{"id":29570,"date":"2022-01-15T12:35:54","date_gmt":"2022-01-15T17:35:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=29570"},"modified":"2022-01-22T11:10:20","modified_gmt":"2022-01-22T16:10:20","slug":"nfl-mega-wild-card-weekend-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2022\/01\/15\/nfl-mega-wild-card-weekend-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL Mega Wild Card Weekend Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Matthew Meusel<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

We have finally reached the first ever NFL weekend with six wild card games. The addition of the seventh playoff team in each conference has set us up for a glorious weekend of do-or-die football that even bleeds into Monday evening. Let\u2019s break it all down and I\u2019ll put my life on the line with game picks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Raiders at Bengals: Saturday 4:30 p.m. NBC<\/strong><\/h3>\n

After a thrilling last second win to clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 2016, Derek Carr and the Las Vegas Raiders will have to fly to Cincinnati on a short week looking to beat arguably the best QB-WR combo in the league this season. Thus, I can\u2019t see this going any way other than a Bengals win and we really start the argument surrounding Joe Burrow being a top 5 quarterback in the league going into year three. <\/span><\/p>\n

Wanna talk about a drought? The Bengals haven\u2019t won a playoff game since 1991. Over 30 years ago! That home crowd is going to be electric. As long as the Bengals offensive line can give Burrow the time to take the deep shots against a team that does a good job getting pressure with four, Burrow will chew up the Vegas secondary. I also don\u2019t want to overlook a team winning the week before and it felt like their <\/span>Super Bowl<\/span><\/i>. The Vegas win over the Chargers felt like the end to a really great Raiders season which included overcoming two horrific off the field stories surrounding their head coach and star receiver. <\/span><\/p>\n

Bengals 31 – Raiders 20<\/strong><\/p>\n

Patriots at Bills: Saturday 8:15 p.m. CBS<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I don\u2019t think a lot of people thought the Patriots would be a bad team with a rookie quarterback, but a 10-7 record on Mac Jones is impressive and it pains me to say it. The image of the Monday night game between these two teams back in early December is in the front of my mind when I look at this matchup. The wind may not have the same effect as it did for that game, but the temperatures could be below zero at some points during the game. <\/span><\/p>\n

The game plan for Buffalo should be simple: Make Mac Jones beat them. Jones attempted 3 passes in the 14-10 tornado game. The Bills knew the run was coming and they couldn\u2019t stop it to save their lives. Stack the box and get Jones into long downs and distances where he has not looked great the last month of the season. The weather that will limit the Bills\u2019 passing attack and the game plan from Bill Belichick still makes this game close in my eyes. The cold weather will make it tough for Josh Allen to throw it all over the place for 40 points. The Patriots defense will come up with a big turnover, but the inability of Jones to come from behind gives Buffalo the win. <\/span><\/p>\n

Bills 26 – Patriots 19<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eagles at Buccaneers: Sunday, 1:00 p.m.; FOX<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Tom Brady and a 13-win team in the playoffs. Ho-hum. I think this Bucs team has lost too many pieces to win another Super Bowl, but getting past Jalen Hurts shouldn\u2019t be a huge issue. The only way the Eagles will have a chance in the fourth quarter is if they do what they\u2019ve done so well all year: run the ball. They were first in the league with nearly 160 yards on the ground per game. Hurts adds to that total without a doubt, but the Philadelphia offensive line is a top unit that gives their backs huge holes. All of that considered, the Buccaneers defense was a dominant force in last season\u2019s playoffs and made Patrick Mahomes look awful in the Super Bowl. Early start, a little choppy because of the rain, Brady moves on. <\/span><\/p>\n

Buccaneers 25 – Eagles 13<\/strong><\/p>\n

49ers at Cowboys: Sunday, 4:30 p.m.; CBS<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Game of the weekend. It\u2019s getting all the hype and it deserves it. Is this the last time we see Jimmy G in a Niners jersey? Very good chance it is if he falls short. This is the best Cowboys team in the Dak Prescott era and everyone is picking San Francisco. The rise of Deebo Samuel and the consistency of the Kyle Shanahan run game has made the Niners one of the most fun teams of the season. They have an offensive game plan that really no one has been able to totally figure out. I still need to ride this Dallas team for one more game. I\u2019ve liked how they\u2019ve managed the load of Ezekiel Elliot and the plethora of weapons is too scary to pick against in this spot. I hate the pick because of how much I\u2019ve loved San Francisco this year, but I think CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper are too much and have themselves a day. <\/span><\/p>\n

Cowboys 32 – 49ers 29<\/strong><\/p>\n

Steelers at Chiefs: Sunday, 8:15 p.m.; NBC<\/strong><\/h3>\n

There\u2019s a good chance we ran into an absolute snoozer with this night cap. Ben Roesthlisberger said himself they want to go in and have fun, citing that they don\u2019t have a chance. The way the Steelers made the playoffs was truly remarkable. The Jaguars pull the upset against the Colts, they beat the Ravens in overtime, and somehow avoid a tie in Vegas. The Chiefs have been slowly building toward the postseason and want to show the world they are still the team to beat. Big Ben\u2019s arm will lose the Steelers this game. Even a miracle from T.J. Watt won\u2019t get the job done against this lethal Kansas City offense. Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce. Enough said. Blowout. <\/span><\/p>\n

Chiefs 36 – Steelers 18<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cardinals at Rams: Monday, 8:15 p.m.; ESPN<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You didn\u2019t think I would pick all the favorites, did you? The Rams have shown me nothing but inconsistency. That\u2019s hard to say for a 12-5, but it\u2019s true. Eight turnovers in the last four games for Matthew Stafford is not going to improve in a high intensity win or go home environment. All we talk about with this team is all the star power they have. Yes, losing Robert Woods was a huge blow, but L.A. is relying heavily on DeSean Jackson to win games. He has played better than we all thought he would, but this entire experiment will all come crashing down on Monday night. <\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m really going to trust Stafford in the postseason as a favorite? No thank you. Give me a healthy James Connor for Arizona who has eighteen touchdowns this season. Yeah, don\u2019t forget about that guy. Kyler killed the Rams in Sofi Stadium already this year and will beat the naysayers Monday night under the lights.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cardinals 27- Rams 24<\/strong><\/p>\n

Featured Image: Barry Chin\/The Boston Globe via Getty Images<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Matthew Meusel We have finally reached the first ever NFL weekend with six wild card games. The addition of the seventh playoff team in each conference has set us up for a glorious weekend of do-or-die football that even bleeds into Monday evening. Let\u2019s break it all down and I\u2019ll put my life on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18588,"featured_media":29571,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1024,1050,1032,1035,19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29570"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18588"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29570"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29570\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29572,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29570\/revisions\/29572"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}