NFL playoff thread: Wild-card week

[Mr. Sunshine]

Seeding won't be all set until late tonight, but here's the place to talk about the opening week of the postseason.

 

[LongTimeListener]

I said a month ago the Seahawks were going to the Super Bowl.

I feel pretty good about that.

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

AFC playoff starting QBs:
Brady
Brock
McCarron
Hoyer
Smith
Roethlisberger

Brady, Roethlisberger and Smith are the only ones with playoff experience. ...

Pats are odds-on favorites, but I think the Chiefs are the strongest (most well-rounded) team in the AFC, but ain't saying much. Chiefs, Broncos and Bengals each have very good defenses. Steelers are OK if they create turnovers. If not ...
I think if the Pats have to go on the road the AFC rep is wide open ...
The Broncos are the one team I don't want to see. The Defense is nasty.

My Odds
Pats 3:1
Bengals 5:1
Broncos 5:1
Steelers 6:1
Chiefs 6:1
Texans 10:1

 

[Batman]

Both AFC games are Saturday and both NFC games Sunday. Is this the first time they've done it that way?

 

[Rhody31]

Feel like if they're going to play AFC-NFC for Wild Card Weekend, they should do it for the Divisional round. That way everyone gets the same prep and rest time. Looks like whoever heads to Arizona is going to be at a disadvantage compared to the rest of the teams still playing.
That might be overthinking it, but I don't like this format at all. Hopefully one of the media critics will break down why this schedule came to be.

 

[old_tony]

OK, if any of you claim to have thought this back in September ... Take the team quarterbacked by Kirk Cousins over the team quarterbacked by Aaron Rodgers ... I'm going to need to see some concrete proof.

 

[Elliotte Friedman]

The Vikings are going to get destroyed

 

[Mr. Sunshine]

The Vikings are going to get destroyed

Eh, I bet the Vikings surprise people and keep it within 14.

 

[JC]

Feel like if they're going to play AFC-NFC for Wild Card Weekend, they should do it for the Divisional round. That way everyone gets the same prep and rest time. Looks like whoever heads to Arizona is going to be at a disadvantage compared to the rest of the teams still playing.
That might be overthinking it, but I don't like this format at all. Hopefully one of the media critics will break down why this schedule came to be.

Rules are rules.

You going to report this?

 

[outofplace]

Both AFC games are Saturday and both NFC games Sunday. Is this the first time they've done it that way?

Short week could be rough for both the Steelers and Bengals. Each has a key player who could have used the extra day to get healthy, though I think DeAngelo Williams is the one more likely to be limited or out due to injury. I believe McCarron was also banged up Sunday, but stayed in the game.

 

[Mr. Sunshine]

Steelers 30-14.

 

[Big Circus]

The Vikings are going to get destroyed

I'm a Vikings fan, and I agree completely. This has "35-0 at the half" written all over it.

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

The Cardinals are my pick to rep the NFC in the Super Bowl. Very well-rounded team.
AFC ... Who the hell knows .. I guess the Patriots ... The only team that would surprise me would be the Texans.

How long will Dalton be out. He's optimistic about playing this week. If he's back, I like Cincy to be the AFC rep.
If Williams can't play this week the Steelers are a one-dimensional team and likely done. If Cincy can get over the hump and get its first playoff win over the Steelers, they can't get it done the rest of the way ...

I'm not sold on the Broncos offense. The Chiefs are due for a loss (and some turnovers). Plus Smith doesn't have a lot of playoff experience.

 

[bigpern23]

Plus Smith doesn't have a lot of playoff experience.

Three games, a QB rating of 97 or better in each of them and no INTs is pretty decent. He's not Tom Brady, but Smith knows what it's like to play - and play well - in the postseason.

 

[Mr. Sunshine]

I was very high on the Cardinals -- until yesterday. What the ****, Arizona? I don't trust Carolina, but they've spent the season proving everyone wrong. I don't like the Seahawks' chances to win three road games, but they are the hottest team and they've certainly got the edge in experience. The NFC should be fun.

The AFC is the Patriots' to lose IF they're healthy in two weeks. I expect the Steelers to hand the Bengals their annual early exit, but I don't think Pittsburgh's D holds up for three games. The Broncos and the Chiefs are complete wild cards. No one is hotter than KC the past three months, but who really believes in this team in the postseason? The Broncos' offense remains a mystery after 17 weeks, but defense wins championships, and no one's is better.

 

[Cosmo]

Interesting schedule. Is this the first time that NBC hasn't had the Saturday night game?

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

I was very high on the Cardinals -- until yesterday. What the ****, Arizona? I don't trust Carolina, but they've spent the season proving everyone wrong. I don't like the Seahawks' chances to win three road games, but they are the hottest team and they've certainly got the edge in experience. The NFC should be fun.

The AFC is the Patriots' to lose IF they're healthy in two weeks. I expect the Steelers to hand the Bengals their annual early exit, but I don't think Pittsburgh's D holds up for three games. The Broncos and the Chiefs are complete wild cards. No one is hotter than KC the past three months, but who really believes in this team in the postseason? The Broncos' offense remains a mystery after 17 weeks, but defense wins championships, and no one's is better.

I don't look at or expect any team to play like The Best team in the NFL every Sunday. Just win the games you are supposed to win, be it a last second FG or a blowout. ... The Cards through up an egg yesterday, Ok. I think they may have checked out of that game. I don't put a lot of stock in it.
I'd love to see Arians and the Cardinals hoist the Lombardy.

I have ZERO faith in Cam and Panthers (big surprise, I know).
The Pats? I think they have the worst defense in the AFC playoffs. (This is where OOP strokes out) The only reason I think the Steelers are better is due to takeaways. The offense is a shell. Brady is Brady and they have Gronk and Gostowski; good enough for 17-24 points a game.
Only the Bengals and Steelers have better offense.

 

[Mr. Sunshine]

The Pats have the worst defense in the AFC playoffs? WTF?

 

[BTExpress]

I have ZERO faith in Cam and Panthers (big surprise, I know).

I am a little curious, analytically speaking, why you would have ZERO faith in the team that led the league in points scored, seeing as defense is the team's known strength. Seems like a pretty tough combination.

 

[LongTimeListener]

I was very high on the Cardinals -- until yesterday. What the ****, Arizona? I don't trust Carolina, but they've spent the season proving everyone wrong. I don't like the Seahawks' chances to win three road games, but they are the hottest team and they've certainly got the edge in experience. The NFC should be fun.

I wonder how much (if ever) this actually happens ... but that would seem to have been a classic "don't show 'em anything" game for Arizona. The chances of Carolina losing to Tampa Bay were very low to begin with, and those chances were reduced to zero by halftime. It's tough to make a group of pros stand there and take it like that, but I just don't think the Cardinals played that one to the max.

I still like Seattle in any rematch -- which wouldn't be until the conference championship -- but I'm dismissing yesterday entirely.