Brads NFL Picks The Wildcard Playoff Games 2016-2017
Brads Picks was 12 – 4 last week and is 158 – 96 – 2 on the season.
Here’s what happened in Week Seventeen:
the good:
Patriots 35, Miami 14 – 20-0 at the half. Then the Fins scored 2 TDs (both on 75 yard drives) to make it 20-14. But a 77 yard catch and run by Julian Edelman and a 69 yard fumble return by LB Shea McClellin put a stop to any comeback by the Fins.
Cincinnati 27, Ravens 10 – Bengals have beaten the Ravens 5 straight times at home.
Minnesota 38, Bears 10 – Bears QB Matt Barkley threw just 2 INTs (he threw 5 the week before against the Redskins).
Tennessee, 24 Texans 17 – Texans QB Tom Savage left the game with a concussion after going 5-8 for just 25 yards. Brock Osweiler came in and was 21-40-253 and a TD. Meaningless game for both teams – Titans maybe wanted it a little more.
Tampa Bay 17, Panthers 16 – Carolina tried a 2 point conversion late in the game for the win but failed.
Indianapolis 24, Jaguars 20 – 17-17 after three quarters. With 9 seconds left, it was Jags 20, Colts 17. But a one yard TD pass from Andrew Luck gave the win to the home team.
Chiefs 37, San Diego 27 – Chiefs 20, Chargers 10 at the half. Chiefs 34, Chargers 17 after the third. Alex Smith threw 2 TDs and 1 INT. Phillip Rivers threw two of each. The Chiefs’ win, coupled with the Raiders loss at Denver, gave the Chiefs the second seed and a first round bye.
Seahawks 25, San Francisco 23 – In the 4th quarter, with Atlanta holding a comfortable lead (38-13 at the end of the third quarter) over the Saints (which meant this game was meaningless for the Squacks) HC Pete Carroll puled a lot of starters to keep them fresh for next week. Squacks still managed the win.
Cardinals 44, Los Angeles 6 – What can you say? Rams suck.
Denver 24, Raiders 6 – Broncos took the opening kick off for a TD and never looked back. HC Gary Kubiak had told the team the night before that he would retire after the game.
Atlanta 38, Saints 32 – Atlanta led 38-13 at the end of the third (but you knew that).
Packers 31, Detroit 24 (SNF) – No score in the first quarter. Lions 14, Packers 10 at the half. Aaron Rodgers threw three TDs in the second half. Lions only managed ten points in the 4th quarter. Aaron Rodgers didn’t throw an INT; Matt Stafford threw one. Both teams knew they would be in the playoffs since Washington had lost earlier, but the winner gets to host next weeks game while the loser will be on the road.
the bad:
Pittsburgh 27, Browns 24 (OT) – Steelers had the 3rd seed locked up so, with nothing to play for, sat a lot of starters, including Ben the R, Le’Veon Bell, and Antonio Brown.
the ugly:
NY Jets 30, Bills 10 – I thought it would be close and flipped a coin. But I can’t blame the coin for this blowout. Whoever was the interim head coach after Rex Ryan was fired is probably not going to get the job for next year.
Philadelphia 27, Cowboys 13 – Boys looked good while Dak Prescott was in. He gave way to Tony Romo early, and Romo took the Boys to a quick TD. Then Mark Sanchez came in. The likeable guy threw two quick INTs.
Giants 19, Washington 10 – Maybe the most interesting game of the week. Giants were locked into the 5th seed of the NFC playoffs but still played to win, with most, if not all of their starters. Reds needed a win to make the playoffs and didn’t get it.
Some commenters think the Reds came out flat, but I think the Giants flattened them. They sacked Kirk Cousins 4 times and intercepted him twice.
this week’s games:
the Saturday 2:35 MST game:
Oakland (12-4) at Houston (9-7) – Las Vegas says Texans minus 3.5. These two teams played in Week Eleven. Here’s what Brads Picks had to say about the game:
Oakland 27, Texans 20 (MNF in Mexico City) – At the end of the third, it was Texans 17, Raiders 13. The crowd was a huge Raiders crowd, and so, it seems, were the refs, as most observers agree that the Raiders were beneficiaries of more than a couple bad calls.
With Raiders QB Derek Carr out, and also his backup, Matt McGloin out, the Raiders will go with rookie Connor Cook, a 4th round pick out of Michigan State. Cook got into last week’s game at Denver and wasn’t horrible, and that was against a fired up Broncos team that had a big lead.
Texans are back to Brock Osweiler at QB. Texans are 7-1 at home but the Raiders are 6-2 on the road (but that was with Carr). Raiders will be without starting tackle Donald Penn (knee).
Gotta take the Texans here. But still, the Raiders were tied with the Chiefs for best in the takeaway / giveaway department with plus 16. Texans were a minus 7.
the Saturday 6:15 MST game:
Detroit (9-7) at Seattle (10-5-1) – Las Vegas says Seattle minus 8. Detroit and Seattle didn’t play each other this year, but they did in 2015, with the score Seattle 13, Lions 10. Matt Stafford and Golden Tate (a Squack until this year) can probably combine for some long passes without Earl Thomas in the game and I think Lions RB Zach Zenner will have a big game.
Squacks are 7-1 at home but I wasn’t impressed two weeks ago when they lost at home to the Cardinals with a possible first round bye on the line.
I’m picking Detroit here. Squacks offense has been erratic lately.
the Sunday 11:05 MST game:
Miami (10-6) at Pittsburgh (11-5) – Las Vegas says Steelers minus 10. They met in Week Six. Here’s what Brads Picks said about the game:
Miami 30, Steelers 15 – Ben the R left the game for a series with a knee injury in the 2nd quarter. He returned after one series but clearly wasn’t the same (he’ll have surgery for a torn meniscus and will miss a few games). But that doesn’t explain how Miami gained 471 yards.
Dolphins are 32nd in the league against the rush (yards per rush). Here comes Le’Veon Bell. Take the Steelers, who rested a lot of players last week, while the Dolphins played a hard game against the Cheaters. Steelers have won 7 in a row and the Fins are going with backup QB Matt Moore.
the Sunday 4:40 MST game:
NY Giants (11-5) at Green Bay (10-6) – Las Vegas says Green Bay minus 4.5. They played each other in Week Five in Green Bay. Brads Picks on the game:
Green Bay 23, Giants 16 (SNF) – 17-6 at the half. Not a bad showing for the Giants, who played at Minnesota the Monday night before. Especially considering the Packers had the week off.
Temp will be about 15 at kickoff. Packers secondary is banged up and I like Odell Beckham Jr. in this one. Eli Manning has had some poor games this year but he plays big in the playoffs. Giants defense has only allowed 18 points per game and their pass rush has been very good lately.
I’m taking the Giants to win this one, in my second upset pick of the weekend.
Giants have won their last two playoff games at Lambeau, and both times went on to beat the Cheatriots in the Super Bowl.