NFL Wild Card Weekend

Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos

I’ve said it all year – Tim Tebow will not win Denver a Super Bowl…ever. All year long we listened to Tebowmaniacs ignorantly say “all he does is win” while they just flat out ignored his stats and Denver’s stellar defensive play. Now Denver has lost 3 in a row (it would be 4 in a row if Marion Barber didn’t run out of bounds) and are barely limping into the playoffs thanks to an anemic offense that can’t put more than one drive together in an entire game, and Raider loss in week 17. It’s even been reported that Brady Quinn has been taking snaps with the first team in practice. Tebowmaniacs have been very quiet all the sudden.

Pittsburgh’s concern will be the play of Ben Roethlisberger as he comes back from an ankle injury that dramatically affected his play down the stretch of the regular season. The Steelers still have one of the premiere defenses in the league and shouldn’t have a problem stopping the Broncos and advancing to the next round.

The only chance the Broncos have is if their defense holds the Steelers to 10 points or less, because the gimmicky, cater-to-Tim Tebow offense that Denver runs does not and will not work…unless divine intervention is involved, then all bets are off.

Winner: Steelers

Cincinnati Bengals at Houston Texans

Congratulations to the Texans who, because of Peyton Manning’s injury won the AFC South and are playing in their first playoff game in franchise history.

The Texans come into this game losing 3 in a row. If Matt Schaub was healthy this would be a no brainer, but he’s not and the Texans will have to rely on quarterback T.J Yates to take them to the playoff promised land. Of course they still have Arian Foster to anchor their stellar running game that will give them a chance to advance.

If you thought the Bengals would be in the playoffs this year you are a filthy liar. Cincinnati rookies, Andy Dalton and A.J. Green have had spectacular first seasons and have performed far above expectations. Not to mention Andy “shawshank” Dalton has one of the best nicknames of all time (his name is Andy and he has red hair. Two main characters in the movie Shawshank Redemption were named Andy and Red).

As much as I want to pick Houston in this game, I can’t with T.J. Yates under center. I think the Bengals will shock Houston.

Winner: Bengals

Atlanta Falcons at New York Giants

Two great quarterbacks will face off on Sunday afternoon at Metlife Stadium in New York.

The Falcons started off the season slow losing to the Bears and Bucs, but have played great ever since. The last 3 seasons, Atlanta has missed or been beat in the first round of the playoffs, and with such high expectations placed on this team year after year, this game is being called a must win for Matt Ryan and company. Ryan is one of the great guys in the league and needs a good showing on Sunday to solidify the name “Matty Ice” that the fans and media have given him.

With the self-proclaimed “dream team” completely flopping, that opened up an opportunity for the Giants to get into the playoffs. At one point New York lost 5 out of 6 games and looked like they were dead in the water, until they beat the Jets and a winner-take-all game against the Cowboys in week 17.

Eli Manning is one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the league and has put this team on his back as he passed for 4,933 yards and 29 touchdowns this season.

This one could go either way, but I think the pressure is all on Atlanta.

Winner: Giants

Detroit Lions at New Orleans Saints

If you only watch one game this weekend, make it this one.

The Detroit Lions haven’t been to the playoffs since black and white TV and will most definitely be up for this one. Matthew Stafford to “Megatron” has been an unstoppable attack all season, and you should expect to see a lot more of it on Saturday night. The Lions have no running game, their leading rusher Jahvid Best collected only 390 yards on the season, but who needs a rushing game when your quarterback throws for 5,038 yards and 41 touchdowns?

Drew Brees is a machine. He broke Dan Marino’s all-time single season passing record and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. He threw for 5,476 yards and 46 touchdowns this season and has a weapon on the ground in Derren Sproles, the best free agent signing of the year. He hasn’t been stopped yet, so if the Lions can do it they deserve to move on.

It will be a shootout in the Superdome, but in the end I think Brees will be too much to handle.

Winner: Saints