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Fearless Rick & Coin Flip NFL Wild Card Weekend Picks
All times Eastern
Week 18 Results: Rick: 11-5; Flip: 6-10
Saturday, January 10`
Los Angeles Rams (-10.5, 46.5) at Carolina Panthers 4:30 pm - Considering that the Panthers completely backed into the playoffs with an 8-9 record, losing at Tampa Bay, 16-14 in the final week of the regular season and were bailed out via tiebreaker (Tampa, Atlanta, and Carolina all finished 8-9) when the Falcons defeated New Orleans on Sunday, 19-17, they really don’t seem fit for the post-season.
The 12-5 Rams finished as the top wild card, seeded #5, setting up a rematch of the Panther’s 31-28 home win over LA in Week 13. In that game, Bryce Young threw three TD passes and Matthew Stafford got picked off three times in what was arguably his worst game of the season.
With all that in mind, Carolina’s defense is the key. If they have Stafford’s number, they may keep this one close enough to have a shot at the end. Home field, plus already posting a W should help their confidence, but, in the end, the Rams appear the better team.
Coin Flip: Carolina
Fearless Rick’s Pick: Rams 27 Panthers 23
The Packers seriously underperformed late in the season, due to various injuries, but also with an offense that was often too predictable and a defense that was prone to missed tackles and mistakes. Green Bay lost their last four games of the season which suggests they’re not at the top of their game.
Coin Flip: Chicago
Fearless Rick’s Pick: Da Bears 31 Da Packers 19
Buffalo Bills (-1, 52) at Jacksonville Jaguars 1:00 pm - The Bills certainly had a solid season, finishing 12-5, though that was still two games back of surprising New England, winners of the AFC East at 14-3. The offense, with the combination of Josh Allen’s passing and running, and James Cook’s rushing, is among the league’s best, but the defense, though improved, keeps Buffalo’s for in games, being unable to make stops in key situations too often.
Jacksonville has seen the emergence - finally - of Trevor Lawrence, who has stepped up his game tremendously this season. What really separates the Jaguars from the Bills is their defense, one of the best in the league, and their overall tough attitude. The Jags are riding an eight-game winning streak and they should prevail at home, where they were 7-2. This one could be a wild shootout or a one-sided affair if Jacksonville contains Allen and Cook.
Coin Flip: Jacksonville
Fearless Rick’s Pick: Jaguars 34 Bills 24
The worst loss of this season for the Eagles was a 34-17 loss at the Giants. Other than that and a 24-15 loss to the Bears, they were all one-score defeats. Overall, the Eagles didn’t bury their opponents, but the defense can really step up when needed and they are likely to keep San Francisco out of the end zone for most of the game.
If the Eagles just play their usual ho-hum-another-win kind of game, they’ll win. If they play to their potential, it’s blowout city.
Coin Flip: Philadelphia
Fearless Rick’s Pick: Eagles 31 49ers 13
New England has to be the surprise team of the year, and like the NFC’s Bears, they came into their own with the emergence of second year QB Drake Maye and a coaching change, to the hard-hitting, no-excuses style of Mike Vrable, who made the defense respectable and who does have playoff smarts from his years as head coach of the Titans. Tread carefully here, however, as that 3.5-point line may prove costly in what figures to be a tight one.
Coin Flip: New England
Fearless Rick’s Pick: Patriots 26 Chargers 21
Houston Texans (-3, 38.5) at Pittsburgh Steelers 8:15 pm - Is this Aaron Rodgers’ last hurrah? The Steelers won the AFC North due primarily to every other team in the division falling apart. Cincinnati lost Joe Burrow for most of the year and the Ravens simply never got it together and actually ended up firing head coach John Harbaugh, after 18 seasons.
The Steelers have the worst record of any division winner except for the NFC South. They face a Texans team that has won nine in a row and were just one of two teams, league wide, to hold opponents under 300 points for the season. Seattle allowed 292; Houston, 295. Surprising that the line here isn’t -6 or -7.
Coin Flip: Houston
Fearless Rick’s Pick: Texans 34 Steelers 10
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