NFL Playoff Predictions 2018–2019: Wild Card Round
For 7 months out of every year I agonizingly await the return of the NFL season, and this year the wait seemed excruciatingly long. But for how slow a pace the offseason seemed to move at, the regular season feels like it has come and gone in the blink of an eye. Even so, this season was AWESOME and full of exciting games, headlines, and performances. And now, the playoffs are about to begin and it just felt right to make some bold predictions and show off how terrible I am at analyzing a sport I care way too much about, starting with the Wild Card Round. LET’S DO IT!
(3) Houston Texans vs. (6) Indianapolis Colts
Nothing like a good ol’ division matchup to kick things off. The Colts and Texans split their season series and with a combined score of 58–58 (Week 4: Texans 37 — Colts 34; Week 14: Colts 24 — Texans 21). This one will be fun.
The Houston Texans have been “a quarterback away” from making a deep run into the playoffs for years now, and it appears that Deshaun Watson is finally that quarterback. This season, Watson became the 2nd QB to ever record a season in which a player passed for 4000 yards, ran for 500 yards, and had a QB rating of over 100 (Russell Wilson in 2015 was the first). Add in the unstoppable Deandre “Nuk” Hopkins and a JJ Watt-led defense that is as scary as ever to the mix, and this team really is a force to be reckoned with.
On the other side are the Colts, who, after over a year of mystery regarding the health of their war general Andrew Luck, find themselves surging into the postseason armed with one of the best offensive lines in the league, NFL tackle leader Darius Leonard, and the always dangerous Luck to T.Y. Hilton combo. After starting the year 1–5, the Colts finished 10–6 and rode into the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in the league.
This can go either way given that these two teams are so familiar with each other and have played each other so close in both their games this season. I’m going to go with a high scoring affair in the opening game of the 2018–19 NFL Postseason: Colts 31 — Texans 28. This game will be decided in the trenches. I like the Colts’ chances to hold up against the Texans’ terrifying defensive line and give Andrew Luck enough time to find his guys and Marlon Mack the running lanes he needs, while I don’t like the Texans offensive line at all. The Texans gave up 62 sacks this year, the first time a team has given up over 60 sacks since 2006. For all the magic Deshaun Watson is capable of creating on his own, I have to go with Andrew Luck pulling off more playoff magic.
(4) Dallas Cowboys vs. (5) Seattle Seahawks
I’m going to preface this with the fact that I am a Seattle Seahawks fan and have been for the past 14 years. I’ll try to be as unbiased as possible but some of the obnoxious 12th Man in me may leak out as I write this, apologies in advance.
The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3 of this season 24–13. Both teams were 1–2 after their matchup, and have since found their identities and head into the playoffs as completely new teams than who they were in the early part of the season.
For Dallas, it was a trade for Amari Cooper that turned their season around. Everyone, myself included, thought giving up a 1st round pick for Cooper was classic Jerry Jones buffoonery. Turns out acquiring Cooper provided the Cowboys with the vertical threat that they desperately coveted since the release of Dez Bryant, opening up passing lanes underneath for guys like Cole Beasley and the emerging Blake Jarwin, and making defenses unable to stack the box against Ezekiel Elliott. A Jason Garrett-esque round of applause for you, Jerry Jones.
Seattle’s 0–2 start made it look like the media pundits were right, a 4–12 season was imminent after an offseason of major changes to the team. But after the Week 2 loss to the Bears, the Seahawks decided to flip the script. They committed to the running game, filled in the gaps left by the Legion of Boom with young, hungry players, and even kicked some drop-kicks along the way. Fast-forward and the Seahawks are 10–6 and back in the playoffs.
Styles make fights, as the saying goes. These two teams are similar in many ways. They both want to establish the run and dominate time of possession. They both utilize play-action fakes to pick up huge chunks of yardage. This one is going to be ugly, old-school football. I’ll predict Seattle wins 21–17. The X-Factor: Cowboys defensive backs coach Kris Richard has been lauded for his ability to stifle potent passing offenses this year. Prior to his position with Dallas, Richard spent time as Seattle’s defensive coordinator and secondary coach and was a disciple of Pete Carroll since his USC days. I don’t see this as a scenario in which the student becomes the master. Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll will find a way to overcome the Cowboys defense, make big plays when it matters most, and leave Dallas with a victory.
(4)Baltimore Ravens vs. (5) San Diego Chargers of Los Angeles
No Playoff-Flacco this year, folks. It’s time for Lamar Jackson to show us what made him one of the best wide receiver prospects coming out of the draft this year. The story since Jackson took over has been incredible. He set the record for most rushes by a quarterback in a season with 147. He didn’t start until Week 11. It’s unprecedented how coach John Harbaugh changed the identity of his offense over halfway through the season, going from seemingly endless check-downs with Joe Flacco to running for over 200 yards a game with two rookies, Jackson and Gus “the Gus Bus” Edwards, leading the way.
As for the Chargers, they go into the playoffs tied for the best record in the AFC but stuck as the #5 seed. Philip Rivers had arguably one of the best seasons of his career and is surrounded by the most weapons he’s had in a long time in Keenan Allen, Melvin Gordon, and Hunter Henry. All season long they proved critics wrong and proved themselves as one of the best teams in the NFL.
In their Week 16 matchup, the Ravens prevailed over the Chargers 22–10. I don’t see much changing this time around, as the Ravens defense should continue their run of dominance from the regular season. Ravens 20 — Chargers 13 is my prediction. I expect Lamar to be able to throw the ball when he needs to in a clutch moment and ride the running game and defense to a first-round victory. Despite the Chargers being one of the best teams in the NFL, I don’t see them overcoming the fact that karma has it out for them and owner Dean Spanos. Another early exit is in their near future.
(3) Chicago Bears vs. (6) Philadelphia Eagles
This past offseason, Jon Gruden shifted the balance of the NFC North by trading future Hall of Famer Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears. Adding a nuclear weapon to a defense that was already steeped with young talent was the beginning of the end for any offense that stood before it. The result: 27 interceptions, 9 recovered fumbles, 50 sacks, and 6 defensive touchdowns. Matt Nagy even brought out defensive players for offensive plays. Heading into the playoffs with an elite defense and creative offense makes Chicago ready to make a run.
The defending champion Philadelphia Eagles came into the season with question marks surrounding it’s most important position. Would Carson Wentz return from injury and play like the MVP candidate of last season? What would happen to Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles? It turned out Wentz wouldn’t be the same, and that the Philadelphia medical staff is incompetent, resulting in a late-season shut down of the Duke of Sussex. Luckily for the Eagles, they turned down every trade offer for Foles, who they would once again have to turn to late in the season. St. Nick sparked Philly to a late run into the playoffs as the 6th seed and could potentially drop bombs all over opposing teams once again.
This game could go either way, but I’m going with Chicago over Philadelphia 27–17. The same magic that got the Eagles their first Super Bowl last year isn’t there anymore. Even with playoff Foles back into the fold, I don’t see him doing enough to overcome the Bears defense. The Bears will be ready for their first real shot at a Super Bowl run since the Sex Cannon Rex Grossman got them there in 2007.
Well, that’s it for me for now. Let’s see how wrong (or right) I am in two days time. Thanks for reading my stupid thing. This playoff has no clear favorite to go all the way and it’s awesome, so sit back and enjoy the ride everyone.
