2013 NFL Playoffs- Wild Card Predictions

  Cincinnati vs Houston -4.5 43.5 

Geno Atkins

     It's a rematch of last year's wild card matchup, but I'm less concerned with that and more concerned with the opposite directions these teams are in. Cincinnati has won seven of their last eight games while Houston is in utter free fall after relinquishing the number one seed in the last two weeks. This game is very hard to pick because each team, in all honesty, just isn't that good. Sure, Cincinnati is on a roll, but besides a week ten demolishing of the New York Giants, who as we saw weren't very good either, the Bengals haven't impressed me in any of their wins. Wins over Kansas City and Oakland don't mean anything and scoring only twenty points against San Diego isn't flattering either. A loss to Dallas followed by a win over a poor Philadelphia team don't show anything, but I think a six point offensive performance in a win over Pittsburgh shows who Cincinnati really is. They are an underrated defensive team and an inconsistent offensive one. If Houston can get back to playing quality defense, then they will defeat Cincinnati because if they play like the team that was 11-1 back in early December, they are a contender in the AFC. But the problem there is that there is no guarantee by any means that Houston will get back to playing great defense. In the second half of the season, everyone from Tom Brady,  Andrew Luck and Matthew Stafford to Christian Ponder and Chad Henne for fuck's sake have had impressive showings against this Houston defense. Andy Dalton, will you step up? I believe he will and thanks to a great performance by Geno Atkins and the Bengals defense, Cincinnati pulls the upset.
Cincinnati 23-17
Spread Cincinnati 400
O/U Under 600

  Minnesota vs Green Bay -7.5 46.5

Jordy Nelson

     What a glorious matchup in Green Bay tonight. The division rivals have had two interesting meetings already this season. What do I take away from those meetings? I have absolutely no idea what kind of game this will be like tonight! In meeting one, Minnesota played pretty well, holding Aaron Rodgers and the Pack to 23 points. Yet despite over 200 rushing yards from Adrian Peterson, Christian Ponder and the rest of the Vikings attack could only manage fourteen points in a loss. Last week however, was a different story. Minnesota couldn't really contain the Packers offense but Green Bay couldn't contain them either. Peterson was phenomenal once again while Christian Ponder stepped up to give the Vikings offense balance, allowing them to beat the Packers and secure the last wild card spot. The only constant from those two match-ups was that Adrian Peterson was the best player on the field. But in order for Minnesota to win the game, they need Christian Ponder to play well. So here is what I see tonight: Adrian Peterson gets over 125 yards rushing at least, but Christian Ponder cannot exploit the Green Bay secondary and in turn, cannot keep up with Aaron Rodgers, Jordy Nelson and the Packers offense as Green Bay does just enough to get to the Divisional round.
Green Bay 24-17
Spread Minnesota 400
O/U Under 400

  Indianapolis vs Baltimore -7.5 47.5
Baltimore 27-20
Spread Indianapolis 200
O/U Under 400

  Seattle vs Washington +2.5 45.5
Washington 27-24
Spread Washington 800
O/U Over 600

Wild Card: 3,800

Week 17: 11,800

Week 16: 11,900

Week 15: 11,000 

Week 14: 11,800 

Week 13: 12,700

Week 12: 11,300

Week 11: 9.700

Week 10: 11,300

Week 9: 10,300

Week 8: 9,000

Week 7: 9,900

Week 6: 9,900

Week 5: 11,700

Week 4: 11,800

Week 3: 13,200

Week 2: 11,900 

Week 1: 14,200

Total: 158,900

Wild Card: 2-2

Week 17: 12-4

Week 16: 11-5

Week 15: 9-7

Week 14: 10-6

Week 13: 8-8

Week 12: 10-6

Week 11: 11-3

Week 10: 9-4-1

Week 9: 12-2

Week 8: 8-4

Week 7: 11-2

Week 6: 3-11

Week 5: 11-3

Week 4: 7-8

Week 3: 7-9

Week 2: 11-5

Week 1: 11-5

Record: 13-3-2

Total: 163-94-1 

Wild Card: -1000

Week 17: +800

Week 16: +2700

Week 15: +1000

Week 14: -2200

Week 13: -2100

Week 12: -1500

Week 11: -600

Week 10: +1500

Week 9: +4600

Week 8: +2200

Week 7: +3300

Week 6: -1900

Week 5: +3100

Week 4: +4000

Week 3: -1300

Week 2: -1000

Week 1: +200

Season Record: 10-8

Season Total: +9,600