NFL Wild Card Predictions

Carolina Panthers over Arizona Cardinals: The Carolina Panthers are riding a giant wave of momentum right now after going 4-0 in December and making a highly improbable run to an NFC South title. I expect their hot streak to continue into the playoffs as they face the injury-riddled Cardinals in the Wild Card round. The Cardinals have just not been the same since Ryan Lindley took over at quarterback for the injured Drew Stanton. Lindley can makes some plays from time to time, but his accuracy woes and inability to protect the ball are a huge hindrance to this team. The Cardinals haven't won either game Lindley has started this year and I don't expect that to change today. The Cardinals talented defense is more than likely going to give Cam Newton some trouble and keep them in the game, I just don't have enough faith in the Lindley-run offense to put up enough points on this suddenly stout Panthers defense to pick up the victory.  

Baltimore Ravens over Pittsburgh Steelers: Of all the Wild Card matchups, this is easily the most intriguing. Ravens/Steelers is arguably the most heated rivalry in the NFL and the two squaring off in the playoffs is only going to raise the intensity. These two teams are much more evenly matched than their regular season matchups indicate (in both games, the home team won by a wide margin) and I expect this game to reflect that. Even though the Steelers have been playing better of late and have never lost to the Ravens in the playoffs, I have to go with The Ravens in this one. Joe Flacco is a completely different animal in the playoffs, they have a front seven that can disrupt Ben Roethlisberger and they'll be hungry to avenge their blowout loss at Heinz Field in October, and prove themselves as legitimate contenders after a mediocre December. However, to pick up this win the Ravens are going to need start fast and not let up. The Steelers are going to test the Ravens weak secondary even more than usual without star running back Le'Veon Bell in the lineup, and I don't trust them to hold up for an entire game against the Steelers loaded receiving corps. Even though they have to go on the road and play a squad who can easily exploit their secondary problems, I believe the Ravens are fully capable of deifying the odds and advance to the Divisional round.    

Indianapolis Colts over Cincinnati Bengals: In my eyes, there's no two teams in the NFL this season that have been more erratic than the Colts and Bengals. The Colts were mostly dominant throughout the season then all but completely crapped out down the stretch. The Bengals have been far more traditional with their inconsistent play: looking like legitimate title contenders some weeks and looking like a low-level arena football team in others. In their regular season meeting in October, the Colts handed the Bengals one of their embarrassing losses- forcing nine straight three-and-out's and holding them to just 135 yards of total offense as they cruised to a 27-0 victory. Given the high-stakes stage of this second meeting, I fully expect the Colts to win yet again. Though the Bengals picked up a impressive, hard-fought victory over the Broncos in primetime just two weeks ago, this team typically falters in big-game situations. Whether it be because of Andy Dalton's turnovers, the defense getting torched or another unforeseen factor, the team just implodes when they're in the spotlight, and I expect the same thing to happen again this year. The Bengals have sabotaged themselves three straight years by playing their sloppiest football of the season on wild card weekend and were sent packing in the ugliest possible fashion as a result. The Colts haven't been without their share of recent playoff woes, but they're nothing compared to those of the Bengals. Plus Andrew Luck is pretty much unflappable and recovers from turnovers as well as any quarterback in the league; a skill that Dalton does not possess. That quality alone is enough to give the Colts the advantage in this matchup. Unless the Bengals completely stray from their recent tendencies, the Colts should be able to take this one without too much difficulty.       

Dallas Cowboys over Detroit Lions: The Dallas Cowboys have proven all their detractors (myself included) wrong all season long and strung together a 12-4 season against all odds. Now that the playoffs are here, the same skeptics are looking for Tony Romo and co. to choke under pressure. At least for this week, I expect the Cowboys to continue to prove people wrong and pick up a playoff win. The Cowboys haven't looked this good since I started paying attention to football in the late '90s, and I truly believe they could beat just about anybody in the league right now if they continue to play at the same level. I expect the Lions outstanding defense to show up and make this a low-scoring affair, but their lackluster offense led by Matthew Stafford- who is playing the worst football of his career right now- to hold them back immensely in what should be a tight contest. The Cowboys are having the ultimate fairy tale season right now and I expect that Cinderella story to continue into next week.