Thursday, January 5, 2017

NFL PLAYOFFS - Wild Card Round Preview

The regular season is finished and now the fun begins around the NFL as the playoffs begin this weekend with the four Wild Card Round games.
On Saturday, the Oakland Raiders face the Houston Texans and the Detroit Lions play the Seattle Seahawks. Then on Sunday, The Miami Dolphins face the Pittsburgh Steelers and wrapping up the weekend will be the New York Giants and the Green Bay Packers going at it in historic Lambeau Field.

Here's a capsule style break down of the games, followed by the Heftyinfo picks for the Wild Card round. 

OAKLAND RAIDERS (12-4) at HOUSTON TEXANS (9-7) -  The Raiders are down to their third string quarterback in this one while the Texans are going with one time starter and demoted QB Brock Osweiler. This game will likely be a low scoring affair based around running and defense.

DETROIT LIONS (9-7) at SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (10-5-1) -  The Lions struggled down the stretch, losing three straight while Green Bay won the NFC North title. The Seahawks have been banged up and are looking to right the ship as the playoffs take flight.

MIAMI DOLPHINS (10-6) at PITTSBURGH STEELERS (11-5) -  The Steelers are set to get it rolling as they have QB Ben Roethlisberger, running back Le'Veon Bell and wide receiver Antonio Brown on the field at the same time. The Dolphins are going with a backup QB and are likely in for a long afternoon.

NEW YORK GIANTS (11-5) at GREEN BAY PACKERS (10-6) -  This game should be the most exciting of the four this weekend. The Giants have knocked off the Packers two times in recent years in the post-season on the way to Super Bowl titles. But that was then and this is NOW ... Packers have been rolling and Aaron Rodgers and company should get it done in this one, but don't dismiss the Giants defense.

The Heftyinfo picks for the Wild Card games . . .  (Home teams are listed in BOLD)

Oakland over Houston
Seattle over Detroit
Pittsburgh over Miami
Green Bay over NY Giants


Last Week's Record:  14-2

FINAL SEASON RECORD:  171-83-2

Lock of the Week Record:  17-0






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