Predictions for the Wild Card Round

[RuthlessBurgher]

Atlanta Falcons at Arizona Cardinals

Arizona struggled down the stretch, losing 4 of their last 6, but the Cardinals clinched early and those losses were to the Giants, Eagles, Vikings, and Patriots. I worry a bit about the Falcons almost blowing a home game to the lowly Rams last week with a potential #2 seed and a bye on the line (if not for a last second John Kasay FG to give the Panthers the bye instead). Although Matt Ryan has had a tremendous rookie campaign, I worry about picking a rookie QB on the road in his first playoff game. I think Michael Turner will have a great game against a middle-of-the-pack Cardinal D, but I think that Warner to Fitz, Boldin, and Breaston will score more.

34-28 Cardinals

Indianapolis Colts at San Diego Chargers

People are making a big deal about the Chargers being on a roll headed into the playoffs. The 4 game win streak was against the 3 awful teams in their division and the reeling Bucs. Big deal. They are still an 8-8 team that lucked their way into the playoffs only because another team choked in December. Tony Dungy vs. Norv Turner? Please. The Chargers D is ranked 31st against the pass. I'll ride Peyton Manning into the next round, thank you very much.

38-20 Colts

Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins

Earlier I stated, "Although Matt Ryan has had a tremendous rookie campaign, I worry about picking a rookie QB on the road in his first playoff game." Substitute Joe Flacco for Matt Ryan in that sentence and you have my feelings about this game. The Ravens have a ball-hawking defense that leads the league with 26 INT's, but that is countered by the fact that Chad Pennington is an efficient veteran passer who has thrown only 7 picks this year.

20-14 Dolphins

Philadelphia Eagles at Minnesota Vikings

Andy Reid and Brad Childress come from the same coaching tree...and you can't rely on either one to make smart calls in crucial situations. Adrian Peterson will make some plays in this game, but Philly has the 4th ranked defense against the rush, so they won't allow him to run free "All Day." Of course, Minnesota as the top ranked defense against the rush, but luckily for Philly, they like to throw way more than they run, and the Viking defense is significantly worse against the pass.

23-17 Eagles

This would give us Colts at Titans, Cardinals at Panthers, Eagles at Giants, and Dolphins at Steelers in the divisional round.

What say you?

[JUST-PLAIN-NASTY]

All road teams win. Sets up...

Ravens@Titans
Colts@Steelers

Eagles@Giants
Falcons@Panthers

Then...
Ravens@Steelers
Panthers@Giants

Oh yeah...

Steelers VS Giants

Not what I hope for. I'm pulling for the Dolphins & Chargers this weekend. I don't want Baltimore to continue to gain momentum. I also don't want Manning around. I just don't think it will happen though.

[Ozey74]

I would love to see the Dolphins at Heinz field next weekend!!

Although the Colts are on a winning streak, they game they won against us was a gift, then they beat the Bengals, Browns, Lions, & the Titans in a meaningless game for both teams. I can see them getting upset on the road in SD on Saturday.

[papillon]

Ravens vs Miami

Too much defense for the Phins to be effective on offense. Pennington completes a high percentage of passes for very little YPA and their running game is inconsistent.

Flacco may make some mistakes, but, his defense is heads above the Phins defense if Pennington makes a mistake.

Ravens - 31
Phins -17

Colts vs Chargers

I'm not sold on the Colts late season surge and believe the Chargers are the better team.

Chargers - 24
Colts - 23


Falcons vs Cards

Cards just don't have enough on defense in this one and a pass only attack will falter enough to allow the Falcons to take road playoff win into the diviosional round.

Falcons - 31
Cards - 27

Vikings vs Eagles

The Eagles had their meltdown earlier in the year; it won't happen again. Tavarius Jackson isn't the answer in the playoffs.

Eagles - 27
Vikes - 10

Pappy

[Jom112]

Ravens vs Miami

Going to copy Pappy's score. The Ravens defense and offense should both be scoring in this one.

Ravens - 31
Dolphins -17

Colts vs Chargers

Colts pull out a close game. Rivers leads the Chargers down the field late but have to settle for a FG. Too much time on the clock for Manning who goes right down the field as well and sets up a game winning FG for Indy.

Colts- 27
Chargers - 24


Falcons vs Cards

With two teams that you're not sure what to expect, you go with the one that has the better running game in the playoffs.

Falcons - 27
Cards - 21

Vikings vs Eagles

I'm probably the only one that thinks the Vikes have a chance, but somehow I see them pulling it out. If the Vikes don't turn the ball over and run the ball every chance they get, they could pull off the upset.

Eagles - 17
Vikes - 24

[AkronSteel]

Atlanta @ Arizona

For some reason I have a sneaky suspicion that the Cardinals are going to show up and play in this one. They are a much different team at home as opposed to on the road and Ryan is a rookie QB. I have a feeling that the veteran Warner will have a big game and the Cardinals will be able to contain Michael Turner just enough.....

Cardinals 27
Falcons 21

Indianapolis @ San Diego

I just don't like the Chargers chances in this ball game at all. Yeah....they won their last 4 games but against who? The Chiefs, the Raiders, the slumping Buccaneers and a Broncos team that had totally lost all confidence in itself. I think Peyton will have a huge night against that weak D in San Diego and the Chargers will not be able to keep up.

Colts 31
Chargers 16

Baltimore @ Miami

I really like the Dolphins in this game! I just think they will come out fired up and ready for a Baltimore team that beat them earlier in the year. I think they will use the no one really expects us to win anyway approach and find a way to beat the Ratbirds. Flacco will struggle in this game and J Peezy may actually make a big play at the end of the game to save the day for the Phins.

Miami 17
Baltimore 13

Philadelphia @ Minnesota

As much as I hate the Beagles I don't see a way that the Vikings with Tavaris Jackson will be able to get it done in the matchup. I expect that Westbrook will have a good day and AP probably will have a frustrating one.

Philadelphia 24
Minnesota 7

Just the way I see it! It will set up matchups for the 2nd weekend of:

Indianapolis @ Tennessee
Arizona @ Carolina
Philadelphia @ New York
Miami @ Pittsburgh

Will make for a fun weekend x 2!!

[frunko1]

Any team that makes it to us is going to be a very hard team to beat. If the phins beat the birds, then they are obviously a lot better than most people think. There is no easy team to beat in the playoffs.


Either way :ratsuck

[frunko1]

Any team that makes it to us is going to be a very hard team to beat. If the phins beat the birds, then they are obviously a lot better than most people think. There is no easy team to beat in the playoffs.


Either way :ratsuck

[frunko1]

Triple post thanks to comcast modems and service sucking a**

[feltdizz]

Ravens -
as muc as I want the Dolphins to win I just don't see it happening...


Colts -
Chargers are good, against bad teams or with the refs help....


Cards-
I like the Falcons but this is a case where home field will actually win a game. Falcons also struggled against the Rams...

Eagles -
Vikes have no pass attack and Eagles are stout against the run.

[BURGH86STEEL]

Chargers
Ravens
Eagles
Falcons

[SidSmythe]

Pretty good insight by the original poster

SMYTHE'S THOUGHTS

Atlanta @ Arizona
Most fans wouldn't be excited about a 9-7 team in the playoffs. But the Cardinal fans will be treating this game like it's the Championship. Michael Turner might put up over 200 yards but Arizona has what it takes to put up 400 yards of passing alone.
ARIZONA: 27 - Atlanta: 24

Indy @ San Diego
Ditto to what the original poster said. BUT the Chargers play the Colts tough and they have improved on defense thanks to Ron Rivera. The Colts are hot now and Rivers isn't playing the Broncos.
INDY: 24 - Chargers: 16

Baltimore @ Miami
Not going to be a high scoring game. It better be for Miami's sake b/c if the Ravens put up points they can't match. I don't think Miami will have what it takes to pull this game off though.
BALTIMORE: 16 - Miami: 7

Philadelphia & Minnesota
Philly is great at home and has the defense. But Adrian Peterson is just as tough as any defense. Philly can force turnovers and T. Jackson might be dead meat. I just don't see Minnesota pulling this one off.
PHILADELPHIA: 23 - Minnesota: 18

[Wolfhound45]

Atlanta Falcons @ Arizona Cardinals

24-10 Falcons

Indianapolis Colts @ San Diego Chargers

31-10 Colts

Baltimore Ravens @ Miami Dolphins

13-10 Dolphins

Philadelphia Eagles @ Minnesota Vikings

30-13 Vikings

[steelnavy]

Ravens vs Miami

Too much defense for the Phins to be effective on offense. Pennington completes a high percentage of passes for very little YPA and their running game is inconsistent.

Flacco may make some mistakes, but, his defense is heads above the Phins defense if Pennington makes a mistake.

Ravens - 31
Phins -17

Colts vs Chargers

I'm not sold on the Colts late season surge and believe the Chargers are the better team.

Chargers - 24
Colts - 23


Falcons vs Cards

Cards just don't have enough on defense in this one and a pass only attack will falter enough to allow the Falcons to take road playoff win into the diviosional round.

Falcons - 31
Cards - 27

Vikings vs Eagles

The Eagles had their meltdown earlier in the year; it won't happen again. Tavarius Jackson isn't the answer in the playoffs.

Eagles - 27
Vikes - 10

Pappy

Gotta go with Pappy's predictions, except the Phins score less and San Diego scores more. Watching the Sunday night game between the Bolts and Broncs, Sproles and Tomlinson looked unstoppable.

[Djfan]

Chargers
Ravens
Eagles
Falcons

This

[Steelhere10]

Dolphins,Cards,Chargers,Eagles

[Steeler Shades]

Ravens
Colts
Falcons
Eagles
I know they are all the favorites but I think it is for good reason. 8)

[NW Steeler]

Ravens
Colts
Falcons
Eagles
I know they are all the favorites but I think it is for good reason. 8)

Hard to imagine all four road teams winning, but that's my prediction as well.

[Ozey74]

As the weekend approaches, I'm starting to believe that the Ravens will lose on the road in Miami. I know that they have had a great season, but we are now in the post season. With the stakes raised, the Ravens have alot of reasons why they should lose:

-Rookie QB
-Rookie HC
-Rookie RB's
-On the road.

Can anybody think of any other reasons to add to the list?

Chad Pennington is good in the post season (he gave the Steelers all that they could handle of few years back)

:ratsuck

[Steeler Shades]

Chad Pennington is good in the post season (he gave the Steelers all that they could handle of few years back)

:ratsuck
If you are referring to the 2004 Jets playoff game, Pennington wasn't the biggest problem for the Steelers. Ben gave up two picks (one an 86 yd pick six), the STs allowed a 75 yd punt return for a TD, and the Jets FG kicker made NFL history: "the first time in NFL postseason history a player missed two field-goal attempts in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter".
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=250115023
Pennington is having a good year in Miami but I don't think he can handle the Ratbirds defense. 8)

[Iron Shiek]

As the weekend approaches, I'm starting to believe that the Ravens will lose on the road in Miami. I know that they have had a great season, but we are now in the post season. With the stakes raised, the Ravens have alot of reasons why they should lose:

-Rookie QB
-Rookie HC
-Rookie RB's
-On the road.

Can anybody think of any other reasons to add to the list?

Chad Pennington is good in the post season (he gave the Steelers all that they could handle of few years back)

:ratsuck

Im with you man. I know the Ravens are tough, but I see them choking on a fat one. Porter will cause problems for Flaccid and rattle him. I still think Ginn comes up big on a reverse or some trick play with the Wildcat. Pennington doesn't make mistakes. Dolphins earn an a$$ whipping courtesy of Deebo.

Dolphins/Colts/Eagles/Falcons

[Ozey74]

Chad Pennington is good in the post season (he gave the Steelers all that they could handle of few years back)

:ratsuck
If you are referring to the 2004 Jets playoff game, Pennington wasn't the biggest problem for the Steelers. Ben gave up two picks (one an 86 yd pick six), the STs allowed a 75 yd punt return for a TD, and the Jets FG kicker made NFL history: "the first time in NFL postseason history a player missed two field-goal attempts in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter".
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=250115023
Pennington is having a good year in Miami but I don't think he can handle the Ratbirds defense. 8)


Thanks for jogging my memory. That kicker for the Jets performed very well that year as a rookie, but cut after the season.


:tt2

[Steelhere10]

2-0 for the 1st two games

[Iron Shiek]

Im with you man. I know the Ravens are tough, but I see them choking on a fat one. Porter will cause problems for Flaccid and rattle him. I still think Ginn comes up big on a reverse or some trick play with the Wildcat. Pennington doesn't make mistakes. Dolphins earn an a$$ whipping courtesy of Deebo.

Dolphins/Colts/Eagles/Falcons


Yes...I'm quoting myself for sheer stupidity!!! LMAO!!!!