The chaos of playoff football kicks off tomorrow. This year's playoff bracket should be especially exciting since there is really no dominant team in the league this year. It should be an exciting and unpredictable month of football before the leagues crowns a champion at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on February 2nd. Now let's get the ball rolling with my predictions for this weekend's wild-card matchups.
Indianapolis Colts over Kansas City Chiefs: The Colts and Chiefs have had arguably the weakest second halves of the season out of any team that made the playoffs. I don't expect either of them to make it past the divisional round but since they are matched up against each other this week, someone has to it make to the next round and I think the Colts will be the team to advance. Quite simply, I just like the way the Colts have been playing of late more than the Chiefs. Andrew Luck is back on the money at quarterback, the Colts defense is healthy and most importantly, the Colts spanked the Chiefs two weeks ago in Kansas City. The Chiefs clearly have a chance thanks to workhorse running back Jammal Charles, but I just don't think they have enough weapons to beat the Colts. Alex Smith, who typically doesn't make mistakes, plays uncharacteristically poor against the Colts and their defense is wildly banged-up at the moment. If Smith can turn his fortune around and the Chiefs defense can overcome their injuries and get to Luck, the Chiefs have a shot. If not, I expect the Colts to take this one pretty easily.
Philadelphia Eagles over New Orleans Saints: Time to see if Nick Foles and Chip Kelly are legit as they enter their first playoff run. When it comes to this meeting with the New Orleans Saints, I believe they can complete the task. The Saints just aren't the same team on the road and it should especially be bad in the elements of Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday night. The Eagles also have the top-ranked rushing offense and the Saints run defense is below-average at best and should struggle trying to contain running back LeSean McCoy, who is playing out of his mind right now. The Saints best chance to win is to take advantage of the Eagles awful passing defense. The Eagles don't have anyone that is physical enough to shut down Jimmy Graham or Marques Colston, so if the Eagles pass rush doesn't get to Drew Brees, he could shred them and put them in control of the game. Ultimately, I believe the Eagles rushing offense, the Saints one-dimensional offense and the elements will lead to an Eagles victory.
Cincinnati Bengals over San Diego Chargers: The Bengals have stumbled the past two years on wild-card weekend but since this game isn't being held in Houston and Andy Dalton is coming off the best year of his career, I don't expect it to happen again. The Chargers are coming off a narrow victory over the Chiefs backups last week and the Bengals are absolutely electric at home. The Bengals recent playoff track record is absolutely shaky so it's not a lock, but I expect this year to be the season where the Bengals' playoff fortunes turn around.
San Fransisco 49ers over Green Bay Packers: Note: I'm not picking the 49ers to win out of spite that the Packers killed the Bears's playoff run last week. The Packers are certainly a contender with Aaron Rodgers back in the fold and the projected coldest weather in the history of Lambeau Field on Sunday certainly plays to their advantage. That being said, the Packers shaky defense and the 49ers dominant defense should lead to a 49ers victory. Rodgers and co. barely squeaked out a victory on absolutely porous Bears unit last week. The 49ers can get to the quarterback, stop the run and provide lockdown coverage on Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and James Jones, which could lead to rough sledding even for someone as spectacular as Rodgers. It also helps that Colin Kaepernick has had two of the best games of his career against the Packers. I don't expect Kaepernick to deliver another great performance this go-round, but if he is able to get things going, it could be a really long day for the Packers. The 49ers can absolutely ride Frank Gore and their defense to a victory in the Frozen Tundra.
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