NFL Wild Card preview

 And, lo, the silly season begins.

The NFL playoffs begin Saturday with the Wild Card round, and a pair of AFC matchups.

For the first time, Amazon enters the picture, and will carry one of the Saturday games, to be encored to death starting Sunday on NFL Network.

Saturday:

Los Angeles Chargers @ Houston (CBS, 4:30 pm.).

The Chargers finished 4 games in arrears of Kansas City in the AFC West, while Houston won the South. This one's a pretty even matchup, as QB's Justin Herbert & CJ Stroud will direct air traffic control. Expect this one to be a high scoring affair.

Pick: Chargers in an upset.

Pittsburgh @ Baltimore (Amazon Prime, 8 pm).

3rd meeting of the season between the AFC North rivals, with each team having won one in the regular season. However, the Steelers, particularly Russell Wilson, may have peaked a bit too early, and that will be costly.

Pick: Baltimore.

Sunday:

Denver @ Buffalo (CBS, 1 pm.).

Too bad this isn't on Amazon, else Al Michaels can dust off a crack about "Ice Station Zebra" from a few years back. Anyway, they'll likely be shoveling snow off the field at Highmark Stadium prior to the game, assuming they get more snow in Buffalo/Orchard Park than the 518 on Saturday. Denver QB Bo Nix can make a strong case for Rookie of The Year even stronger, even though the votes will have ended with the regular season, with a solid showing here. Josh Allen & the Bills are on a "misson from God", a la the Blues Brothers. Expect the score to be a little on the lower side.

Pick: Buffalo.

Green Bay @ Philadelphia (Fox, 4:30 pm).

It won't matter who's at QB for the Eagles, be it Jalen Hurts, Kenny Pickett, Tanner McKee, or the Man in The Moon. Just feed the ball to Saquon Barkley, who's making the Giants look like fools every time he scores. It's not exactly the Ice Bowl vs. Dallas many moons ago at Lambeau Field, but Green Bay will be in this until the 4th quarter......!

Pick: Philadelphia.

Washington @ Tampa Bay (NBC, 8:20 pm).

The Commanders peaked a bit too early behind rookie QB Jayden Daniels. Tampa's Baker Mayfield has hit his stride at just the right time. Experience is always an x-factor with the Bucs.

Pick: Tampa Bay.

Monday:

Minnesota @ Los Angeles Rams (ABC/ESPN, 8:15 pm).

The Rams enter this game on a downer after losing to Seattle on Sunday. Minnesota QB Sam Darnold is making his playoff debut as a starter, pretty good for someone who was supposed to be a backup to rookie JJ McCarthy. The Vikings are hoping for a 3rd matchup with North champ Detroit, and, yeah, it might happen. This game, though, could be relocated due to the ongoing wildfires in LA.

Pick: Minnesota.

Of course, I could be wrong.