Wild Card Picks

The quest for Super Bowl LI begins
Saturday afternoon. 

It should be a great weekend of NFL playoff action and although we have several non-elite quarterbacks taking snaps this weekend, there are still plenty of other stars to watch.

I mean nothing against Connor Cook and Brock Osweiler, but it's not exactly the same as Eli Manning v. Aaron Rodgers. Giants-Packers should be a terrific game and I like the Packers as well as all the home teams this weekend and I'll explain why below.

Wild Card Picks (Home team in CAPS)

HOUSTON over Oakland (Saturday, 4:35 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC): Connor Cook vs. Brock Osweiler. I'm sure the top brass at ESPN is jumping for joy that their only televised playoff game features the worst quarterback matchup in playoff history. The Raiders were going with Matt McGloin at quarterback with the injury to star Derek Carr, but McGloin suffered a shoulder injury against the Broncos last week and rookie Connor Cook will now start his first NFL game in the playoffs, the first quarterback in history to do so. Oakland has a great team, but without a solid QB I just don't see them beating Houston on the road and the Texans have the number one rated defense in the league. Osweiler will return as the starter under center after Tom Savage suffered a concussion last week. If he doesn't turn the ball over and let his defense and rushing attack take care of business, Houston will move on.

SEATTLE over Detroit (Saturday, 8:15 p.m. ET, NBC): Since hurting his finger, QB Matthew Stafford has thrown 2 TD, 3 INT and the Lions have lost three straight games. Detroit struggled to stop Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense last week, mainly because they failed to keep Rodgers in the pocket. The Lions recorded only one sack and Rodgers destroyed the Detroit secondary by extending plays with his legs. Well, bad news for the Lions this week, because Seahawks QB Russell Wilson is even better at extending plays with his legs than Rodgers is. And the Seahawks were 7-1 at home this season. The Lions streak of not having won a playoff game in 25 years will extend to 26.

Jay Ajayi ran away from the Steelers when these two teams
met earlier this season.
(Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

PITTSBURGH over Miami (Sunday, 1:05 p.m. ET, CBS): With Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill out with a knee injury, the Dolphins will be another team this weekend going with a backup quarterback. Matt Moore will get the start in Pittsburgh on Sunday and he's played well in three starts since Tannehill went down. Miami is 2-1 in those starts and Moore has thrown 8 TD and only 3 INT. If Moore doesn't turn the ball over, the Dolphins have a chance, but the key to a Miami win is RB Jay Ajayi. Ajayi rushed for 204-yards and 2 TD when the Steelers visited Miami back in October and he'll need to have another big day if the Dolphins are to advance. Ajayi rushed for 100-yards only four times this season, but the Dolphins were 4-0 in those games and in three of those games, Ajayi rushed for over 200-yards. I think the Steelers will be more prepared to stop Ajayi this time around and with Roethlisberger, Brown and Bell all healthy on offense, Pittsburgh will get the win.

GREEN BAY over NY Giants (Sunday, 4:40 p.m. ET, FOX): This should be the best game of the weekend. Two Super Bowl winning quarterbacks and two teams capable of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in Houston. As good as the Giants defense has been this season, 10th overall and 5th against the run, the Packers offense, in particular, QB Aaron Rodgers, have been on fire during their six-game winning streak. Rodgers has thrown for 1,667-yards, 15 TD, 0 INT and has an average QB rating of 120.9 during the streak. And oh by the way, the Packers already beat the Giants at Lambeau Field earlier this season, 23-16. New York had just 221-yards of offense and Eli was sacked three times as opposed to zero sacks of Rodgers. If the Giants can't get pressure on Rodgers, it's going to be a long day. It'll be a close game, but I foresee the Packers advancing behind another Hall of Fame performance from their quarterback.

Last Week: 12-4
Overall: 163-93 (.637)