2014 NFL Wild Card Predictions.

Not bad.
Not great.
Not bad.
Still around 64%.

I know that Bell is hurt.
I know.
But outside that... Why should I pick the Ravens?
They struggle terribly on the road, and have absolutely no momentum heading into the post-season.
They barely squeaked by the Browns with Connor effing Shaw at QB, they got spanked by Case Keenum and the Texans, and they probably should have lost to the Jags.
And they lost by 20 points the last time they went to Pittsburgh.
Nothing Joe Flacco has done has impressed me over the last month and a half.
Meanwhile the Steelers have won five of the last six, including a sweep of the Bengals, a beatdown of the Chiefs, and a win in Atlanta.
If Bell plays, the game isn't close.
If he doesn't, I think the Steelers still come away with the win.

You know what, I'd feel more confident in my pick if the game was in Detroit.
Isn't that weird?
But the Cowboys are undefeated on the road this year.
And they have been quite the team to watch.
I'm not quite behind them just yet, and I do believe the run game helps cover up some defensive discrepancies, but they have been on a roll lately and the Lions are just too damn inconsistent.
You've got the best receiver in the NFL on your team, why are your team stats so mediocre?
They need some help on the offensive line and a true number two receiver but... still...
The suspension of Suh makes this an easy pick for me because without that dominant defensive line being 100%, the boys will be able to just feed Murray the ball.

I hate this game.
Is any team as inconsistent as these two?
The Bengals are impossible to predict.
Get shut out by the Colts? Beat the Ravens the next week.
Get dominated by the Browns? Blow out the Saints after that.
Embarrass Peyton Manning? Drop the division title to the Steelers.

And since the bye, these Colts have been a completely different team.
They lost by 22 to the Patriots, barely beat the Browns, barely beat the Texans, and then...
I mean... Did they even show up to the Cowboys game? I think they pulled Luck before halftime.
It was hideous. They haven't played a great game since... The Redskins?
The 49-25 win five weeks ago?
I just have a hard time picking a team that has been struggling... But it wouldn't surprise me if the Bengals didn't show up either.

Wow. If this makes sense to anybody else, let me know.
You've got the 11-5 Cardinals going to the 7-8-1 Panthers in the first round of the playoffs, and I'm picking the team with the losing record.
Sigh.
There are a number of reasons why I'm picking the Panthers.
Firstly, they've won four games in a row and haven't lost at home in over a month.
Secondly, the Cardinals are from the west, and historically, they struggle on the east coast.
And thirdly, the Cardinals still have issues at quarterback.
They're hoping to get Drew Stanton back for the game, but even then... That's Drew Stanton.
Drew... Stanton.
He's played well enough, but lets face it, he's not the kind of guy you hitch the wagon to.
I'm taking the Panthers because Drew Stanton at 50% and Ryan Lindley seem like the type of guys who would wanna play catch with Luke Kuechly.

Hey! We're back for the playoffs.
After going 1-3 in the last week, I barely edged Fleegle out for the regular season.

163-93.

It's playoff time!!! Enough said.

Arizona @ Carolina: I and everyone else of course still can't fathom how the Panthers should be allowed to have a home playoff game with a 7-8-1 record. But you know what? Right now, I think they are the better team than Arizona is. Plus, I've been picking against the Cards all year, so lets do it again!!! Panthers win at home.

Baltimore @ Pittsburgh: Well, we needed luck but my boys made the playoffs! Now we get to go to Pittsburgh, where we've never won. But there's a first time for everything, and Saturday will be the first!!! I think the Steelers will really be hurt if Bell can't play. Hopefully the ravens offense will show up. I pray they do. Ravens win.

Cincinnati @ Indianapolis: Indy has shown vulnerability the last few weeks, as they haven't been dominant. But, BUT, they already shut out the Bengals earlier this year, and lets be honest, we all know what we get from Andy Dalton come playoff time. Expect a big game from Andrew Luck and a win by the Colts.

Detroit @ Dallas: Looking forward to this game. By the way, did you know Matthew Stafford is 0-16 all time on the road against teams with a winning record? That's really hard to believe. I think Dallas snaps their long streak of playoff disappointments and grabs a win this week. Romo and company are just rolling right now. Cowboys win.

Ryan just clipped me in the regular season. Hopefully the playoffs pull me back ahead. Bring it!

-Conner

We split!
I picked the Bengals and he picked the Colts.
I picked the Steelers and he picked the Ravens (Big shock there =p)