Wild Card Weekend

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS(9-7) @ CINCINNATI BENGALS(11-5)
The Chargers barely made it but they got in. Thanks to a missed field, goal by RYAN SUCCOP at the end of regulation and a missed penalty against the Chargers, SD has a chance. A slim chance but a chance. It's been up and down throughout the year for San Diego. They stayed off a respectable 4-3. But after their bye week they dropped three in a row and everyone thought they were finished. The very next week they beat the Chiefs and won five of their last six games to make the playoffs for the first time since 2009. That one loss in the last six weeks? Yeah, it was against the Bengals. QB PHILLIP RIVERS Has resurrected his career after a disappointing 2012 season. He has a 105.5 QB rating with 30 tds and over 4400 yards. His complete percentage is the highest in the league and he has many weapons to thank for that. RBS RYAN MATHEWS and DANNY WOODHEAD finished the regular season very strong. Mathews is having one of his best years as a pro rushing for over 1200 yards and seven tds. In his last four games Mathews has reached 100 total yards in each one. Woodhead finished with over 1,000 total yards and has turned into a pass catching, td scoring machine. He has one less receiving td then Jamaal Charles who is First in the league among RBs. SD is 4-4 on the road while the Bengals are undefeated at home.
Last week was the first game in Cincinnati's last five home games that they didn't score 40+ points. But they did put up 34 against the former champs. ANDY DALTON has had his best year as a pro. His four interceptions last week didn't help his QB rating but he threw 3 tds that made up for it and also broke the Bengals franchise record for td passes in a season, formerly held by Carson Palmer. Dalton has 34 tds on the year, 11 of them going to star wide out AJ GREEN. A key player that I will be watching in this game will be WR MARVIN JONES. Jones has 10 tds himself and half the receptions as Green. If he can continue to have success in the red zone it will help Cincinnati to get its first playoff win since 1990. CIN defense has only allowed seven rushing tds on the year and will be all over Mathews in this game. Overshadowed by Dalton on the offense, the defense has allowed a solid 18 points a game in the Bengals last six outings. They are tied for first in the AFC in points allowed. With a 3-5 road record the Bengals strength is their home field advantage. It will be no different in this game Cincinnati gets their playoff win.
My final, CIN 38 - SD 27



KANSAS CITY CHIEFS(11-5) @ INDIANAPOLIS COLTS(11-5)
On paper this is one of the most evenly matched games this weekend. The CHIEFS chose to rest their starters last week. And two weeks ago when these teams played I have the feeling that Andy Reid was worried about showing too much of his game plan in a meaningless game. It was almost a sure thing that these two teams would meet again. The Chiefs are a better team then they showed in the first meeting between these teams. Watch for a heavy dose of Jamaal Charles in the pass game and on the ground. Charles was the most productive RB in the NFL this season and any other game plan would be insane. QB ALEX SMITH had a solid year with the Chiefs. He wasn't a highlight reel but he knows how to manage a game and he doesn't make many mistakes. COLTS QB ANDREW LUCK has put up similar stats compared with Smith. But Luck doesn't have a playmaker like Charles. Luck has done well without his best playmaker REGGIE WAYNE who suffered a season ending injury earlier in the year. Indy scored 30 points for the first time since week 11 and just their second with as many points since their bye week. The running game is slowly coming together for the Colts. TRENT RICHARDSON scored his 3rd td with the Colts last week and hopefully it will give him the confidence he needs. The other guy, DONALD BROWN is averaging 5.6 yards a carry and has five tds on the year. Why he isn't getting more carries is beyond me. The Colts should adopt a game plan similar to the chargers with the types of RBs they have. Luck has accounted for 370 of Indys rush yards. He has been overshadowed by the other QBs in his draft class but make no mistake Luck can run with the ball too. They say defense wins Championships and in this game KC has the advantage. Andy Reid will guide his team to a victory.
My final, KC 24 - 20


NEW ORLEANS SAINTS(11-5) @ PHILADELPHIA EAGLES(10-6)
The Saints ended a two game losing streak last week against Tampa Bay. Much like the Bengals in the AFC, the Saints' Achilles heel has been their poor play on the road. Unfortunately for them, they will not play a home game again this season. That means they have to win every game on the road. And on the road the Saints just are not the Saints. They aren't the powerhouse offense that scores 34 points a game. Drew Brees isn’t the perfect QB that throws 3 tds and no picks. On the road with the Saints you have to forget about the 38 tds and 5,000 passing yards. And more importantly you have to forget about the defense that has been elite in the Superdome. On the road the Saints are a sub .500 team that has been outscored 179 to 142. Drew Brees is also much different on the road, he posts just an 86.3 QB rating, has nine of his twelve ints on the road and has only thrown 12 tds in eight road games. That’s the team that will be playing against the Eagles this week in Philadelphia. Meanwhile the Eagles haven’t been the best this year at protecting their home. They are just 4-4 at home but have won four straight at Lincoln Financial Field in Philly. The Eagles are third in the NFL in scoring and they have the leagues leading rusher along with a QB, NICK FOLES, who has the best passer rating in the league. The Saints give up 23 points a game on the road while Philly averages 34 points in their last four home games. This game has the makings of being a shoot out but New Orleans has to bring their A+ game and they have to do something they have not done all season, beat a winning team on the road. I don’t see anything changing this time around. The Eagles will win.
My Final, PHI 31 - NO 26


SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS(12-4) @ GREEN BAY PACKERS(8-7-1)
The one thing that will keep this game interesting is that its being played in Green Bay. But the Forty Niners have been just as good on the road as when they play at Candle Stick Park. SF is 6-2 on the road where they’ve held opponents to 14 points a game in their last seven (week 2 @ Sea, lost 29 -3). What’s best for the Niners is something that won’t show up in the stat books and that’s the return of WR MICHAEL CRABTREE. Crabtree was Kaepernicks favorite target last season. Adding him to the squad with ANQUAN BOLDIN will increase the productivity for both WRs. BOLDIN is already having a good season with over 1,000 yards and six tds. Crabtree on the other side of the field will give him more opportunities and having Boldin out there will also help Crabtree as well. Don’t forget about TE VERNON DAVIS, he leads the team with 13 tds. Having these three guys together gives SF one of the best offenses in the Playoffs to go with the number three defense in the NFL. The pressure is on QB COLIN KAEPERNICK who has had an underachieving year. But now he’s got no excuse. He has to be more accurate and the Niners have to throw the ball more. The defense will ease some of his pressures but he’s got to get it done.

For the Packers they got their star QB back just in time. One thing you can’t do is judge the Packers by their record. They are 3-5-1 without Rodgers and 6-2 with him. One of those two losses were against SF in week one. That was in SF though. For what it’s worth Rodgers is 3-0 at home and the Packers are 4-3-1 at Lambeau Field. Rodgers in half the season has 18 tds 6 ints and 2500 yards. Its easy to see why the team lives and dies with him. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR candidate EDDIE LACY has over 1200 yards, and 11 tds on the year. He gives the Packers an every down RB that they haven’t had in years. Lacy and Rodgers together give the Packers a chance to win every week. The only problem is the match up they are in the first week. SF has dominated Green Bay the last two times they faced off, including Green Bays defeat last year in the playoffs. You can’t ever count Rodgers out but its almost unfathomable to think that San Francisco will lose in the first round. The Niners have the advantage with the third ranked defense that’s been their glue all season. Niners will prevail.
My final, SF 27 - GB 24