Mattie T’s Wild Card Weekend Predictions

It’s playoff time!!!! In recent years, we have been blessed with some very memorable Wild-Card games. To honor some of the eight teams that will be playing this weekend, let’s take a look back at those “instant” classics:

January 10th, 2010:

In a game that set postseason records for points scored (96), first downs (62) & touchdowns (13), it was Karlos Dansby’s 17-yard fumble return in overtime that helped the Arizona Cardinals win a 51-45 shootout over the Green Bay Packers.

Aaron Rodgers was spectacular in his playoff debut, as he threw for 422 yards & 4 touchdowns. However, he was trumped by Kurt Warner, as he completed 29 of 33 passes for 379 yards and five touchdowns against the NFL’s 2nd ranked team in fewest yards allowed.

January 3rd, 2009:

Darren Sproles was a one-man wrecking crew, as his 328 all-purpose yards (3rd highest total in playoff history) helped the San Diego Chargers stun the Indianapolis Colts 23-17 in overtime.

It was a mind-blowing performance considering that Sproles had a key fumble late into the 3rd quarter inside the Colts’ 10-yard line, which was recovered by Indianapolis tackle Raheem Brock.

After Nate Kaeding tied the game with a 25-yard field goal late in regulation, Sproles made sure that Peyton Manning wouldn’t get the football again.

The Chargers won the coin toss & were aided by two huge defensive penalties against the Colts before Sproles ended it with a 22-yard burst into the end zone, which set up a wild celebration at Qualcomm Stadium.

January 6th, 2007:

Tony Romo’s botched hold on a potential game-winning field goal allowed the Seattle Seahawks to escape with a 21-20 win over the Dallas Cowboys.

With 1:19 remaining in regulation, Martin Gramatica lined up for an extra-point like 19-yard field goal try that would have given Dallas the lead.

However, Romo botched the hold and tried to run for a first down, but was tackled & stripped of the ball by Jordan Babineaux, who recovered the fumble for Seattle.

Afterwards, Romo said that “I cost the Dallas Cowboys a playoff win, and it’s going to sit with me a long time. I don’t know if I have ever felt this low.”

Will this year produce more Wild Card magic? We shall see!

New Orleans vs. Seattle

The Saints lost their only previous Wild Card road game (16-6 loss to Chicago in 1990), while the Seahawks will look to win their 3rd straight Wild Card home game (last loss was a 27-20 defeat to the Rams in 2004).

With key injuries to Pierre Thomas, Chris Ivory & Jimmy Graham, the Seahawks’ chances of an upset bid just increased against the defending Super Bowl champs.

However, Seattle will still have a problem stopping Drew Brees, as their secondary ranks last among NFC playoff teams with 249.6 yards per game allowed.

Julius Jones will have a chance to burn his former team, as Seattle cut him in October. Jones figures to see extra playing time with the injuries to Thomas & Ivory, as he goes up against the Seahawks’ 21st ranked run defense.

Even with more-established signal-callers such as Brees, Vick, Rodgers & Ryan, Matt Hasselbeck has the most postseason experience out of all NFC quarterbacks as he’ll start his 10th career playoff game on Saturday & is 4-1 at home.

Hasselbeck did throw for 366 yards passing against the Saints during the regular season, which was New Orleans’ highest defensive total allowed.

Seattle’s run game is the reason they fall just short at an upset, as they haven’t had an 100-yard rusher all season (Marshawn Lynch’s last 100-yard rushing game was on December 14th, 2008 as he ran for 127 yards as a member of the Buffalo Bills).

Mattie T’s Prediction: Saints 31, Seahawks 23.

N.Y. Jets vs. Indianapolis

The Jets will be looking for their fourth Wild Card win in their last five tries dating back to 2002, while the Colts will look to win their fourth straight Wild Card home game overall.

In a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship Game, the Jets are confident that they have what it takes to prematurely end Peyton Manning’s quest at another Super Bowl run.

Manning won’t have two of his top targets that helped him get 186 of his 377 passing yards & 2 of his 3 touchdowns, as Austin Collie and Dallas Clark are both out for the entire postseason.

With Darrelle Revis figured to be draped all over Reggie Wayne, it’s up to Pierre Garcon to try & repeat his 151-yard effort from the AFC title game in order for Indianapolis to advance.

Mark Sanchez has improved from one year ago, but LaDainian Tomlinson needs to re-capture his strong first half (just one rushing touchdown over his last 8 games) against a vulnerable Colts’ run defense.

This is a game where Collie’s presence will be missed, as he was second on the team in yards per game (72.1) and had the team’s biggest offensive play of the season on a 73-yard touchdown reception from Manning in Week 1.

Very close game, but this time i think the Jets will prevail.

Mattie T’s Prediction: Jets 24, Colts 20.

Baltimore vs. Kansas City

The Ravens will look to win their fourth straight Wild Card road game, while the Chiefs will be looking to win their first Wild Card home game since 1993 (beat Steelers 27-24 in overtime).

In what could be Charlie Weis’ final game as offensive coordinator before jolting to Florida, he’ll have to try & figure out a strong Ravens defense that will look to shut down Kansas City’s top-ranked rushing attack.

They will also have to focus on Dwayne Bowe, who led the NFL with 15 touchdown receptions despite scoring just once over his last three games.

Baltimore has the weakest pass-rushing unit out of the AFC playoff teams, so i can see Matt Cassel having a solid game on Sunday. However, the Chiefs’ inability to run the ball will cost them a chance at moving on.

Mattie T’s Prediction: Ravens 24, Chiefs 17.

Green Bay vs. Philadelphia

The Packers will look to win their first Wild Card road game since 1993 (won 28-24 against Lions), while the Eagles will look to avoid losing their first Wild Card home game since 1990 (lost 20-6 to the Redskins).

This will be the game of the weekend to watch, since it features Michael Vick against a strong Packer defense that’s only allowed one team to score more than 30 points on them all season.

Ironically enough, the three teams that have given Vick the most trouble defensively all reside in the NFC North, as he has a combined 15 sacks & 6 fumbles against the Lions, Vikings and Bears.

One thing that does alarm me about Vick is the number of sacks he’s taken this season. Despite missing 4 games due to injury, Vick’s 34 sacks are the 2nd highest total among NFC playoff quarterbacks, only trailing Chicago’s Jay Cutler.

The Packers lead all NFC playoff teams with 47 sacks, and will be sure to get after Vick quite often on Sunday afternoon. This will be a very close and high-scoring affair, but i feel that playing 3 games over the past 13 days will finally catch up with the Eagles.

Mattie T’s Prediction: Packers 37, Eagles 34.