NFL Wild Card Weekend is upon us and it is time to watch the better half of teams in the NFL fight for a shot at the Lombardi. Much like the rest of this 2021 NFL season, the unexpected usually tends to occur so most of these games are far from a sure thing. With the regular season behind us, let’s get into these exciting playoff matchups. 

Saturday 1/15

(5) Las Vegas Raiders @ (4) Cincinnati Bengals: 4:30 PM ET (NBC)

Expected Weather: 29℉, 11 mph wind, 0% precipitation

Current Game Line: Bengals -4.5

The Cincinnati Bengals will host the Las Vegas Raiders this coming Saturday for the playoff debut of Joe Burrow. An interesting aspect of this game is that this is the playoff debut of Derek Carr as well. The Raiders did make the playoffs back in the 2016 season but Carr suffered some unfortunate luck with an injury and wasn’t able to make the game. After some fairly successful years with the Raiders, Carr will finally have his shot to make waves in the postseason. 

The Raiders and the Bengals did face-off already in Week 11 but Cincinnati handled Las Vegas in a 32-13 route. In recent weeks, the Bengals have looked unstoppable on offense as they ranked 5th in points per game from Weeks 12-17. If the Raiders want a shot at winning this game, it starts on the defensive side. Premier pass rusher, Maxx Crosby is going to have to get past a Bengal’s offensive line, that has looked suspect at times throughout the season, to prevent Burrow from getting a clean pocket. 

As far as who the winner of this game will be, I expect it to be close as the old saying says that it is hard to beat the same team twice in a season. However, I expect Cincinnati to come out with a win as Joe Burrow and the combination of Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Joe Mixon might be too much for the Raiders to handle. 

(6) New England Patriots @ (3) Buffalo Bills: 8:15 PM ET (CBS)

Expected Weather: 9℉, 6 mph wind, 3% precipitation

Current Game Line: Bills -4

The Bills and Patriots are facing off for the third time this season and the second time in Buffalo. These two teams split their matchups this year as both won their respective away games in differing ways. The Patriots won their matchup in Buffalo as a result of a dominant run game and 50 mph winds while the Bills won because of their dominant passing game and dynamic quarterback in their Week 16 trip to Foxborough. 

As for their third matchup, the weather might come into play once again. Buffalo is supposed to be around nine degrees with zero degree wind chill which will certainly be uncomfortable for the players. With this cold temperature, the possibility for a defensive battle is there as Buffalo was the 1st ranked defense in the NFL, allowing only 272.8 yards per game, while New England was ranked 4th and allowed 310.8 yards per game. However, the main aspect of this game to take a look at is the recent records of both clubs. The Bills closed out the regular season with four straight wins while the Patriots lost three out of their last four as rookie quarterback, Mac Jones, lost his hold on rookie of the year with six combined turnovers during that stretch. 

The outcome of this game is a tough one as ruling out Bill Belichick is never a great idea but I have to go with the Bills based on recent performances. It will be a cold game, which favors New England’s playstyle a little more, but Buffalo seems too strong on both sides of the ball to lose to their faltering division rival. Maybe Buffalo will decide to build a dome in the offseason so Josh Allen isn’t always affected by weather when playing at home late in the year. 

Sunday 1/16

(7) Philadelphia Eagles @ (2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 1:00 PM ET (FOX)

Expected Weather: 63℉, 20 mph wind, 62% precipitation

Current Game Line: Buccaneers -9.5

The Eagles and Buccaneers are facing off for their second meeting of the season. During their first matchup, Tampa Bay held off a second-half Eagles comeback to win 28-22. Since that loss, the Eagles closed out the season winning seven out of their last 11 games although 6 of those wins were all against bottom 10 teams in the league.

Way back in Week 6, Tampa Bay was looking a lot different with their available wide receivers and general health as a team. The loss of Chris Godwin and the departure of Antonio Brown has the Bucs looking at Cyril Grayson and Breshad Perriman as the next receivers to see the field. The return of running back, Leonard Fournette, should shift this offense to a more run-heavy attack as a hobbled Mike Evans is the only original remaining receiver. The Eagles have looked like a decent defense for most of the year and the Bucs injuries should give Philadelphia some hope in a game where rain might play a part in the offensive output. 

However, I just don’t see the upset happening this early. Tampa could easily fall off in the divisional round as this roster is pretty hobbled as a whole but the Eagles will need some huge performances from Jalen Hurts and their rushing attack to have any chance. Stranger outcomes have occurred but I’d stay safe and not bet against playoff Tom Brady in the Wild Card round. 

(6) San Francisco 49ers @ (3) Dallas Cowboys: 4:30 ET (CBS/Nickelodeon)

Expected Weather: 52℉, 5 mph wind, 0% precipitation

Current Game Line: Cowboys -3

Surprisingly, this is the only wild card matchup that is not a rematch from the regular season. Reigniting their old rivalry, the 49ers and Cowboys will face off for the first time in the playoffs since 1994. Both of these teams have had fairly different paths to the postseason as one has been full of stress, quarterback controversy, and questionable personnel moves while the other has been blessed with a cakewalk of a schedule while fending off some nagging injuries. 

When actually looking at regular season strength of schedule rankings, the 49ers ended up having the 5th most difficult schedule while the Cowboys had the 2nd easiest. So, while the matchup shows a 10-7 wild card team taking on a 12-5 division winner, some deeper digging suggests a different narrative. The schedule disparity of these two teams essentially comes down to their divisions as the 49ers play in by far the toughest division in football, the NFC West, while the Cowboys play in the NFC East which is home to two of the bottom 10 teams in professional football. 

However, while the schedules are vastly different, that doesn’t provide a definitive reason to crown a winner already. The 49ers have plenty of question marks of their own as their signal-caller, Jimmy Garoppolo has been prone to throwing away games and is still dealing with a thumb injury that clearly came into play during their Week 18 matchup in Los Angeles as he threw two interceptions. 

This game should be close and could easily go either way. The Cowboys always hold the possibility of exploding on offense in any given game due to their spoil of available weapons while also having a defense that has a strong knack for forcing turnovers. The 49ers, when they’re clicking, have an offense that can beat teams in a plethora of ways whether it’s through their dynamic run game or using their available weapons like Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, and Brandon Aiyuk in the passing game. 

As for the final outcome, I have to go with the 49ers because they just seem to be the better team despite what their surface-level record may show. San Francisco is battle-tested and those tough matchups will come into play against a Dallas team that has been lacking real competition.

(7) Pittsburgh Steelers @ (2) Kansas City Chiefs: 8:15 PM ET (NBC)

Expected Weather: 34℉, 8 mph wind, 6% precipitation

Current Game Line: Chiefs -12.5

This Sunday night matchup is consistently being coined by fans as the “Ben Roethlisberger retirement party” and who can blame them. The 9-7-1 Steelers are clearly the inferior team as the Chiefs are back-to-back AFC champions with a defense that is stronger than anything Kansas City has had during Patrick Mahomes’ tenure with the team. Even Big Ben agrees with the popular sentiment as he was quoted saying “we don’t have a chance so let’s just go in and play and have fun.”

In addition to their new and improved defense, the Chiefs have a new offensive mindset that doesn’t rely so heavily on shots downfield. This strategy of taking what the defense gives them has made Kansas City even scarier than what they have been in recent memory as they aren’t nearly as prone to risky mistakes.

The Steelers are…well they’re the Steelers. They rely heavily on rookie running back, Najee Harris, for offensive production while also fielding a less than impressive defense. The Pittsburgh run defense actually ranks dead last in the NFL in allowed yards per game so a big performance could be on the horizon for Kansas City running back, Darrel Williams, while Clyde Edwards-Helaire is held out with injury. 

Playoff matchups should never be seen as a done deal prior to game time but this one is nearly set in stone. The only advantage that the Steelers really have is that they are playing with house money. Pittsburgh isn’t supposed to be here in the first place and they seem to know that as a team. This may result in some more creative playcalling that may confuse the Chiefs but you can only do so much with an obviously aging Ben Roethlisberger. My pick for this game is obviously the Chiefs but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a slightly closer game than what the general public is expecting. It might not be the storybook ending that Big Ben was hoping for but it will be an ending nonetheless. 

Monday 1/17

(5) Arizona Cardinals @ (4) Los Angeles Rams: 8:15 PM ET (ABC/ESPN)

Expected Weather: 57℉, 3 mph wind, 5% precipitation

Current Game Line: Rams -4

In the first-ever NFL game on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, two NFC West rivals will face off in the first-ever playoff game in SoFi Stadium. This game will be an interesting one as both of these teams have faced off twice already while splitting the matchups. Both have also had the two toughest regular-season schedules in the NFL as the Rams have faced the strongest competition while the Cardinals have faced the second strongest. 

Throughout the season the Cardinals and Rams have had similar stretches. Both teams started out extremely hot as they were each 7-1 through the first eight weeks but then started to taper off a bit to end the season. The Cardinals finished the season on a 4-5 stretch due to injuries suffered by Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins while the Rams finished 5-4 with all four of their losses coming against playoff teams. 

This game could be close, as is with most playoff games. The Cardinals have the NFL’s 8th best offense while the Rams have the 9th but Arizona does hold the edge to the Rams on defense as they’re ranked 11th overall while the Rams have been disappointing at 17th in the league. This is a tough one to predict but I think it will come down to one main factor. That factor being, Rams quarterback, Matthew Stafford. 

Matthew Stafford can make some of the most mind-bending throws the NFL has ever seen while also making some of the worst. His case is interesting because he can certainly keep you in a game but he can also keep you out of one with his habit of throwing multiple interceptions. He also lacks playoff experience as he has only three total games under his belt, all of them being losses. Now, that may not be his fault as he’s been a member of the Lions for his entire career but it is still something to keep in mind. 

My pick for this game is split but I’m just going with the gut here and picking Arizona to win in Kyler Murray’s playoff debut. The Ram’s struggling at times on defense throughout the season and Matthew Stafford underperforming in the final few weeks pushed me to believe in Arizona on Monday night. Maybe Kyler Murray and the rest of the Cardinals will get it done but it’s anyone’s game at this point.