A Wild Card Weekend, NFL Playoffs are Upon Us
Indianapolis Colts @ Buffalo Bills — 1:05 PM EST
Bills Well-Oiled Offense v. a Slipping Colts Defense
Thru the first ten weeks of the season, the Colts defense was a steal in the fantasy football world. Their tenacious efforts held teams under an QB rating of 80, 200 passing & 100 rushing yards/game with 11 INTs and 21 sacks. The final six games of the season their ranking plummeted. They allowed an avg. QB rating of 104 and 300+ passing yards/game. Now for Josh Allen and Co., they have been playing at a highly efficient rate all season long. The Bills offense ranked second in yards/game and third in passing yards/game. Allen had a tremendous amount of help from a guy who led the NFL in receiving yards, Stefon Diggs. Not to mention, Cole Beasley running around in the slot receiver position. It’ll be interesting to see whether the Colts defense will sink or swim vs. the arsenal of Buffalo in Buffalo.
Los Angeles Rams @ Seattle Seahawks — 4:40 PM EST
WR1 DK Metcalf v. DB1 Jalen Ramsey
Football fans are blessed with two Wild Card games that feature divisional rivals going head to head against each other. The Seahawks and Rams are the first of the two to play W.C. weekend; they split their season series. In the Week 10 matchup, second year receiver, DK Metcalf, reeled in just 2 catches on 4 targets with 28 yards to show for it. His first catch of the game came in the final seconds of the 3rd Quarter. Who was on the other side of the ball? LA Rams top paid cornerback, Jalen Ramsey. Ramsey takes pride in eliminating a team’s WR1 option from their game plan on a weekly basis because that is his job. DK was able to get off a little in their Week 16 meeting; he caught six balls for 59 yards. Take a guess which week the Seahawks won? Week 16 is correct. That is how important it is for DK to get active early and often so the Seahawks offense can flow more efficiently vs. the Rams.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Washington Football Team — 8:15 PM EST
WFT’s Elusive D-Line v. Sturdy Bucs O-Line
This season the Bucs Offensive Line only allowed 1.3 sacks/game for their veteran QB, Tom Brady. On the other side of the ball, the WFT averaged almost 3 sacks a game this year. Montez Sweat led the team with 9 sacks. Let’s not forget the second pick in the 2020 draft, Chase Young. The rookie defensive end racked up 44 tackles (12.5 behind the LOS), 7.5 sacks and 4 forced fumbles in 15 games. Young’s confidence going into this Wild Card game has landed him in a spot most don’t escape from. After the final game of the season that sealed the WFT’s playoff ticket, Chase Young shouted “Tom Brady, I’m coming! I want Tom!” while exiting the field. One thing you DO NOT want to do is give 6x Super Bowl champ, Tom Brady, momentum heading into a playoff game. Tom has a way of making people pay for speaking too soon. Nonetheless, the Buccaneers offensive line is up for a tough task to protect Playoff Tom this Saturday. But, if the WFT’s defensive line allows Tom the time to sit back and find his bunch (Antonio Brown, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Rob Gronkowski, etc.) expect a roll over win for Tampa Bay.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 10TH, 2021
Baltimore Ravens @ Tennessee Titans — 1:05 PM EST
Lamar Jackson’s Playoff Reputation v. Vrabel’s Titanic scheme
Former NFL MVP, Lamar Jackson, heads into yet another Wild Card weekend hoping to escape with his first ever playoff victory. His first two seasons, he led the Ravens to an early exit in the playoffs after successful regular seasons. Both of Lamar’s playoff performances were slow starts that led to rushed finishes. In those first halves combined, Jackson went 14/30, 179 yds and threw 2 picks. And in those first halves, the Baltimore Ravens combined for 6 total points that came from the leg of Justin Tucker. They struggled to find an offensive rhythm and to get the ball into the end zone. Flashback to exactly a year ago, the Baltimore Ravens hosted Mike Vrabel’s Tennessee Titans in the Wild Card Round. The Titans coasted to an easy 28-12 victory. The Ravens didn’t score a touchdown until their first possession in the fourth quarter. It will be extremely interesting to see what scheme Mike Vrabel draws up to spoil another Wild Card Weekend for Jackson.
Chicago Bears @ New Orleans Saints … 4:40 PM EST
Bears Speedy WRs v. Saints Blanketed DBs
The Bears WR corporation is going up against a feisty Saints secondary that loves playing in the Superdome. Scratch that! Let’s go back to Week 8 when the Bears hosted the Saints at Soldier Field. In the third quarter, Bear’s WR, Javon Wims, trots over to Saints Safety, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, snatches his chain and repeatedly punches him in the facemask. That incites a midgame fight between Wims and the entire Saints defense. But, what motivated Wims to do such a thing? The previous Bear’s possession, Gardner-Johnson pushed another Bears WR, Anthony Miller, in the face with his finger. If you didn’t know, that is top two disrespectful things you can do to a person; behind snatching their chain. And come on! Let’s not act like the Saints defense has the best reputation of recent years.
Cleveland Browns @ Pittsburgh Steelers … 8:15 PM EST
Browns vs. Covid … & the Steelers
This is the first playoff game for the Browns in almost two decades when they faced off against… the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2002. But, that’s not even the biggest focus point for the Browns this week. On Tuesday, news broke that Head Coach, Kevin Stefanski, Offensive Guard, Joel Bitonio, Wide Receiver, KhaDarel Hodge, and five other staff members tested positive for coronavirus. As wicked as this NFL season was with COVID-19, did we really think it would stop because the regular season ended? So, the Browns are down a starting offensive lineman, a play-making receiver and their head coach is supposed to coach virtually. Not to mention, going up against one of the hottest teams in the NFL this year. For Brown fan’s, this must seem like the most Brown’s thing that could happen with their first playoff berth in 18 seasons. It will be intriguing to see if Baker Mayfield and Co. can rally around adversity to find a way to defeat a veteran Head Coach, Mike Tomlin, and veteran Quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger in the playoffs.