NFL Week 18: Wild Card Playoff Round

In both Saturday games the home team is favored by two-and-a-half points. Kansas City travels to Indianapolis for the first game. And you would think this would be a no-brainer since the Colts dominated the Chiefs at Arrowhead a couple weeks back. But for some reason I'm going with Kansas City. I think the Chiefs reverse their second-half-of-the-season slide and find some focus and mental toughness. I think speedsters Jamaal Charles and Dexter McCluster find sure footing on Lucas Oil Stadium turf, and Brandon Flowers contains T.Y. Hilton. So long as Alex Smith doesn't throw a bunch of interceptions Kansas City rolls on. The Saturday evening game should be a humdinger. The Saints are not known for their prowess on the road. But you know Drew Brees is going to pile up the yards against the Eagles defense if last week Dallas backup Kyle Orton was able to throw for over 350 yards and two TDs. I don't see Rob Ryan's defense being able to contain LeSean McCoy or Nick Foles. Philadelphia should win in a shoot-out. The early game Sunday has San Diego visiting Cincinnati. The Chargers have proven they can beat anybody this year by knocking off both Indianapolis and Denver. Couple this with the fact that Marvin Lewis' Bengals are 0-4 in the playoffs and you can imagine a situation where the seven-point underdog Chargers pull off an upset. But I don't see it happening. What's different about this Bengals team is the depth on both offense and defense. Take Cincinnati. The premiere match-up of the wild card round is the Sunday afternoon game in Green Bay. The Packers can knock off the 49ers. Aaron Rodgers and Randall Cobb are back in the lineup, and Eddie Lacy and John Starks are a potent rushing combination. The weather is supposed to be freezing. It's hard to go against San Francisco. The 49ers have been on a roll lately; along with Denver, they've been playing the best football in the league. But I like Green Bay in this one. The Packers have a habit of underperforming when they are favorites going into the playoffs but surpassing expectations when they are underdogs.