Wild Card weekend predictions

Ah, the silly season begins tomorrow in the NFL. In a quirk of scheduling, both AFC games will be played tomorrow, with the NFC on Sunday. Usually, there's one for each conference each day.

Saturday:

Buffalo @ Houston:

Buffalo cannot go in just thinking they're happy to be here. They had the East in striking distance, then lost to New England and the Jets in the final three weeks of the regular season. Houston, meanwhile, has had the same problem as Cincinnati in recent years. Win the division, but go no further than the first playoff game. That has to change.

Then, it becomes a question of who wants it more. Buffalo is young and hungry. The Texans are battle tested, despite their struggles in the playoffs, and they get defensive lineman JJ Watt back from injured reserve. That's the difference.

Pick: Houston.

Tennessee @ New England:

Ever since they lost to Miami on Sunday, the media has reminded us that:

A) New England is in the Wild Card round for the first time since 2009.
B) The Patriots have never won a Super Bowl after playing the Wild Card round.

There is motivation for the Patriots, however. There's the small matter of a little payback to be handed out to Tennessee and coach Mike Vrabel, who won three Super Bowls as a player with New England. Vrabel, in his first game as an opposing coach vs. his former club, beat the Patriots in 2018. Patriots coach Bill Belichick might've been a wee bit distracted by being on the panel for the NFL's 100th anniversary all-time team, as seen on NFL Network. However, he'll look for any small detail to motivate his club.

Pick: New England.

Sunday:

Minnesota @ New Orleans:

The Saints' Vindication tour begins here. Any call that goes against them will have Who Dat Nation up in arms, but a win here, and the Saints will meet Green Bay in the divisional round. Minnesota wouldn't mind another crack at the Pack, but it just isn't in the cards.

Pick: New Orleans.

Seattle @ Philadelphia:

Ah, the absurdity of a division champ with a worse record than their Wild Card opponent. Seattle, desperate for help at running back, lured Marshawn Lynch & Robert Turbin out of retirement for last week's loss to San Francisco and the playoff run. However, Seattle's Achilles' heel is and always has been coach Pete Carroll, who has been known to make bad decisions at the most inopportune times.

Philadelphia had to work for their division title, literally, given how weak the NFC East was. Like, it was so bad, I'd bet a few college teams could've beaten the NFC East. The division is so weak, Philadelphia will be the only home team to lose this weekend.

Pick: Seattle.

Of course, I could be wrong.