The time has come.  The regular season has come to a close and the playoffs approach.  So here it is, my NFL playoff bracket.  So, today I will be talking about my choices and going more in-detail with my Wild Card Weekend picks.  In the divisional round, I will also have an updated picks article, and I will preview and predict the championship games and Super Bowl when they come.

Who do you have in Super Bowl LI?  Comment your predictions and thoughts on my bracket.

So, I have the Cowboys and Patriots in the Super Bowl, with the Pats winning.  The Pats are the best team in the league, and unless they had to face both Pittsburgh and Kansas City, which is now impossible in any scenario, they will be going to and winning (unless they face the Giants or maybe the Seahawks) the Super Bowl.  The Cowboys have had a very impressive season and are capable of beating any team in the NFC.  Now, who is the biggest threat to the Cowboys?  That’s hard to decipher. It’s not the Falcons, they would flop under so much pressure.  The Lions and Packers are pretty tough to beat, but Dallas can get past them.  Seattle’s good, but only at home.  Then there’s the Giants.  The Giants just can’t figure out certain teams, and may have trouble traveling to Green Bay or Seattle.   But they are like kryptonite to the Cowboys, and the Patriots for that matter.  Besides in Week 17 when they weren’t trying, the only team Dallas lost to was the Giants.  The Giants swept the Cowboys in 2 games this season.  However, I don’t think the Giants will top the Packers, which will lead Dallas into the Super Bowl.

In fact, this week’s games will seriously impact the rest of the playoffs, because this year’s playoffs are all about match-ups.  Here are my Wild Card Weekend picks.

 

Lock Of The Week

Steelers, 27, Dolphins, 20

The Dolphins got all the way here, to lose?  They can’t beat the Steelers.  Their defense will get ambushed.  Their offense will need to pick up the pace big time against the Steelers defense if the Dolphins want a chance at winning.  They might even be without Ryan Tannehill, and that would give a big advantage to the Steelers.  That’s like the Steelers not having Ben Roethlisberger, in terms of how big the advantage is.  That’s because Matt Moore is almost as far below the level of Landry Jones as Tannehill is below Big Ben.  That’s what happens from years without starting.  The Steelers will win easily.

 

Upset Of The Week

Lions, 31, Seahawks, 24

The Seahawks haven’t been so good lately, especially under pressure.  Their offense hasn’t gotten it done.  I don’t care how good Seattle’s defense, under pressure, any defense has themselves a tough match-up against the Lions offense.  I think Matthew Stafford and his receivers will simply outdo the Seahawks.  I think the Lions will work past the Seahawks defense and if the Seahawks offense doesn’t produce points, the Lions defense won’t have to do much about them.  The Lions will score some of what they potentially can against a weak defens, and that will be enough to get past a struggling Seahawks team.

 

Packers, 33, Giants, 30

The 9-7 Giants did beat the 15-1 Packers several years ago, but those New York Giants were a Super Bowl team.  You could argue that this year’s Giants team is just the same, but they don’t have the power that a Super Bowl team has, their offense and defense are good, but not outstanding.  The Packers will be able to outscore the Giants’ offense.  In the right match-up, the Packers offense can do very well.  This is an okay match-up for them, at least good enough for the offense to do well.  I don’t see the Giants offense doing enough to outscore the Packers, even against a defense that’s just mediocre.

 

Texans, 40, Raiders, 33

In almost any situation, I would pick the Raiders in this match-up.  But it’s clear that the Raiders aren’t the same without Derek Carr.  The entire offense relied on Carr, and the offense was Oakland’s strong point in 2016.  The Texans D will annihilate sack prone rookie Connor Cook.  The Texans offense could score a decent amount against a imbalanced Raiders defense.  The Texans should be able to work around the Raiders defense, which could be an easy defense to work around, even for struggling offenses.  Without Carr, the Texans are the better team here.

Who do you have this week?  How about in the Super Bowl?  Comment your predictions and tell me if you think I’m right or wrong.