The National Football League's Wild Card Weekend came and went, and these were my predictions for the teams competing prior to the games being played on Jan. 7 through Jan. 8.
1. Houston Texans vs. Oakland Raiders – Oakland or Houston? I’m not sure because both teams' quarterbacks have little to no experience starting in the game. For Houston, quarterback Brock Osweiler does have experience in playoff games — last year he won the American Football Conference Championship game against New England, and with the Denver Broncos, he went all the way to win Super Bowl 50. On the other hand, you have an unexperienced quarterback, Connor Cook, his first NFL game I might add, facing the No. 1 defense in the league. I have Houston beating Oakland 17-14 as the final score.
2. Seattle Seahawks vs. Detroit Lions – Now that Calvin Johnson is retired from the Detroit Lions, now they want to play well. In the past, they were just one and done in the regular season. In the 2008, Detroit went 0-16, so there you have it. Now, they have good players, but having them win in Seattle is a unlikely. Aside from the crowd noise, Seattle's offense is on fire right now. They are scoring touchdowns on all cylinders. Running backs, wide receivers and even cornerback Richard Sherman gets to be a part of the action. I have Seattle beating Detroit 21-6.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Miami Dolphins – Pittsburgh and their offense are going to blow the Dolphins out of the water (no pun intended). Following the devastating loss to New England last week, Pittsburgh knows all the ways to beat Miami in the Wild Card game. They're playing in Pittsburgh too, so I have Pittsburgh up on Miami 42-3 as the final score.
4. Green Bay Packers vs. New York Giants – Packers versus Giants will
be the game of the weekend. Green Bay has
quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who is playing the
greatest that he has ever played with tight ends, wide receivers and
running back Eddie Lacy
zooming through defenses like it's nobody’s business. On the other side, we have
the New York Giants, who have maintained a hot streak. In addition to winning, New York’s defense has come alive in the
second half of the regular season. More sacks, more forced fumbles, and
interceptions from their cornerbacks and safeties. Finally,
quarterback Eli Manning is 4-0
against Super Bowl winning quarterbacks, including Aaron Rodgers.
