to a 2-4 finish to the season and now has something called a Ryan Lindley throwing the ball for them. Carolina had a nasty stretch where it didn't win a game from October 5-December 7 (0-6-1) but has since caught fire in going 4-0 down the stretch (albeit against very weak teams.) Nonetheless, with the division title and this playoff spot on the line, Carolina went into Atlanta's dome and eviscerated the Falcons 34-3 last week. Cam Newton had a very rocky season that had many questioning his health- and that was before a car crash late in the season that caused him to miss a game. But Cam looked like the old Cam in the season finale, and if you're a believer in momentum, it's not hard to see why Carolina is favored by a healthy margin in this game. Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd are widely under-appreciated at wide receiver, but the Ryan Lindley has just shown so little in being able to deliver the football. The Panthers defensive secondary is a strength, as well.
The Pick: Well, whoever wins this game is almost certain to have 'double-digit-underdog' status when visiting either Seattle or Green Bay next week. You can't help but feel for the Cardinals, who entering the season had to hear all about Seattle and San Fran in their division. They went about their business in dominating fashion, only to lose players at the keystone position. It's good to see they were able to make the playoffs, but the Ryan Lindley is not engineered to win playoff games on the road against good defenses. Carolina manages the game, establishes their run game with Cam, Jonathan Stewart, & co., and grinds one out. Lay the points and take the Cam.
Panthers 24, Cardinals 13

No. 6 Baltimore Ravens (10-6) at No. 3 Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5)
Kickoff: 8:15pm
The Line: Pittsburgh by 3
The Lowdown: Two of the familiar-est of foes meet in primetime. The AFC North rivals drop the gloves for the third time this season. If you're looking for some consistency, you got it: the Ravens won by 20 (26-6) at the matchup in Baltimore while the Steelers win by 20 (43-23) in Pittsburgh. This rival goes back a long way, and has largely been predicated on defense throughout the years. That likely won't be the case this time around, as Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger and Baltimore's Joe Flacco look to feast on what has been weak defensive secondaries. Even more pressure will be on the Steelers to throw with news that superstar running back Le'Veon Bell will miss this game with a knee injury. A home team being favored by just three points indicates that oddsmakers see the teams as basically even. Neither team fears the other, both have Super Bowl winning quarterback/coach combos, and this could very well be the game of the weekend.
The Pick: Boy, the Steelers have had a weird season. Besides the Ravens, the Steelers have lost to the Bucs, Browns, Jets (really), and Saints- four teams that didn't sniff the playoffs this year. Meanwhile, they've issued beatdowns to playoff teams Carolina, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati. Baltimore is a team you certainly don't want to mess with come January- and that was before they got wildman Steve Smith at receiver. Despite this, I like the Ben-led Pittsburgh attack just a little more than Baltimore's. Even without Bell in the backfield, Pittsburgh finds a way to solve their hated rival.
Steelers 34, Ravens 28

SUNDAY 1/4
No. 5 Cincinnati Bengals (10-5-1) at No. 4 Indianapolis Colts (11-5)
Kickoff: 1pm
The Line: Indianapolis by 3.5
The Lowdown: A big hint for this one appears to be October's regular season meeting, won by the Colts 27-0. Indy has Andrew Luck at quarterback, and not much anywhere else. Luck made the Colts one of the league's best pass attacks, while Cincy's Andy Dalton still seems to be something different every single week. It doesn't help the Bengals that Dalton's favorite target A.J. Green is banged up. Cincy may very well hitch its wagon to rookie running back Jeremy Hill, who has torched nearly everyone's he has encountered this season. Running the ball will take the pressure off Dalton and also keep Luck off the field. Because when he's on the field, he throws it early, deep, and often. Since a tough 0-2 stretch to open the season, the Colts have gone 11-3, with one of those losses a half-effort to Dallas late in the season after already clinching. Luck may not have much around him, but he evidently doesn't need it, either.
The Pick: Simply put, Dalton has shown nothing in his career to say he can be trusted in this one. He has melted in the playoffs each time he's been there so far, and I don't think this is a game where his weaknesses can be hidden. Luck comes out firing from the start, and this one gets decided early.
Colts 31, Bengals 10

No. 6 Detroit Lions (11-5) at No. 3 Dallas Cowboys (12-4)
Kickoff: 4:30pm
The Line: Dallas by 6.5
The Lowdown: Two teams that everyone just kept expecting to fall out of the race, but never slowed down nor relented. Despite all the criticism he is destined to receive for all of time, Tony Romo leads a Cowboys offense that is actually quite terrifying. DeMarco Murray delivered insane production at running back, ditto for Dez Bryant at receiver. Throw in some Jason Witten and one of the league's best offensive lines, and Detroit can be in for some trouble. Don't shortchange the Lions offense, though, as Matt Stafford enjoys the pleasure of throwing to Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate over and over again. The Lions defense is also amongst the league's best against the run, and Ndamukong Suh avoided the suspension many expected after he tried to snap Aaron Rodgers' leg like a wishbone last week. Two high powered offenses give this game a real "expect anything and everything feel."
The Pick: Well, you never want to be the guy who picks all the home favorites on wild card weekend. What would be wild about that? The solution: find Tony Romo's game! I kid, I kid, of course. But take the Lions. At the very least, they'll cover that lofty spread, right? And I think they'll do even more.
Lions 20, Cowboys 17

Thanks for reading- enjoy the games!!