NFL Playoffs Wildcard Round Preview

By: Lucas Kochevar

     The NFL Playoffs start Saturday and we have 4 games this weekend. The first game is at 4:05 on Saturday and it is between the Oakland Raiders, who are making their first playoff appearance in quite some time, and the Houston Texans. Both teams have QB problems with Oakland's being Derek Carr's injury and Houston's problem is that Brock Osweiler is not worth the 72 million dollars they paid him in the offseason. Conor Cook is getting his first career start for Oakland. I can see this game easily being the worst of the weekend. Oakland will have to lean heavily on the run game and Khalil Mack will have to have the game of his life if Oakland wants to win. The Texans need to make sure they have a great game plan for Brock Osweiler so that he isn't trying to force his throws and makes too many mistakes. I believe that Houston will win the game simply because they have the better defense and I believe that they can produce enough offense in order to win. 

     The game that is later Saturday night is the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions. The Lions come into Seattle after a loss to the red-hot Packers. Seattle comes off a win against the 49ers. Seattle is coming in as the favorite and Matthew Stafford and the Lions have a lot to prove if they want to win. The Lions need to have Matthew Stafford prove his worth against Seattle. I don't see that happening and I think the Seahawks will win this game pretty easily as Detroit just isn't ready.

     The games on Sunday are better than the games on Saturday and it starts off with the Steelers and the Dolphins. This the Fins first apperance in the playoffs since 2008. Sadly, they are without Ryan Tannehill as he got injured late in the season. Matt Moore will make his first career playoff start. Jay Ajayi has to have a huge game for the Dolphins to win this game. They have a similar situation to the Raiders except Matt Moore isn't a rookie. Also they have to deal with Big Ben, Antonio Brown, and Leveon Bell which is a very hard task. I like the Steelers to win this one.

     The New York Giants go to Lambeau Field on Sunday to face the red-hot Packers. The Giants have a fantastic defense. The problem with Giants is their offense. They have one of the most hot-cold QBs in football, no running game, and they rely on Odell Beckham Jr to carry their offense. The Packers have the hottest team in the NFL with Aaron Rodgers, who might be MVP. I think this game will be close thoguh largely due to the Giants secondary. I think the Giants have a good chance at upsetting the Packers in Green Bay like they did years ago. I don't see that being the case. I can see Aaron Rodgers defeating the Giants due to New York's inability to score. I like the Green Bay in this game.

---