The NFL Playoffs start today with two of the four wild card games. The Kansas City Chiefs are on the road to play the Indianapolis Colts in Indy at 4:25 pm, and then New Orleans Saints head to the city of brotherly love to take on the Philadelphia Eagles at 8:10 pm. We’re not in the business of making predictions here at TSB (OK, maybe we are), but in the NFL playoffs, anything can happen. We’ve seen the #6 seed win 3 games on the road to get to the Super Bowl, the Packers lose to the Falcons when the temperature was below 30 degrees, and who can forget the Music City Miracle?
Here are four predictions for Saturday’s Wild Card Games:
Jamaal Charles has 200 yards from scrimmage. Charles averaged 6.01 yards per touch this season, but only touched the ball 20.5 times per game. Andy Reid did a great job keeping Charles fresh this year. And when it comes to playoff time, you have to ride your horses. The Chiefs are one of the best teams in the league when it comes to the screen game. It was on full display a few weeks back, when Charles had 4 TD receptions on screen passes against the Oakland Raiders. The Colts pass rush is built on speed from the outside, so look for Reid to dial up plenty of screens on the super fast turf.
Chiefs 30 Colts 24 When you look at this game, you see that the Chiefs have the best offensive player (Charles) and the superior defensive unit. That is always a big factor for me. As long as Charles gets the ball more than 20 times, the Chiefs should win this game. A late Andrew Luck pick seals the deal for the Chiefs.
Nick Foles outplays Drew Brees. I’m not saying that Foles will have to throw for 400 yards and 4 TD’s. What I am saying is Drew Brees just isn’t the same quarterback away from the comfy confines of the Superdome. It’s just the facts. Especially this year. All you have to do is look at his numbers.
It’s going to be 25 degrees tonight in Philadelphia. Mix in that raucous crowd with the freezing temperatures, and there’s a recipe for disaster for the Saints. The Saints offense is built on precision and freezing temperatures don’t exactly allow that to happen. Nick Foles has already proven this year that weather doesn’t bother him at all. No matter if it was rain, wind, or a blizzard, this kid had ice water running through those veins. With the Eagles run game opening the middle of the field for Foles, I see him having a big game.
Eagles 27 Saints 17. The Saints are 0-5 all time in the playoffs on the road for a reason. They are just built for the dome. There’s no way around it. The Saints would have been much better off if the Dallas Cowboys had won last week and not the Eagles. As much as it kills me to pick the Eagles, it just makes too much sense.
