Mile High Report
There is an old saying that tells us to save our best for last. Sadly, with my Week 18 picks that wasn’t the case. It was one of my worst outings of the season going 8-8. For the regular season I went 178-94 That’s right at 65-percent accuracy. That’s worse than last season by five percent, but not too shabby. Let’s see how I fare with my Wild Card Round picks.
Winner: Rams
The NFL Wild Card round kicks off with the Rams heading on the road to take on the Panthers. Just a few weeks ago, the Rams had a great shot at earning the NFC’s top seed and a first round bye. Now, they enter as a fifth seed and go up against a Panthers team who backed into the postseason. I honestly don’t think this game will be remotely competitive or even close. I expect the Rams to put up a lot of points and head to the Divisional Round with ease.
Winner: Packers
Saturday Night Football features an NFC North division rivalry game which should be much more exciting than the earlier affair. The Packers and Bears split their regular season matchups which were both one-score games with a decent amount of offensive production. I expect this game to be just like those—an absolute slobber knocker. It’s going to be close, but I’ve got the Packers edging out the Bears on the road.
Winner: Bills
There are a lot of great games on slate for Wildcard Weekend, but the Bills and Jaguars matchup probably is my favorite of the bunch. The Bills were dethroned by the New England Patriots as the top dog in the AFC East, whilst the Jaguars under new leadership made their way to the top as AFC South division champions. This might be a surprise pick for some, but I have a feeling Sean McDermott and Josh Allen are going to come out guns blazing and put up a lot of points to secure a win and advance.
Winner: Eagles
Last year’s Super Bowl champions, the Eagles definitely experienced some regression on the offensive side of the ball. Even so, their top-notch defensive performance led by Vic Fangio was good enough to earn them back-to-back NFC East titles. Their opponent this weekend are the San Francisco 49ers, a twelve-win wildcard team that somehow won that much despite being one of the most injury-filled rosters in the NFL. I give Head Coach Kyle Shanahan a lot of credit for their success this season, but feel the Eagles will rise to the occasion in front of a hometown crowd and be the ones to advance.
Winner:...
