Saturday’s
Wild Card match-ups provide us with two rematches from the regular season. In
the early game the Cincinnati Bengals will travel down to Houston to face the
Texans (Texans beat the Bengals in Week 14, 20-19 in Cincinnati). In the
prime time match-up the New Orleans Saints will host the Detroit Lions (Saints
winning the Week 13 match-up, 31-17). In my preview I’ll breakdown the two
match-ups and give you a “BOLD” prediction. ENJOY!
#6 Cincinnati
Bengals (9-7) vs. #3 Houston Texans (10-6) Line: HOU by 3
In a game
that features two solid defenses (Texans 285.7 yards/game, 2nd in
the NFL & Bengals 316.3 yards/game, 7th in the NFL) any sort of offense
will be key. The Texans, who will be guided by 3rd string QB (T.J.
Yates) feature two outstanding running backs (Arian Foster 1,224 rushing yards,
10 TD’s, Ben Tate 942 rushing yards, 4 TD’s). The Texans Offense will lean on
both RB’s to provide some offense for the Texans (which after a 10-3 start,
lost their final 3 regular season games). The Bengals have to be THE surprise
team of the NFL playoffs. After dumping some bad eggs, this was suppose to be a
rebuilding season for Marvin Lewis and the young Bengals. However, rookie QB
Andy Dalton (3,398 passing yards 20 TD’s) and his stud of a rookie WR A.J.
Green (1,057 receiving yards and 7 TD’s) teamed up with veteran RB Cedric
Benson (1,067 rushing yards 6 TD’s) to lead the Bengals back to the playoffs (2nd
time in 3 seasons). Factoring in revenge (Bengals blew a 9-point lead in the 4th
quarter of the first meeting) it will be a challenge especially on the road,
but the Bengals might just become the next #6 seed to have success in the
playoffs (see, 2010 Green Bay Packers, 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers). Prediction: Bengals 23, Texans 17
Fun Fact: The
Bengals haven’t won a playoff game since 1991, when they beat the previous
franchise from Houston, the Oilers, 40-14. This is the 1st playoff
appearance for the Texans (franchise since 2002).
#6 Detroit Lions (10-6) vs. #3 New Orleans
Saints (13-3) Line: NO by 11
Unlike, the
first game of the day, this one should have plenty of scoring (Saints 34.2 ppg,
2nd in the NFL and Lions 29.6 ppg, 4th in the NFL). The
Saints, which are led by record breaking QB DREW BREES! (5,476 passing yards
and 46 TD’s) will try to continue the success they had in the regular season
during the playoffs. The Saints were 8-0 at home this season scoring 40 or more
points in 5 of those 8 victories. The Lions, which are making their first
playoff appearance since 2000, are led by QB Matthew Stafford (5,038 passing
yards and 41 TD’s) and his freak of a WR Calvin “Megatron” Johnson (1,681
receiving yards and 16 TD’s). It will be interesting to see if the Lions will
be able to keep up with the Saints in this one. What sort of factor will
Ndamukong Suh have (missing the 1st meeting due to suspension) for
the Lions defense? I think the Saints’ are on a mission and will have their way
with the Lions. Prediction: Saints 35,
Lions 24
Fun Fact: The
Saints have a playoff record of 4-2 (Super Bowl XLIV Champions) with Drew Brees
as there starting QB (Pre-Brees: the Saint made 6 playoff appearances, with
ZERO victories (0-6). The Lions haven’t won a playoff game since the 1992
Divisional Round, beating the Cowboys, 38 to 6 (6-game playoff losing streak).
Now on to the
Sunday match-up’s for the weekend:
#5 Atlanta
Falcons (10-6) vs. #4 New York Giants (9-7) Line: NYG by 3
Both teams
ended their regular seasons on high notes (both winning 3 out of 4 games). The
Giants have shown some grit this season (5 comeback victories in the 4th
quarter), led by Eli Manning (you know Peyton’s younger brother) passing for 4,933
yards and 29 TD’s, the Giants had the 5th best passing attack in the
NFL (296 passing yards per/game). With the surprise emergence of WR Victor Cruz
(1,536 receiving yards, 9 TD’s), it will be interesting to see if the Falcons
will be able to slow him down (Falcons’ DB Brent Grimes if healthy will have
that responsibility). The Falcons, who are led by Matt Ryan (Matty Ice) 4,177
passing yards and 29 TD’s have one of the best WR core’s in the NFL with some
great weapons (Roddy White, Julio Jones, and Tony Gonzalez). Looking at this
game, it was really hard picking a winner, but I went with the underdog Falcons
factoring in, the Giants are only 4-4 at home this season.
Prediction: Falcons 28 Giants 24
Fun Fact: The
New York Giants are making their 7th playoff appearance since 2000,
with a playoff record of 6-5 (two Super Bowl trips, Super Bowl XLII Champions.
The Falcons have lost their last 3-playoff road games and 4 out of 5 overall in
the playoffs.
#5 Pittsburgh
Steelers (12-4) vs. #4 Denver Broncos (8-8) Line: PIT by 9
The question
I have for all of you, “Is there anymore Tebow magic left, in Denver?” I guess
time will tell, but I really think this one out of the four Wild Card match-ups
will be the easiest to predict. The Steelers come in with the #1 ranked defense
(271 yards/game), which will face a Tebow-ran offense that has faded down the
stretch losing 3 straight games (scoring only 40 total points). Even without
the aid of Ryan Clark, who is sitting this one out due to a sickle-cell trait
that almost killed him the last time in “Mile High”, will still have plenty of
tools to shutdown Tebow and the Broncos offense. I want to see what the Broncos
defense can do to keep them alive in this one. With “Big Ben” still nursing a injured
ankle (did I mention my hatred for that guy) and the lose of leading-rusher
Rashard Mendenhall for the playoff run (torn ACL), I want to see if the Broncos
can force any turnovers and either score off of them or help out there offense
with field positioning. With all that said, its just like last year for the AFC
West Champion vs. the AFC North #2 team (Ravens housed Kansas City @ Arrowhead,
30 to 7). Prediction: Steelers 27
Broncos 10
Fun
Fact: These teams have split their six-playoff meetings, with the winner
advancing to the Super Bowl five times.
