Wildcard Weekend 2017

Oakland Raiders @ Houston Texans

The Football Gods have not been kind to the Raiders. As recently as halftime of their Week 16 blowout of the Colts, the Raiders were a red hot Super Bowl favorite. QB Derek Carr was in MVP consideration and a big, rock steady offensive line was happy and healthy. The defense- admittedly a weakness - at least has that explosive pass rush of LBs Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin. We've seen teams win with this formula.

Now, only six quarters later; the Raiders have lost Derek Carr, the 1st round bye, home field advantage and back-up QB Matt McGloin (shoulder) may even be sitting out. In his place, may be rookie QB Cooper Cook. The Raiders have gone from worrying about displacing the Patriots as AFC Champs to hoping for an upset against a terrible Houston team.

Yes this game sucks, the Football Gods have been no better to Houston but somehow they bumbled to the playoffs. For the Texans' it's been a long, slow burn. $77 million dollar man QB Brock Osweiler has been a joke, benched for QB Tom Savage who hasn't been inspiring. RB Lamar Miller, WR DeAndre Hopkins have been prisoners of a limited offense. Houston's defense led by former #1 overall DE Jadeveon Clowney has been solid but nothing Super Bowl special.

So what are we left with here? A game of Osweiler/Savage -vs- McGloin/Cook? These are talented rosters, that's why they are in the playoffs, but there's little drama- the battle to be the inevitable divisional loser in New England.

KEYS for OAK : The big offensive line needs to take over the game. LT Donald Penn and LG Kelechi Osemale are the engine of this 12-4 turnaround and both were knicked-up in the Week 17 loss in Denver.

KEYS for HOU : Houston's QB, be it Savage or Osweiler, just have to play decent enough to win an ugly game. There is not a lot of hope for the Texans in the next round of the playoffs, it's true, but drawing a decapatiated Oakland team in the wildcard has been fortuitous.

Detroit Lions @ Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks don't come into the postseason with the special "playing for January" momentum as they have been the last 3 seasons. QB Russell Wilson suffered injuries earlier in the year, and the offense has struggled to move, seemingly every other game. Meanwhile, the defense lost it's true heart and soul S Earl Thomas.

The Lions have lost 3 straight, including the Week 17 loss to Green Bay - the final act of an improbable comeback- 3 losses for Detroit, 3 wins for Green Bay. It's not a particularly feel-good underdog story - Detroit still hasn't won the division since 1993 and Green Bay has won 5 out of the last 6 seasons. QB Matt Stafford has created a smoke-and-mirrors season built on heart-filled comebacks, stunning resilience, and healthy heaping of Lady Luck.

KEYS for DET : WR Golden Tate and WR Marvin Jones Jr need to play well at the same time. They have had opposite trajectories this season- Jones the early star, Tate the late star - but Stafford needs them both, all game. The Detroit passing game needs to carry the team, not just with 1 minute left in the 4th but all game long.

KEYS for SEA : With a below-average (even for the Seahawks) O-line, the most important aspect of a deep Seahawks' run is a clicking of the run game, and that will be on RB Thomas Rawls. The defense can grit through even without Thomas, Wilson is still a Top 5 QB, but the run game must ignite.

Miami Dolphins @ Pittsburgh Steelers

Steelers QB Ben Rothlisberger is the only playoff-caliber Quarterback in the AFC wildcard. The Steelers are hoping that's enough to pull them through to a vintage KC/PIT battle next week. The Dolphins will certainly be missing injured QB Ryan Tannehill replaced by journeyman QB Matt Moore, but they are not the rollover it may first appear : RB Jay Ajayi has emerged as a workhorse and the defense behind DT Ndmankong Suh is why the Dolphins are here. Running game and Defense always carries potential.

Speaking of potential, we are still waiting for the Super-Steel-Offense of Rothlisberger, RB Le'Veon Bell and WR Antonio Brown to blow us away. We saw a glimpse at the end of the Week 16 division-clinching victory over the Ravens, but injury and inexplicable ineffectiveness has kept this from being the #1 offense you would think with two Top 3 guys at the RB and WR positions. 

KEYS for MIA: WR Jarvis Landry needs to make plays early and often. He is an X-factor in the short passing game. With a journeyman QB at the helm, the talented Landry can help the Dolphins compete and keep the Steelers from stacking against Ajayi.

KEYS for PIT : Despite being an elite part of the 2014 and 2015 Steeler teams, this is the first postseason game of RB Le'Veon Bell's career. He's been a fantasy superstar, it's time to make himself a true superstar the only way possible- in the postseason. 

New York Giants @Green Bay Packers

It's tough to say what is going to fly out of New York and walk onto the frozen tundra this Sunday. QB Eli Manning has not been inspiring this year, but he wasn't in 2007 or 2011 either. 3-year phenom WR Odell Beckham Jr has bailed Eli out game by game, short slant to the house after short slant to the house. That's a tough act to carry into the postseason. It's a good thing the Giants are a lot more than that. They are also an excellent defensive unit led by S Landon Collins and DE Oliver Vernon and recently-returned from injury CB Janoris Jenkins. 3 free agent players who have come to New York raised their game in 2016.

The Packers started slow this year offense (they are always slow on defense) and looked destined to miss the playoffs- had the league finally figured Green Bay's offense out? Is Coach Mike McCarthy actually holding Aaron Rodgers back? Then, QB Aaron Rodgers caught fire. The Packers are on a 6 game winning steak, Rodgers has 15 TDs and 0 INTs. Rodgers said they could and they did, they "ran the table".

KEYS for NYG : Pressure on Rodgers is always the key against Green Bay. Even the expensively signed talent in the Giants' secondary cannot hold off Rodgers for long. The defense can drive a deep postseason run. The ideal would be that the momentum carries off their 10pt domination of the Washington in Week 17. The Redskins were playing for a playoff spot while NYG had #5 seed already locked, it was a remarkable performance. Both of these teams are hot at the right time.

KEYS for GB : RB/WR Ty Montgomery could fill the shoes of the necessary, gashing RB. Green Bay continues to falter since 2010 without a consistent rushing attack, Montgomery has made a unique positional transition this year but looks ready to take on the challenge.