The most glorious time of year is here, it’s the NFL playoffs! This may be one of the most wide-open NFL playoffs in years. No Tom Brady, no Patrick Mahomes, no Joe Burrow. New teams that haven’t been in the mix for some time. We’re in for a fun playoffs. It all starts with Super Wild Card Weekend. Let’s dive into our NFL Playoff picks for Super Wild Card Weekend and pick each of the six games spanning from Saturday through Monday Night.
Los Angeles Rams at Carolina Panthers, Saturday 4:30 ET
Super Wild Card Weekend kicks off from Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Carolina Panthers will host the Los Angeles Rams on FOX. Carolina snuck into the playoffs after they lost on Saturday to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On Sunday, the Falcons’ beating the Saints created a three-way tie for the division, and the Panthers held the tiebreaker. It’ll be the first playoff game for Bryce Young.
The Rams are a 12-win team that had to settle for the fifth seed and go on the road after the Seattle Seahawks won their division. Matthew Stafford is a finalist for the MVP award, and while it hasn’t always been pretty, they’ve been getting it done. They did however lose to the Panthers at home in Week 13, 31-28.
This is a huge spread for an NFL Playoff game. Usually, that would scare me a bit, but it doesn’t scare me in the slightest in this game. I love the Los Angeles Rams here. I’ve seen enough people on Carolina (including my bosses Sean and Ryan, who both picked them) to show me it’s not 100% chalk. If the Panthers hadn’t beaten the Rams already, maybe I’d see a closer game. But Los Angeles knows what this team is capable of, and they’ll have revenge on the mind. We saw last week what the Panthers looked like in what was basically a playoff game. Flat and uninterested. The Rams will roll in this game, and it’ll be a blowout.
Pick: Rams -10
Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears, Saturday 8:00 ET
Saturday night, things will shift to Amazon Prime for an NFC North showdown in Chicago as the Packers come to town. Green Bay finished the season 9-7, losing its final four games of the year. Jordan Love, however, did not play in two of those games after getting hurt against this Bears team in Week 16. Love will return this weekend.
The Bears went from five wins last year to 11 in Ben Johnson’s first year as the head coach. He seemed to unlock some things inside of Caleb Williams and had him clicking like the #1 overall pick everyone expected him to be. It’s the first home playoff game in Chicago since 2019.
I’m buying into the Chicago Bears hype this year. Ben Johnson’s immediate impact on this team and on Caleb Williams has been immense. These divisional games spilling into the playoffs can always go either way, so I love getting points even if it’s just 1.5. Ben Johnson is ultimately the difference in this game for me. His ability to scheme things up to catch the Packers off guard will be the difference. I don’t know that they get past the divisional round, but they’ll get there.
Pick: Bears +1.5
Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday 1:00 ET
Sunday truly is a Super Wild Card Day. The triple header will start in sunny Florida on CBS. The Buffalo Bills didn’t win the AFC East for the first time in five seasons, finishing the year with 12 wins. It’s been an up-and-down season for the Buffalo Bills with its share of bright spots and low lights. With no Mahomes or Burrow, many are calling for this to be the year Josh Allen steps up in the postseason.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are the hottest team in the NFL coming into the postseason. The AFC South champions have won eight straight games to close out the year with a 13-win season. Much like in Chicago, Liam Coen’s hire in Jacksonville has seemed to be the key to unlocking the boy wonder, Trevor Lawrence.
I have to ride with Jacksonville here. I’ve been all over them since the preseason, and picked them almost every week in the confidence pool picks, which worked out nicely. This Jaguars team is built to go somewhere, and they are executing at a top level. The Bills, on the other hand, have looked fragile. The Eagles and Patriots dominated them in the first half before both teams rolled over. The Browns and Bengals played them close, and the Texans beat them. Nothing about this Bills team has impressed me, and let’s face it. The Bills always find a way to lose in the postseason. Josh Allen looked in peak playoff form when he threw the ball to nobody to lose against the Eagles. But it may be the best thing to happen to them this year if they fire Sean McDermott and bring in John Harbaugh.
Pick: Jaguars +1.5
San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday 4:30 ET
A little afternoon delight brings what could be a really good game. We’ll flip the dial over to Fox for this game as the defending Super Bowl Champions host the 49ers. San Francisco was a win away from being the #1 seed in the conference and the road to the Super Bowl, all going through Levi’s Stadium. Just a few weeks ago, the 49ers looked like they could be the team to beat.
The Eagles won Super Bowl LIX last season. This year hasn’t been all roses for them, but that’s not what this team is. There have been points in the year where they looked like the best team in football, and their defense played like a championship defense against the Buffalo Bills a few weeks ago. This is a team you can never count out.
I felt good about the 49ers going into the playoffs until they ended up having to go to Philadelphia in the first week. This line is set perfectly to entice you to bet on San Francisco, but I think the Eagles are just the better football team here. Their defense is elite and will slow down the 49ers like Seattle did last week. And this Eagles offense can produce enough when needed, and Jalen Hurts can be clutch when it counts the most.
Pick: Eagles -4.5
Los Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots, Sunday 8:00 ET
Sunday Night Football on NBC and Peacock brings us the Los Angeles Chargers at the New England Patriots. The Chargers opted to rest their starters last week with little on the line in terms of their playoff seeding. The Chargers finished the season with 11 wins. Over their last seven games, they played four playoff teams, losing three of those games and needing overtime to beat the Eagles.
The Patriots have returned to glory in the win column, going from four wins to 14 in year one of Mike Vrabel. Drake Maye could win the MVP award, and while the Patriots’ schedule was a weak one, they often beat down their opponents. Living up to the moniker, good teams win games, great teams win big.
This one is easy for me. Justin Herbert is 0-2 in the playoffs with two touchdowns and four interceptions. His offensive line is still banged up, and this Patriots defense has looked fierce. Drake Maye looks like a smooth operator, and every time I’ve watched him, he’s cool under pressure and doesn’t get rattled. If you don’t have Patriots Super Bowl futures yet, get them before the price goes down. And, if the Patriots fall behind early, hit the live bet. This team never gives up.
Pick: Patriots -3.5
Houston Texans at Pittsburgh Steelers, Monday 8:15 ET
One final Monday Night Football showdown on ABC & ESPN for the season. The Houston Texans will travel to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to take on Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers. Houston started the year 0-3 and looked to be one of those teams that go from playoffs to not even close the next year. Ur they quickly turned things around with Davis Mills filling in, and then kept it rolling when CJ Stroud returned. The Texans won their final nine games of the year, three of which were over playoff teams.
The Steelers had to win four of their last five games to make the playoffs, but they did just that. Beating the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football on a missed field goal as time expired to win the AFC North. It’s what the Steelers do: win key games to get into the playoffs. Now they host a game on Monday Night Football. They haven’t lost a home Monday Night Football game with fans in the stands (they lost to Washington in 2020) since 1991.
However, that’ll change this weekend. The Texans have the type of defense that wins championships, and this Steelers team you can’t ever count out, but they just aren’t that good. They lost to Cleveland late in the year when they needed a win, and then they should have lost to the Ravens on Sunday Night. Expect this to be a low-scoring, ugly game. But the Texans’ defense is the difference in the end. It’s amazing this line is below a field goal difference.
Pick: Texans -2.5
