Football's silly season begins: 2023 NFL Wild Card preview

 And so it begins. Six games over three days. The first steps toward the Super Bowl on February 12. Your actual mileage will vary.

AFC:

Los Angeles @ Jacksonville (Saturday, NBC): Jacksonville has gone worst to first, claiming the AFC South title, and are one of the hottest teams in the entire league. 2nd year QB Trevor Lawrence has thrived under coach Doug Pederson. The Chargers have a young star QB of their own in Justin Herbert, but have been hot & cold this season. Gotta play the hot hand.

The pick: Jacksonville.

Miami @ Buffalo (Sunday, CBS): Round 3 between these AFC East rivals. The Bills & Dolphins split the two regular season meetings, and Miami travels north to Buffalo for the 2nd time in as many months. Their QB situation is in flux due to injuries. That will prove costly against an opportunistic Buffalo defense. There is no reason to get rid of 1st year coach Mike McDaniel because of circumstances beyond his control. Buffalo's Josh Allen will make his share of highlight reel plays to lead the offense.

The pick: Buffalo.

Baltimore @ Cincinnati (Sunday, NBC): These two teams closed the regular season five days ago, and now comes the sequel, right back in Cincinnati. No Lamar Jackson means the Ravens must rely more on their defense, which has gotten picked apart this season.

The pick: Cincinnati.

NFC:

Seattle @ San Francisco (Saturday, Fox):  Still another divisional rematch. Seattle was the upstart at the start of the season behind resurgent QB Geno Smith. San Francisco is on its 3rd QB, rookie Brock Purdy, and surged to the top of the division in the NFC West. This could go down to the wire.

Pick: San Francisco.

Giants @ Minnesota (Sunday, Fox): It was just a couple of weeks ago that these two met, with the Vikings escaping with a win, holding off a Giants rally in the 4th quarter. No mercy this time, methinks, and Big Blue will be sent home.

Pick: Minnesota.

Dallas @ Tampa Bay (Monday, ABC/ESPN): People complain about the current system allowing division winners to have the top seeds, despite a sub .500 record, such as Tampa Bay, which has been up & down all season. Tom Brady is showing his age at QB, and also going through a divorce, which isn't helping. Dallas, however, has a history of choking in the postseason under Jerry Jones after the Super Bowl years of the 90s. This will be the last home game for Tampa Bay this season, and Brady will play like he's got something to prove. Something has to give.

The pick: Dallas.

Of course, I could be wrong.