Ultimate Super Wild Card Weekend Preview: Storylines and Score Predictions

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The NFL regular season is officially over and final 14 contestants will fight to hold up the Lombardi trophy at the end of it all. Before we can start thinking about champagne and confetti, we must get through the gauntlet of the wild card round this weekend. This piece will preview each game during this Super Wild Card Weekend and offer score predictions and some potential bold takes.

Saturday, January 13

Cleveland Browns at Houston Texans (4:25 PM, NBC)

In the battle of feel-good stories of the 2023 season, the two teams involved in the Deshaun Watson trade will be battling in the first round of the playoffs. The only caveat is that Watson will not be playing in this game, as he is out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury. The Browns QB carousel was an interesting one for a while after Watson went down. Dorian Thompson-Robinson and P.J. Walker essentially alternated starts before signing Joe Flacco after week 11. Despite constant QB turnover, the Browns number one total defense has kept them competitive the entire season. Since Flacco has been penciled in as the Browns starter, he is 4-1 with 16 touchdowns in 5 games. Despite sitting on his couch for the majority of the season, Flacco has made the Browns offense the most productive it has been all season, getting a career year out of tight end David Njoku and helping Amari Cooper break the browns franchise record for single game receiving yards with 265. Flacco is riding an undefeated Wild Card round record and is currently tied with Tom Brady for the most road playoff wins with 7.

Onto the home side of things, where the Texans are in a position that no one thought they’d be in at the beginning of the season. The Texans held the number two pick in the draft last season, and selected Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud. Flash forward and Stroud has led the Texans to a 10-7 record, an AFC South division title and likely an Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. First year head coach DeMeco Ryans completely flipped the culture in Houston, building a sustainable winner for the next decade. Despite being at home, the Texans are behind the 8 ball with Flacco’s experience and 7 road playoff wins. I also think the Browns defense will make Stroud uncomfortable in the pocket and Flacco will do enough to ensure a second Cleveland playoff victory since the start of the 2020s decade

Prediction: Browns 27, Texans 13

Miami Dolphins at Kansas City Chiefs (8:00 PM, Peacock)

Both the Dolphins and the Chiefs are in the category of “they have talent, but they don’t really scare me” in terms of playoff teams. I don’t care if the Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes, the reality of the situation is he is going to have to go on the road for the rest of the playoffs most likely if the Chiefs win this game and they have looked super inconsistent throughout this season. Mahomes and the Chiefs offense have failed to find an identity and are currently dealing with the most dropped passes by receivers across any team in the NFL. This Chiefs team feels far removed from their dominant Super Bowl winning team just last season, but their defense has proven to be strength of the team under coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Fortunately for the Chiefs and all the Swifties that will be watching, the Chiefs’ opponent is even more of a question mark heading into the playoffs.

On the other sideline, the major storylines will be star reciever Tyreek Hill’s first game back in Kansas City and the Dolphins finally trying to beat a formidable opponent. If you have watched the media speak about the Dolphins in any capacity this season, they have always uttered these six words: “the Dolphins can’t beat good teams”. Regardless of how annoying it is to see the same narrative being pushed every year, the numbers do not lie as the Fins had a 1-5 record against teams above .500. This record, coupled with the below-zero conditions at Arrowhead Stadium and the magnitude of injuries, the Dolphins stand almost no chance in this game. However, I predict this game to be a one score affair given the cold conditions and the Chiefs’ inconsistency all year.

Prediction: Chiefs 21, Dolphins 13

Sunday, January 14

Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills (1:00 PM, NBC)

This is unquestionably the biggest playoff mismatch of the weekend. The Steelers will be with out their best player in star EDGE rusher T.J. Watt. Thankfully for the Steelers, they will be playing in insane wind and snow, which means Josh Allen and the Bills offense will be compromised. Given the severity of the conditions (at least one foot of snow expected along with 65+ MPH winds), I think this game will be a defensive struggle that the bills ultimately win, but I wouldn’t be surprised if something crazy happened and the Steelers emerged victorious, especially with conditions as dreadful as these.

BREAKING: A Winter Storm Watch has been issued for the #Bills, #Steelers game, per the National Weather Service.

There will be 65 MILE PER HOUR WIND GUSTS and at least OVER A FOOT OF SNOW.

“Travel will be difficult to impossible.”

THIS WILL BE CRAZY😳😳😳 pic.twitter.com/cGxe5H6VAy

— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) January 12, 2024

Prediction: Bills 16, Steelers 9

Green Bay Packers at Dallas Cowboys (4:25 PM, FOX)

In another major wild card storyline, current Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy is playing against the team he won a Super Bowl with back in 2011. Now he will be tasked with preventing the Packers from making another Cinderella run. Despite a porous road record and their inability to beat good teams (including the Dolphins), the Cowboys obliterated opponents on their home turf, averaging nearly 40 points a game at AT&T Stadium. Thanks to the Eagles going from 10-1 to 11-6 at the end of the season, the Cowboys were able to steal the division away from Philly and are guaranteed two playoff games so long as they keep winning.

The Packers likely enter this game as huge underdogs, as the public is confident in the Cowboys maintaining their perfect road record against the #7 seed. However, I remember the last time the Packers entered the playoffs as the final wild card spot. It ended with a Super Bowl victory for Green Bay. QB Jordan Love is coming off of back-to-back NFC Player of the Week Honors, and he will need to continue that level of play to keep up with the high-flying Dallas offense. The Cowboys have not reached the NFC Championship game since 1995, the year of their last Super Bowl win, and I don’t expect that streak to be broken this year. As Stephen A. Smith always says, “with the Cowboys, what can go wrong will go wrong”. I think something will go very wrong for the Cowboys on Sunday, possibly along the lines of bad situational play-calling by Mike McCarthy.

Prediction: Packers 27, Cowboys 24

Los Angeles Rams at Detroit Lions (8:20 PM, NBC)

This game features the storyline of storylines. Matthew Stafford, the former Lions #1 draft pick and franchise QB for over a decade makes his return to Ford Field…as a member of the Rams. Two years ago, Stafford was traded to the Lions for Jared Goff and a pair of first round picks. Stafford turned around and won a Super Bowl for L.A. in year one. Flash forward to year three, and Stafford has the Rams back in the playoffs and facing the team that traded him.

Before the Stafford trade, Jared Goff was the starter in Los Angeles and led the Rams to a Super Bowl run but only put up 3 points in that game. Rams coach Sean McVay actively began searching for a new QB to overcome Goff’s limitations in the biggest games. Goff, now a Lion, has had arguably his best season with the Detroit Lions in 2023. Under head coach Dan Campbell, the Lions completely turned the constantly sinking ship around, finishing with a 12-5 record and an NFC North title for the first time in 30 years. The Lions offense took off thanks to young star playmakers everywhere, including pass catchers Amon-Ra St. Brown Jameson Williams, and Sam LaPorta, and running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs.

This game will be fun, entertaining, and full of emotions from both sides. I love the Lions and the amazing story that they have created this year, but I’m going to lean with the Rams due to their experience and Stafford’s consistent clutch factor

Rams 34, Lions 27

Monday, January 15

Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8:15 PM, ESPN/ABC)

The Eagles didn’t appear to have a Super Bowl hangover in the first 11 weeks, jumping out to a 10-1 start just like last year. But unlike last year, the momentum completely froze over. For starters, head coach Nick Sirianni didn’t do the best job of maintaining the Eagles’ identity from last year with both coordinators from that Super Bowl run now in head coaching positions in Indianapolis and Arizona respectfully. The team’s depth on defense dropped dramatically despite top defensive prospect Jalen Carter falling to them at #9 in the 2023 draft. The loss of linebacker T.J. Edwards and defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson proved to be more than Philly expected, as the production of the secondary and linebacker corps plummeted. Jalen Hurts is turning the ball over more than double the amount he did last year and the situational coaching has been awful in recent weeks. Losses to the Cardinals and Giants the Iast two games of the season coupled with injuries to A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith have the Eagles in jeopardy of being one-and-done, and I think that’s what will happen.

The Buccaneers were not supposed to be division champs after Tom Brady’s retirement, but a resurgent year from Baker Mayfield and an underrated defense coached by Todd Bowles helped the Bucs capture an NFC South that was up for grabs. Heading back home for a Wild Card matchup, I expect the cannons in Raymond James Stadium to be fired early and often, as I have the Eagles not just losing, but losing handily.

Prediction: Buccaneers 33, Eagles 16