2019-20 NFL Playoffs: Wild Card Round Picks

Here are my picks for the Wild Card Round of the 2019-20 NFL Playoffs.

Saturday, January 4th
(A5) Buffalo Bills (10-6) vs (A4) Houston Texans (10-6)- 4:35, ABC/ESPN: The Bills have had a phenomenal season, despite losing their final game of the season against the New York Jets at home in a meaningless game. The Texans are also coming off a loss in a meaningless game at home against the Tennessee Titans in a game that the Titans had to win. This should be a low scoring contest and the Texans get back JJ Watt on defense, but Will Fuller isn't healthy on offense. The Bills are a team that is very well rounded and well coached and I think Josh Allen continues to succeed in big games as the Bills win their first playoff game for the first time in twenty four (!!!) years.
Prediction: Buffalo 23, Houston 17.

(A6) Tennessee Titans (9-7) vs (A3) New England Patriots (12-4)- 8:15, CBS: The Titans won their final game of the season in Houston against the Texans to earn that final AFC Wild Card spot. The Patriots are coming off a home loss against the lowly Miami Dolphins that dropped them to the AFC's third seed. The Titans season changed when they went from Marcus Mariota to Ryan Tannehill at quarterback and if they had Tannehill the whole season, they probably would have won their division. The Pats meanwhile have looked vulnerable in the second half of the season and Tom Brady has looked like Father Time has got to him. The weather is supposed to be brutal, which favors running games and the best running back perhaps in the game right now is Derrick Henry, who will run all over the Pats defense and I think he and Tannehill lead the Titans to an upset victory, which means it could very well be Tom Brady's final game in Foxboro in a Pats uniform (that could be the case if they win here too assuming they don't play at home again in the postseason).
Prediction: Tennessee 27, New England 20.

Sunday, January 5th
(N6) Minnesota Vikings (10-6) vs (N3) New Orleans Saints (13-3)- 1:00, FOX: The Vikings lost their final game of the regular season at home against the Chicago Bears in what was a meaningless game for them. The Saints are coming off a road win in Charlotte against the Panthers in a game that they played their regulars in due to the fact they still had a shot at a bye if things broke right. The Vikings are getting Dalvin Cook back for this game, which is huge for their offense and Adam Thielen is getting healthier as well and they will put up their points against a banged up Saints rush defense and a secondary that isn't great outside of Marshon Lattimore. The Saints will have no problems putting up points against a Vikings secondary that isn't as good as it once was and a run game that has looked better the last few weeks. This has all the making of a classic game in which it's high scoring with big time plays and I could totally picture either Kirk Cousins throwing a late game kick or Dan Bailey missing a field goal as time expires as the Saints win the Minneapolis Miracle rematch in thrilling fashion.
Prediction: New Orleans 35, Minnesota 33.

(N5) Seattle Seahawks (11-5) vs (N4) Philadelphia Eagles (9-7)- 4:40, NBC: The Seahawks are coming off a home loss against the San Francisco 49ers which put them in the fifth seed. The Eagles are coming off a road win in East Rutherford against the lowly New York Giants to win the NFC East. The Seahawks have been a team that has been lucky all season long winning a ton of close games and their point differential isn't good, so Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll deserves all the credit in the world for leading his team here. The Eagles are shorthanded on offense with a lot of key guys injured such as offensive lineman Brandin Brooks and receiver Nelson Agholor and some guys who might play that aren't at full strength are offensive lineman Lane Johnson and tight end Zach Ertz. If the Eagles offense was healthy, I'd pick them to win this game. Bottom line is that I don't trust guys like Greg Ward Jr and Boston Scott to step up when it matters and I think Wilson leads the Seahawks to the next round.
Prediction: Seattle 26, Philadelphia 16.