Picking Winners for Wild Card Weekend in the NFL

It's time to really get serious with these picks for the playoffs. Here goes!

Los Angeles Rams at Carolina Panthers Los Angeles Rams. I know the Panthers beat the Rams by a field goal a few weeks ago. All that will accomplish is to make the Rams lasar focused. Matt Stafford is playing as well as any quarterback in the league. This would seem to be a mismatch.

Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears Green Bay. The Bears had to have a lot of breaks to beat the Packers about three weeks ago in Chicago. However, the Bears are playing better overall football than the Packers at this time. This is a tough game to pick. I'm going with the Packers for two reasons... revenge for losing a recently played tough game and playoff experience that can only be obtained by playing in playoff games. The Packers have the experience.

Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars Jacksonville. The Bills have tons of playoff experience, but they can't seem to win one on the road. The Jaguars have some playoff experience, too. They don't have much, but they do have some. The Jaguars started the season reasonable well, then they got hot, really hot. They beat the Chiefs. They trashed the Chargers, then they beat Denver in Denver, and it wasn't that close. The Jaguars are very good on both sides of the ball. Buffalo is excellent on offense but just pretty good on defense. I think the Jaguars beat the Bills in a high scoring game.

San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles Philadelphia. The Eagles are up and down, but they are up when they have to be up. That includes this weekend. I do not think the 49ers can put enough of a pass rush on Jalen Hurts to keep him from picking up key first downs, and I don't think the 49ers can score more than about 20 points on the Eagles defense.

Los Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots New England. I would pick the Chargers in an instant if they had even a decent offensive line. They do not have one. Justin Herbert will have to be Superman to win this game. He's capable, but it will be tough on the road against a young team coached by the excellent Mike Vrabel. Look for a low scoring game.

Houston Texans at Pittsburgh Steelers Houston. They say defense wins championships. I don't know if the Texans are good enough to win a championship, but their defense is. Aaron Rodgers has played above most people's expectations, and he will need to exceed almost everyone's expectations to score even a few points on Houston's defense. I think the only way the Texans lose is if their offense completely caves in and has turnovers.

May God always be your number 1 draft pick!

Draftman Rick